News

Town Manager's Report
Written and submitted by Gray Manager Mitchell A. Berkowitz

By-Pass Project Report:

The Town has received two key pieces of correspondence that further confirms the progress of this project. The first is the "Notice of Layout and Taking". Simply, when negotiations fail, the Maine Turnpike Authority in accordance with 23 MRSA, Chapter 24, §1961 &1965, may exercise the process of Eminent Domain. The Merrill property off Rt. 202 which is directly across from the entrance to the Northbrook Business Campus. The property is approximately 5.8 acres.
The second is the Notice of Intent to File by the MDOT for a Natural Resources Protection Act permit application to cover the whole Bypass project alignment. A public hearing may or may not be required by the Board of Environmental Protection. Written public comments may be sent to the DEP, Bureau of Land and Water Quality, 17 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0017

Yarmouth Lumber Company Report:

The Town has received the latest reports from EnviroInvestigations & Remediation, Inc. who conducted an unannounced on site inspection of the property located off Rt. 100 south on March 30, 2005 and April 21, 2005. The inspection conclusions included the following:

--No environmental releases were observed either at the exterior or interior of the building.
--The four disabled tractors remain on site, covered. YL must continue to seek buyers for these.
--Eleven tractors were inspected, two of which appear to be for used parts.
--Floor Drain collection and treatment system was going through a major retrofit. While this is encouraged it should have been discussed in advance with MDEP.
--The mechanics are a good source of ideas for further remediation efforts.
--The Culture of the garage staff continues to improve.
The April Report has several recommendations to the MDEP based upon the progress and the reports:
--Cancel the monthly inspections and reporting.
--Cancel the roof and containment area for disabled trucks since only one is generated every 12-18 months.
--Complete the floor drain collection system improvements.
YL should consult with ERI to review and suggest operational changes for compliance purposes.
The full reports will be on file at the Town Manager's Office for any public inspection.
On Wednesday of this week I will be meeting with the new general manager of the Company and will tour the new collection system. The discussion topics will be reported to the Council at your August 2, 2005 Council meeting. I will be requesting that any future correspondence between the Company and the MDEP be copied to the Town to keep us fully informed, even if monthly inspections are eliminated.

County Budget Advisory Committee Meeting:

We have been notified that the County Budget Advisory Committee will meet at Stimson Hall on Wednesday, July 27 at 6:00 p.m. Municipal Officers are invited to attend. Al Austin of this District ( #3) will be hosting the meeting and doing the necessary postings. He may be reached at 721-9999 and leave a voice mail. If any Council members plan on attending please let me know and I will RSVP on your behalf.

County EMA Flood Applications:

All communities have been asked to resubmit their April Flood Form 7 CCEMA requests with updated information. I have asked Steve LaVallee to review our original situation and refile if appropriate.

County Regional Communications Center:

The County has requested the Town's support for Homeland Security funding for several of their projects. In the past the Town of Gray has worked with several communities on a sub regional level to access such grants. Draft letters of support were also provided with this communication. I will discuss this with the Chief who will advise whether such support will conflict with the Town's efforts. How does the Council want to proceed if the Chief believes this would conflict with other efforts the Town is involved with? The County must have a response for all grant requests no later than July 25 which does not permit the Council any time to deliberate on this issue beyond tonight.

Report of the Service Center-Rural Community Working Group:

The Town has received and copies have now been distributed to each Council member regarding the above report. The Group was formulated at the direction of the MMA Legislative Policy Committee to initiate a formal dialogue between Maine's service center municipalities and rural communities. At the time, the key issue was the costs of rural sheriff's patrols and the way county budgets might assess the costs for such services. What is interesting is some of the data contained within this report and how it reflects some of Gray's concerns. I encourage the council to review this report and place it on one of your workshop agenda's in the near future so that your comments may be communicated to MMA just after your August 2 Council meeting.

Urban/Rural Initiative Program:

Annually, I must certify that the funds received for that ensuing fiscal year from the URIP ( $82,308 in FY 2006) shall be used for capital improvements of public roads.
Since we have a dedicated capital program for road repair and surfacing these funds help offset the local appropriation and are accounted for as a projected revenue. The certification has been sent in.

New Website is Up:

We are please to invite you to go to www.graymaine.org and view the new Town website. Though the general format is now in place we are training staff at the department levels to update the information pertaining to their service areas. The site also has new features, one of which is printing what is called a "print friendly page" which basically will be only black and white to save on ink costs for each user.

Work Items over the Summer:

The following are some of the key items that must be worked on over the summer in addition to any Council projects and priorities:
-Winter Plowing contracts for Public Easement Roads/ Sand Bids, All Bridge work, Painting proposals for Stimson Hall, Section 125 Plan development, Complete the Audit work, Continue updating the Website, A&S Policy for Fire Personnel, Vehicle and equipment advertisements and purchases

30 Day Notices Sent:

We are required by law to notify delinquent tax payers that after a 30 day notice the Town will place a lien on their properties for unpaid taxes as committed on August 12th, 2004. If the lien is not satisfied within the next 18 months, the Town again notifies the tax payer of the delinquency and if not paid in full, the Town will tax acquire the property. By the time we get to a tax acquisition period the #350 lien notices dwindles sharply to less than two dozen properties. Where possible, we also work with each property owner to achieve payments in full, even through installments.