MINOT — Selectmen on Monday agreed to send a “No Action” letter to a Hersey Hill Road property owner whose shed is in violation of the town’s land use ordinance setback requirements.
The letter will advise Larry Jackson that the board recognizes the violation but is not going to take action against him or require him to go to the Appeals Board.
Code Enforcement Officer Ken Pratt brought the matter to the board’s attention after Jackson, who was inquiring about doing some drainage work, told him that his shed was within 10 feet of the road right of way.
Selectmen determined that during the approximately 10 years the 8- by 12-foot shed has been there, no one had objected to its location.
“Actually, it’s down over a banking, and there are trees between the road and the shed,” Selectman Dan Gilpatric said.
Selectman Steve French noted that Jackson himself had been the one who had brought the matter to the town’s attention.
“He squealed on himself,” French said, noting that it was quite apparent the shed was bothering no one.
Chairman of the Board Dean Campbell was the only selectman to speak against issuing the letter, citing the possibility that other property owners might view the action as setting a precedent.
In other business, selectmen also met with two of the three residents who have expressed interest in serving the remaining two years of Ellie Biron’s term on the RSU 16 School Committee. Biron resigned recently and announced she is moving to Missouri.
Selectmen met with prospective replacements Julie Rioux and Donna Wallace. Aubrey Russell was the third resident to submit her name for the position.
Selectmen indicated they would like to make their decision on the replacement at their July 22 meeting.
Highway Supervisor Scott Parker reported that the recent rainy spell had presented the town crew with steady work fixing washouts, but that everything was under control and even the town’s hiking trails were now open.
Town Administrator Arlan Saunders noted that the rain had postponed paving scheduled for roads in the northern part of town.
Saunders said the heaviest rain seemed to have fallen in the southerly section — Grange Avenue, Pottle Hill Road and the Center Minot Hill/Garfield Road area.
Gilpatric reported that a rain gauge off Garfield Road recorded four and a half inches of rain in a little over two hours.
Town Treasurer Holly Packard reported that the process of switching town accounts over to Androscoggin Bank was proceeding smoothly.
After a brief discussion of what to do with a tax-acquired woodlot off Hadfield Road, selectmen agreed to table action until they can determine whether the 25 acres contained marketable timber and whether it might meet possible future needs of the town.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
