RUMFORD — The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Thursday to remove three large boulders on the Mountain Valley Variety property that were left behind when the tax-acquired property at 429 Waldo St. was sold.
Owner Richard Breau said he had invested close to $500,000, with a 40- by 60-foot addition on the property. He had asked the town to remove the boulders after he bought the property last August, he said.
Breau said the boulders block a potential parking area, where he could create five to six parking spaces for employees so there would be more room for customer parking in front of the business.
This is a case in which a businessman has made a half-million-dollar investment in the town, Board Chairman Brad Adley said, and the town should use economic development money to honor his request.
Road Commissioner Andy Russell said the size of the boulders made it prohibitive for his department because of fears that their removal would damage his equipment.
Town Manager John Madigan said he knew someone who had the equipment to break the boulders into smaller pieces, “then we could remove them without a problem.”
Selectman Jeff Sterling noted that having the town crew working on the property would present a liability issue because it is private property.
In other business, a changeover will soon be underway to create a much larger central office in honor of the 100th year of the Rumford Town Hall, Madigan said.
He indicated that some offices may not be open on Monday, May 9, because of temporary relocation efforts.
During the renovation, the town manager, clerk and finance director will be operating in temporary locations in the building.
The town clerk’s office will be in the conference room in the basement level, down by the police station. The finance director’s office will be in the space where the code enforcement officer’s office once was, and the code enforcement officer will be in a separate office in Mexico.
The tax collector, the General Assistance office and the assessor’s office will remain where they are, for the time being.
The town manager’s office will be on the top floor in the old General Assistance office.
The contract is supposed to end June 23, and it may be until June 30 before everyone is permanently settled.
On April 21, the Board of Selectmen approved the bid of $70,000 by the lowest bidder, H.E. Callahan Construction of Auburn, for the project.
The end result will be that the public can do business in one joint office.
bfarrin@sunmediagroup.net
Send questions/comments to the editors.
