Buckfield News Briefs

Tough sledding

So, far, it’s not been the sort of winter weather we saw last season, but that doesn’t mean towns aren’t again struggling to get by. 

In Buckfield, road crews reportedly went through 1,000 yards of sand prior to the most recent storm.  Thanks in part to the December 11 ice storm, and one other event which caused “freak” black-ice conditions, Buckfield put its trucks on the road 12 times before New Year’s, says Town Manager Glen Holmes.

According to Holmes, the town already has gone through 25 percent of its 4,500-yard sand stockpiled for the season.

Securing the trash

Buckfield selectmen are recommending the installation of security cameras at the transfer station on Route 140, following the theft of a donation box from the “swap shop.”

“There wasn’t much in there — it couldn’t have been more than $2 or $3 — because I try and get it out every week,” said the shop’s volunteer manager, Mary Alice Standard, of Sumner, who uses the money to pay the electricity bill for the two cargo containers used to house donated goods. 

Still, selectmen recommended putting in security cameras, in part because, in a tough economy, copper, steel and other materials at the site could make a tempting target for thieves.

“Knock on wood, we haven’t had problems up there in years, but there have been times,” said selectboard chairman Chris Hayward.

“It’s a small investment for what we could potentially save ourselves in damages,” agreed Selectman Chip Robinson.

At a special town meeting in October, voters okayed $3,000 for security cameras that have since been placed at the municipal complex on Route 117 and at the highway garage, on John Ellingwood Road.

Town Manager Glen Holmes said money for the transfer station cameras will be included in his budget that will go before voters at the annual town meeting in June.

Culvert conundrum

Sometimes, you have to go straight to the top.

At the November 18 meeting of the Buckfield selectmen, Town Manager Glen Holmes read a copy of a letter he’d received that day from John Meader, a resident of Roundabout Road.  In the letter, addressed to David Cole, commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT), and copied to State Rep. Terry Hayes, Meader complained of a hole in the pavement and gravel shoulder.

“This hole originates over a culvert,” wrote Meader.  “It has occurred several times yearly for perhaps five years now and is periodically repaired by the state department of transportation.  The repairs have involved no more than filling the hole with gravel and putting tar patch on top.  This is ineffective long-term.”

Noting that the Roundabout Road is a “busy section” of Route 124, used frequently by logging trucks, Meader complained that his frequent complaints to MDOT have not resulted in a permanent fix.

At the most recent selectboard meeting, Holmes read a letter from Cole promising that the fix is on the way.

Although he said the hole in question has been “monitored” and that it “has not become a hazard,” Cole said a “major ditching project” is scheduled for the Buckfield section of Route 124 this year.

“The work will include permanent repairs of the hole by replacing the culvert,” wrote Cole.  “The decision to wait for permanent repairs is a prudent one considering all of the issues.  The culvert replacement will be achieved more efficiently in conjunction with the ditching project.”

Mutual aid

Buckfield has joined a county-wide mutual aid agreement sponsored by the Western Maine Firefighters Association.

Although Buckfield had agreements in place with all bordering towns, it frequently answered requests for help from other nearby towns, which had the potential to create legal snafus, according to Town Manager Glen Holmes.

“There are some lawyers who would tell us that if one of our firefighters got hurt in that situation, they would not be covered under our workers’ compensation because that was not a place where they were authorized to be,” he said.

Reviewed and cleared by the Maine Municipal Association, no town in the pact will have to pay for aid received from mutual aid towns.

“It’s a give and take,” said Holmes. 

Generally, he said, towns get as much aid as they receive.  The only know exception, Holmes added, occurred with aid rendered between fire departments in Rumford and Mexico.

“Mexico literally went through their entire year’s budget in six months this year, going to help Rumford, because they get so many more calls,” said Holmes.

Holmes said this should not happen to Buckfield.  However, he did make note of one in of the aid agreement, which could prove beneficial to Buckfield residents, even if the town may occasionally give more than it gets.

Under the mutual aid agreement, a Buckfield firefighter is allowed to pass off incident command to a more experienced officer from another town.  That, said Holmes, could give the town access to more advanced training in a critical situation. 

Under the agreement, it would not be unusual to hear on the scanner that a fire chief from Paris, or Oxford had taken control of a fire scene in Buckfield, if its chief was unavailable.

Sidewalk rules

Buckfield Town Manager Glen Holmes has reportedly been working on a sidewalk ordinance, which he plans to present to the town’s ordinance committee at an as-yet unscheduled meeting, sometime this month.

“It will include a parking ban,” he promised, at a recent selectboard meeting.  “It will very clearly say that if you park on the sidewalk, you will be removed.”

Roads posted

If you want to get there from here, you better stick to the state routes through Buckfield, at least if you are in a truck.

Buckfield has permanently posted four roads — East Buckfield, Bear Pond, Paris Hill and North Hill — to heavy trucks with more than two axles.  Exempt from the ban are emergency vehicles, moving vans, school buses and delivery trucks, as well as trucks belonging to residents of the four roads, as well as current and future businesses.  Fines are set by the ordinance at $50 for a first offense and $100 for a second.

According to Town Manager Glen Holmes, the roads have been posted for years.  However, signs posted at either end of each road lacked bite, at least until the October passage of a road posting ordinance.  Selectmen are able to pass traffic ordinances without a public vote.  The creation of the ordinance will allow for easier prosecution of offenders, said Holmes.

"This is not a personal pet peeve with me,” said Diane Dunn, a North Hill resident who stumped for the postings.  “I am concerned that heavy truck traffic will damage our roads and increase cost to taxpayers."

The four posted roads are 9.81 miles long, combined, representing about 21 percent of all public roads in Buckfield.