BUCKFIELD — The following action was taken by the Buckfield Board of Selectmen at the Oct. 8 meeting:

Resignation

What happened: Selectman Dona Grant announced her resignation from the selectboard and it was accepted with regret.

What it means: Grant read a letter aloud regarding her resignation, effective Friday, Nov. 1. She noted it was an honor to serve the community of Buckfield and gave thanks to the Town Office staff. Grant’s husband accepted a promotion, which requires them to sell their Buckfield home and move out of state.

What’s next: Selectmen will discuss holding a special election for the soon-to-be open seat at a future meeting.

Referendum voting

What happened: Prior to the regular selectboard meeting, selectmen held a workshop on referendum voting, where selectmen, administration and five residents weighed the pros and cons of switching from an open town meeting format to secret ballot voting at the polls.

What it means: There has been discussion in town about interest in moving to referendum voting in attempt get more people to vote on the budget in Buckfield. The two ways of switching include adopting an ordinance or putting an article question at open town meeting for voter approval. Costs associated with switching to referendum voting include approximately $500 for each ballot set up for the counting machine and the voting room in the Municipal Center is limited by its seven voting booths. Sample ballots included in Town Manager Joe Roach’s presentation included an article to partially fund the budget in case some articles were voted down and a sunset clause to ask voters if they want to continue referendum voting the following year.

What’s next: Selectmen voted to hold a public hearing at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, on whether or not to put a binding vote on the June 2020 primary ballot asking voters if they want to switch to referendum voting.

Crack sealing

What happened: Selectmen awarded a bid for crack sealing for four roads in town, not to exceed $18,000.

What it means: The sole bid came in from Coastal Road Repair LLC of Windham for $14.47 per gallon, which Roach noted this is a competitive price. The roads listed for the bid are North Whitman School Road, High Street, parts of North Hill Road and North Buckfield Road.

Sidewalk machine

What happened: Selectmen voted to award a bid for leasing a sidewalk machine for the upcoming winter season, running from Oct. 15, 2019, to May 1, 2020.

What it means: Allied Equipment of Rockwood had the sole bid of $6,000 for rental of the sidewalk machine to clear snow and town employees will run the machine. As opposed to the one rented last year, this machine has a sander on it. If there is a major breakdown, Allied Equipment is response for providing back-up equipment.

GA Ordinance

What happened: Selectmen held a public hearing on the proposed changes to the General Assistance Ordinance and accepted the amendments to Appendices A-F.

What it means: The General Assistance Ordinance is overseen by the state and are intended to help residents in need. The overall maximums for Oxford County increased, along with increases to food and housing maximums. There were no changes in maximum assistance for houses without electric hot water, with electric hot water and heating fuel.

What’s next: The amendments are effective from Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2020.

MMA Workshop

What happened: Selectmen voted to host a workshop to discuss everything they learned at the recent two-day Maine Municipal Association conference to coincide with their next meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Bicentennial grants

What happened: Selectmen approved Roach and committees in town pursuing Bicentennial Grants to help celebrate Maine’s 200th anniversary in Buckfield.

Appointments and resignations

What happened: Selectmen made a number of appointments and accepted resignations from a number of boards and committee.

What it means: Matthew Whitney was appointed for a two-year term on the Budget Committee, Russell Clark was appointed for a two-year term to the Community Day Committee, Heather Henley was appointed for a one-year appointment to the Old Church on the Hill Committee and Holiday Lighting/Decorating Committee and Katie McElwain-Clukey for a one-year term to the Holiday Lightning/Decorating Committee. Selectmen accepted Vivian Wadas’ resignation from the Budget Committee and Planning Board due to medical reasons “with great sadness,” according to Selectboard Chair Tina Brooks.

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