Council approves bid for new sidewalk plow

  HOULTON, Maine — It was a light-hearted Houlton Town Council meeting Monday evening as the board recognized the state champion Houlton High School golf team and also bid farewell to one of its own members.
    Town Manager Doug Hazlett presented the Houlton golf team with individual awards for their accomplishment at the state Class C championships.
Council chairman Paul Cleary, whose term on the council has expired and cannot be renewed due to term limits, was lauded by his fellow councilors. Cleary has served three non-consecutive terms with the council (1999-2002; 2003-09) and served as chairman from 2001-02 and 2006-09. Monday night marked his final meeting with the council.
“We had a plaque made up and we were going to have it engraved to read ‘We survived Paul Cleary,’ but nobody would do that,” Hazlett joked.
Cleary, in his final remarks, followed suit by presenting fellow councilor Paul Romanelli with a fake pigeon.
“Seriously, though, it’s been 10 years and I think I have changed quite a lot,” Cleary said. “I didn’t do anything. We did it as a team. I think the next council has a lot of challenges ahead of it, but we’ve got a good capable staff to keep the town of Houlton moving forward.”
In other business, the council took the following action:
• Presented councilor Nancy Ketch with a plaque for her service to the board. Ketch’s term expires at the end of the month, but she is seeking re-election.
• Accepted a payment of $200 from Dale Flewelling as payment in lieu of taxes for Empowering Life.
• Approved a bid of $25,901 per year for five years ($129,505 total) as a five-year lease/purchase for a new 2009 Trackless Model MT6 sidewalk tractor from H.P. Fairfield, LLC of Skowhegan. Hazlett said money for the lease purchase would be taken from the Capital Reserve Account.
• Approved the Registrar of Voters to be at the town office during the hours the Town Clerk’s office is open Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 5-6 p.m. for the purpose of registering voters and making name/address changes.
• Authorized the town manager to apply for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. If the town receives grant money, it must provide a 10 percent match. A maximum of $500,000 is available. Hazlett said the grant money could be used to assist with the town’s energy audit for the town office, and could also be used to replace some streetlights with more efficient models.
The next council meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 9.