PENOBSCOT, Maine — Voters at the annual town meeting next week will decide whether to borrow funds to install a state-mandated septic system for the elementary school.
Town residents will gather for the town meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the elementary school. Polls will be open for voting on municipal elections from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, March 2, at the school.
The town has been under pressure from the state to eliminate the sand filter and chlorination overboard discharge system used by the school for several years, according to Selectman Paul Bowen. The system was installed, at the state’s insistence, in 1985 when the addition was made to the school building.
According to Bowen, the state hopes to reclaim approximately 400 acres of clam flats in Northern Bay by eliminating the only two licensed overboard discharge systems into the bay. The Penobscot Nursing Home has a similar system that discharges into the bay.
The warrant article asks whether voters will authorize the town to borrow up to $150,000 at an interest rate no higher than 3.55 percent interest for up to five years. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection will reimburse the town 50 percent of the cost of the project.
The town already has designed a subsurface system to handle the septic waste from the school, but is still working on the design for an access road to the site. The system will be located on town property adjacent to the school grounds and about 1,800 feet from the school building. The access road poses a problem, Bowen said, because the DEP also has raised concerns about several wetland areas on the property that could be affected by the road.
If voters approve the borrowing, Bowen said, he hoped the project could be completed in late summer or fall this year.
Voters also will be asked to allocate $20,000 to complete the revaluation of the town which was begun last year, and to transfer almost $30,000 from surplus to cover a deficit from last year in the snow removal account. The warrant also asks voters to approve changes to the town’s shellfish ordinance that was adopted last year.
The school budget for the town totals $1,440,044.35, a slight increase from the previous year, according to Superintendent Art Wittine. That figure includes the penalty the school department could see as a result of the town’s rejection of the proposed school consolidation plan. The increases come mainly in wages and benefits, the result of a newly negotiated contract and $18,000 toward the purchase of a school bus. Those increases were offset by decreases in other areas, Wittine said, including the special education account.
There are no contested races for municipal offices this year.