City Council still fine-tuning fire prevention ordinance
ELLSWORTH The City Council took no action on amending its fire prevention ordinance July 19 despite recommendations submitted by Fire Chief Scott Guillerault that would exempt minor subdivisions from installing fire prevention measures if specific criteria were met.
The discussion continued the councilors’ efforts to strive for balance between safety and cost when it comes to fire prevention measures, after developer Christopher Derr’s asking the council in June to waive the requirement. Derr developed a three-lot subdivision on Happytown Road appropriate for mobile homes but told councilors he was unable to sell the lots because the city requires sprinklers in homes built on the lots.
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City shoulders too much of library budget, councilors say
ELLSWORTH A discussion between library trustees and councilors on the library’s funding request went south when the two boards met on May 12. But councilors appeared poised to compromise when they met for a budget workshop five days later.
Library Director Amy Wisehart had presented councilors with a $544,907 budget request on May 12 that was 3 percent lower than the library’s FY21 request. The sum represents 81 percent of the library’s total $672,207 operating budget. But councilors expected a figure more in line with the $461,872 city appropriation they approved last year, after slicing off $100,000. That loss was offset by using money from the library’s surplus account, and a committee was formed of trustees, library personnel and councilors to hash out the issue before this year’s budget talks. But they only met once, and trustees based their FY22 budget on what it costs for the library to operate as it has h
City Council signs EMS agreement, approves school budget
ELLSWORTH Councilors unanimously approved on May 17 a three-year emergency medical services agreement with Northern Light Medical Transport (NLMT) but with reluctance because of concerns over ambulance coverage within the city and the lack of specific details of the services to be provided.
“I’ll hold my nose while I vote for it,” Councilor Marc Blanchette said.
The discussion and vote on signing the agreement had been tabled since December, as City Manager Glenn Moshier worked to negotiate the terms. However, NLMT held to its standard agreement used with other municipalities in the county.
City ambulance service discussed
ELLSWORTH At what cost comes safety? A May 3 City Council workshop on the police and fire departments’ budgets for fiscal year 2022 was sidetracked, in part, by a discussion on creating a city-operated emergency medical response service.
This is not a new topic. The city’s Emergency Services Committee floated the idea back in 2018 when County Ambulance, which had served the city and surrounding towns for 45 years, closed its doors, and the topic never really went away. It may well come up again when the Emergency Services Committee meets in council chambers on Thursday, May 6, at 6 p.m.