CANTON — A tax-increment financing project for which selectmen are applying should “capture at least $40,000 to $80,000 per year,” consultant Mathew Eddy of Brunswick told the board Thursday.
Revenue from a $50 million wind turbine project being developed on Canton Mountain is expected to provide the investment money for the TIF. The eight-turbine windmill project is set to begin commercial operations in December, according to a Canton Mountain Wind project news release.
“(A TIF) really sets you up for a capital improvement program for all the things I’ve heard you talk about,” Eddy said. Funds for repairs to items such as firetrucks could also come out of the TIF funds “because that’s the way we set up the program.”
The school district will also benefit from the TIF funds, Eddy said, adding that the town was “unusual (because) your community is small so your acreage is small and your value is small, and the wind towers are doubling the value in your community.”
In other business:
* Selectman Russell Adams presented two bids for repairs to the Fire Department’s tanker truck. Northeast Fire Apparatus of Auburn’s bid of $3,194.35 was selected as the winning bid by the select board.
* Road Foreman Paul McKenna told the board that a rock rake was needed to maintain the town’s dirt roads and the board agreed to buy a rake from the town of Sumner for $2,500.
* Firefighter Jason Vaughan told the board that a group of five men from Canton along with a fire chief from Chesterville placed in the top 10 of the Fireman’s Muster at the Fryeburg Fair last week.
* Vaughan also told the board that he had applied for a grant from the Maine Municipal Association for $2,000 to be used for a gear dryer for the Fire Department’s turnout gear.
* The board agreed that the Peru Highway Department will have permission to plow River Road in Canton on a section of the road that extends into Peru. Earlier this year, the Canton select board voted to discontinue winter maintenance on the section of the road that Peru will now maintain.
* It was announced that the town chose Ruby, an English springer spaniel owned by Ellie Wainwright, as the winner of its Top Dog contest. Town Clerk Kathy Walker said there were 13 contestants and Ruby received 11 or 12 votes, breaking a three-way tie. Wainwright will receive a certificate, Ruby’s licensing fee will be paid by the town and Ruby will have a tag that says “Top Dog of Canton 2017,” Walker said.
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Town of Canton sign.
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