At its May 14 meeting, the Calais City Council debated the issue of whether or not to provide a bid to Alexander and Baileyville for ambulance service.
     Councillor Artie Mingo made the point that both towns were in the original plan that was submitted when the service began. Fire Chief Robert Posick added that the call volume from Baileyville was 180 calls a year, or a 1% addition to the present load, while Alexander had 26 calls last year. Posick said that taking on the two towns could help facilitate the process of adding new staff to the roster. Councillor Marcia Rogers said that taking on the additional towns would stretch the service too much, particularly in regard to the reported long wait times for transfer service between hospitals. Other councillors agreed with her sentiments. The councillors voted three to one against submitting bids, with Mingo in dissent.
     The councillors discussed a request from business owner Gary Young to have an outdoor sitting area with food and music in the space behind Just South of the Border. The request includes having light music playing throughout the day as well as live music on the weekends until midnight. Concerns were raised by community members regarding the potential noise and disturbance that it would cause. "We're trying to move toward economic development, and this may work in this area," Rogers pointed out. "We can't say 'let's not do it because it might not work.'" Rogers made the motion to approve the request, and Councillor Billy Howard seconded it. The proposal passed and is now pending approval of a state liquor license.
     The condition of the roads in Calais has been a topic on the tongues of many residents for the past few years, and the councillors debated about how available funds should be spent in the coming season. The estimated cost to complete all of the projects was $235,000, while $107,000 is the amount available in the capital improvements fund. Howard suggested that an additional $43,000 be allocated to street repair to enable more projects to be completed.      "That would save a lot of damage until next year," he said. The motion for $43,000 to be taken from the general fund for street repairs was approved. It was agreed that half of Hardscrabble Road and half of Brogan Road would be paved, and all the culverts would be repaired on each street. The cemetery and Palmer and Fowler street projects were also added for completion.
     City Manager Jim Porter reported that he and Dave Townsend had toured the South West Solid Waste facility in New Brunswick recently to see how recycling was handled there. "That is an amazing facility over there," Porter said. "We've been associated with them for 18 years, and we've saved a lot of money through them." Porter said that the facility did offer recycling of number one and two plastics as well as paper and cardboard. The facility would be willing to handle the city's recycling on a trial basis for one year. Porter said that new containers would be needed to keep recyclables dry, as the current ones that the city rents are in bad shape.
     Porter said that Baileyville made the decision to hire Julie Jordan to help organize the upcoming efforts of the two municipalities for economic and community development, including a downtown Calais tax increment financing (TIF) district. Jordan will be working in the city building Thursday mornings and Wednesday afternoons.
     Also discussed was a proposal to allow archery hunting stands in the area behind the Calais cemetery. Rogers said that the primary concern is for the children who play in that area. Councillor Eddie Moreside said that allowing such a stand would potentially open the door to similar requests across town. The councillors voted to deny the request.
     Craig Costello of Brantner, Thibodeau and Associates delivered an extensive summarization of the recently completed audit of the city departments. Costello's impression of the audit was that "overall, it was good," especially in consideration of the circumstances where the audit was taken over by new personnel in mid‑completion. Costello said that going forward it would be a bit smoother as the records are now in better shape.
The city will now begin its budget proceedings.