Houlton Council OKs police patrols outside town limits

    HOULTON, Maine — Officers with the Houlton Police Department will now be able to make an arrest outside of town limits, without the assistance of the Maine State Police or Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department.
Police Chief Butch Asselin appeared before the Houlton Town Council Monday evening requesting the authorization to allow his officers to have arresting authority in neighboring communities, should the need ever arise.
    According to Town Manager Doug Hazlett, state law permits municipalities to grant this authority. Under current practices, if an HPD officer needs to make an arrest in a neighboring town, they must take a Maine State Police officer or Aroostook County Sheriff’s deputy with them on the arrest.
“That is not always easy to coordinate,” Hazlett said. “However, the Houlton Police Department will not be responding to routine calls or patrolling in adjacent towns.”
The town, on occasion, is also asked to respond to emergency situations if a state trooper or Sheriff’s deputy is not close by.
“When that happens, and our officers don’t have policing authority, it becomes problematic,” Hazlett said.
Some of the towns that have enacted similar jurisdiction expansion include Winthrop, Sanford, Wells and South Portland, according to Asselin. He added two weeks ago, the state police requested that HPD respond to a domestic situation in Littleton because all of their units were tied up. Also, whenever Houlton’s detective leaves the town limits to conduct an investigation, a state trooper or sheriff’s deputy must accompany him.
Councilor Mike Jenkins posed several questions to Chief Asselin and asked if any of the town officials in neighboring communities had been contacted for their input in the matter. Asselin stated he had not contacted any of the surrounding towns for their input, but would do so.
“If we are going to enact a policy, it might be a good idea for Doug (Hazlett) in his capacity to make those surrounding communities aware of this,” Jenkins said. “That way, those residents won’t be totally surprised if they see a Houlton police officer coming to their door.”
Asselin said protecting his officers was the first and foremost in bringing this request to the council. Currently, if an HPD officer offers assistance, they are essentially acting as a civilian.
The chief said he had thought about requesting authorization from the town council for a couple of years, but has been hesitant to do so for fear of receiving comments that his department was now patrolling in Littleton, Monticello or Ludlow, etc. He stressed those patrols would not happen and his officer would only go into those communities on an emergency basis.
“If only one officer is available, then they are not authorized to leave Houlton,” Asselin said. “I don’t want them (MSP or the Sheriff) to get in the habit of calling us for routine calls. We’re just here for assistance.”
In other business, the council bid fond farewell to two members as council chairman Walter Goodrich and Brian Donnelly reached the end of their terms. Goodrich was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, while Donnelly opted not to seek another term.
Goodrich, who normally is more reserved in his comments on the board, offered some parting words of wisdom to his fellow councilors.
“Nobody has ever accused me of talking too much, but I just want to say a few things,” Goodrich said. “I’d like to thank everybody. It’s been a pleasure working with you, especially you Doug. I have been in this town for 37 years and think Doug is by far the best town manager we have ever had.”
Goodrich added he has been a part of a number of lively debates about the budget, especially early in his tenure on the board, but was pleased with the direction the town has been going in.
“We have done a good job on our infrastructure and we’ve made progress on our revenues,” he said. “That’s important because there is only so much we can cut in the budget. I think Houlton is a positive looking town and I am pleased to be part of that.”
In other agenda items, councilors:
• Approved a new three-year contract with the Public Works Department’s union. The contract calls for no pay increase in 2011, but a 2 percent increase in both 2012 and 2013. In addition, the union agreed to a 50-50 sharing of all future increases in health insurance premiums. Hazlett characterized the agreement as “very fair and beneficial” to both parties.
• Awarded a bid of $174,382 to Steelstone Industries of Houlton for the construction of a sidewalk on North Street to go from the Andy’s IGA shopping plaza to Walmart. The project has been in the works for a number of years, but has been complicated by the fact that it crosses an entrance and exit to Interstate-95. Construction is slated to begin in the spring.
• Accepted the resignation of Jack Forbush as a member of the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and named John Bushey as his replacement through March 30, 2013. Carl Lord Jr. also expressed interest in serving on the board.
• Appointed Warren Tweedie as a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee through January, 2014.
• Agreed to waive foreclosures on 2009 tax lien on three properties — assessed to Joseph and Mary Tompkins; Joe Tompkins Sr.; and Jeannie Stacey. Hazlett said the town was not giving up its right to collect taxes on these properties and would pursue other avenues for collection.
The next regular council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m.