DIXFIELD — The Board of Selectmen will begin the task of hiring a new Public Works director after current director Calvin Beaumier submitted his resignation.
Town Manager Carlo Puiia said that Beaumier informed the Board of Selectmen at their May 11 meeting that he had taken a position in another community.
“I provided the board with the material for posting the job description, and an example of an advertisement that was used in the past to look for a working foreman position,” Puiia said.
Puiia added that the selectmen decided they wanted to form a search committee to hire Beaumier’s replacement, but didn’t take any action at their May 26 meeting.
“They wanted to wait until they had a full board,” Puiia said. “They decided to revisit the issue at their June 8 meeting.”
Selectman Dana Whittemore was not at the May 26 meeting.
“The search committee would review what the town perceives should be the job responsibilities for the head of the Public Works department,” Puiia said.
In other business, the Board of Selectmen read a letter from attorney Kristen Collins Tuesday evening that answered questions posed by residents and the selectmen about the upcoming Wind Energy Facility Ordinance vote.
Collins, who works for Kelly and Collins LLC in Belfast, has been working with the Dixfield Board of Selectmen and Planning Board since 2012 in an effort to revise the town’s Wind Energy Facility ordinance.
Patriot Renewables LLC of Quincy, Mass., approached Dixfield officials three years ago about constructing wind turbines on the Colonel Holman Mountain ridge.
The town’s original ordinance passed in November 2012; a revised ordinance was rejected in November 2014 by a vote of 553-567. In February, selectmen voted to put the Planning Board’s original draft on the June 9 ballot.
One of the major concerns from some residents is whether 35 decibels is too low f
The draft that residents will vote on says that no wind energy facility unit or system should generate sound levels exceeding 35 decibels from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., or 45 decibels from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“The current 35 decibel level certainly appears pretty low,” Collins said in her e-mail. “However, I understand that a typical turbine will generate about 100 dBA. At a distance of around 550 yards, that sound would be measured at around 35 decibels, which is generally regarded as average ambient noise.
Collins added, “Having reviewed many wind ordinances, the 35 decibel limit is somewhat on the lower end of the limits typically applied. The Maine model wind energy ordinance, which is generally regarded as pretty lenient, sets the limits for rural areas at 42 decibels at night and 55 decibels during the day, which is not far off from the proposed change in Dixfield.”
One resident asked Collins if it’s considered a conflict of interest if someone on the Board of Selectmen posts negative or degrading comments about wind energy on anti-wind websites.
“There is no conflict of interest unless the selectman at issue actually works for a wind developer or wind opponent, or stands to directly benefit or be harmed financially from the siting of a wind project in town,” Collins wrote. “For instance, if a selectman is negotiating to lease property to the wind developer, he or she may have a conflict of interest.”
She explained that a selectman “may be biased for or against wind development,” but it doesn’t “prohibit him or her” from voting on an ordinance regarding wind energy or wind development.
“The voters have the ultimate say, so any bias would cease to have an impact,” Collins said.
When another resident asked if a lawsuit could be brought against the town of Dixfield from wind developers as a result of members of the Board of Selectmen being biased, Collins deemed it “unlikely,” adding that “since the ordinance was approved by a majority of voters, any bias on the part of a selectman in placing the ordinance on the ballot would be moot.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
