WEST PARIS — Selectmen are satisfied that concerns about the town’s network of fire hydrants have been addressed, and do not intend to pursue the issue further.
Following a brief meeting Thursday, selectmen Wade Rainey and Dennis Henderson said a reported meeting between the selectboard, fire chief and water district officials was never scheduled.
There are no plans to hold a joint meeting in the future, Rainey said. He was unclear why White would report that the meeting was planned, Rainey said.
“We’re not going to do that anymore,” Rainey said. “We’re not going forward with anything else on that — there’s nothing to go forward with … I think we’re all kind of in a happy mood about it right now.”
Rainey and Henderson were the only town officials present at Thursday’s meeting. Town Manager John White could not attend due to illness and Randall Jones was absent. The meeting lasted fewer than 30 minutes.
Last month, West Paris fire Chief Norm St. Pierre submitted a resignation letter, citing his concerns with fire safety in the town, including claims that some of its 43 fire hydrants were unreliable.
St. Pierre later was allowed to rescind his resignation.
In an interview last week, he said he has no intention to step down.
One of St. Pierre’s demands was that the West Paris Water District provide records to indicate when hydrants had been inspected, but according to Water District Director Greg Inman, no such records exist.
Officials from the state’s Public Utilities Commission and Fire Marshal’s office confirmed that there are no state regulations requiring water districts to keep hydrant maintenance records.
Henderson and Rainey said that revelation satisfied their questions about the issue.
“There are no regulations, so there’s nothing to discuss,” Henderson said at the meeting Thursday.
The two selectmen said the board now considered the hydrant question a non-issue and did not intend to bring it back up.
When asked whether communication issues between the Fire Department and water district raised by St. Pierre have also been addressed, Rainey appeared to be less sure.
“We’ll just have to see how that goes,” he said.
pmcguire@sunjournal.com
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- A fire hydrant in West Paris.
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