PERU — Selectmen discussed vicious dogs at their regular Monday night meeting.
Residents Jim Gallagher and David Briggs reported to town officials that they had been attacked by one of two belligerent dogs belonging to Steve Fuller on Stage Coach Road.
Selectman Jim Pulsifer said that Maine law requires that dogs be under their owner’s control at all times. He said that dogs either needed to be under voice control, on a leash or penned up. He said that requirement made no distinction between private and public property.
The town maintains both ends of Stage Coach Road, but has abandoned a portion abutting Fuller’s property. Pulsifer believes that the town would have maintained a public easement on the old road bed. Fuller told Selectmen’s Secretary Angela Barkhouse that the town had deeded the property to the abutters.
Fuller said he would restrain the dogs if the joggers would contact him before running through the area.
Selectmen asked Barkhouse to arrange a meeting between the parties, the selectmen and the animal control officer.
At last week’s selectmen’s meeting, Bruce A. Manzer, Inc. was awarded the bid for paving 1,000 feet on Gammon Road. The award was contingent upon Manza supplying the selectmen with an acceptable total price for the project. The original bid had given prices for the components of the job, but had not given a total price.
Manzer provided a total project price of $38,503, which was acceptable to the selectmen.
Selectmen agree to meet at 5 p.m. next Monday to review the personnel policy manual. They will ask Road Commissioner Joe Roach to join them in that meeting.
Barkhouse said that the only bids received so far for the town audit have come from out-of-state companies.
Resident Larry Porter asked if there was not a requirement for public bids on any purchase over $1,000. He was particularly interested in the large amount of gravel needed for the major work being done on Gammon Road and East Shore Drive. He suggested that the town should get a per-yard price for such things on an annual basis.
Pulsifer pointed out that if there were bids on all small purchases, writing all the bid specs would take too much time. He said that since the town has an elected road commissioner the board left gravel purchases to him.
However, the selectmen generally agreed that they should discuss the idea with Roach at their next meeting.
Resident Wayne Moore brought up the need for new culverts to replace inadequate ones on East Shore Drive. Pulsifer said that while property owners were required to reimburse the town for the first complying culvert, the culverts were the town’s responsibility and the culverts were not sold to the property owners.
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