Visiting the area? Find where to go and what to do in our Seasonal Guide Visitor's Portal.

STORE

Check out our newly rebuilt online store
to purchase subscriptions, books, movies and maps.

News Feature

Stonington
Originally published in Island Ad-Vantages, September 27, 2012
Cobb approved as Stonington’s road foreman

by Alice Wilkinson

After not having met for three weeks, the Stonington Selectmen’s September 24 meeting was taken up with housekeeping details.

Town Manager Kathleen Billings-Pezaris told selectmen that after interviewing several candidates for road foreman, she had decided Elwood Cobb was the best candidate. Cobb was Deer Isle’s road commissioner after the resignation of Paul Grey. Cobb was defeated by Grey in the next election.

Because Stonington’s town manager is also the road commissioner, the position of road foreman is an appointed one. Cobb also worked for Laidlaw, which supplied the Island’s school buses for 12 years.

Billings-Pezaris said Cobb has the necessary qualifications—these range from the ability to manage a crew to mechanical and welding skills needed to keep the town’s trucks and snowplows working.

Although the sun may be shining and the daytime temperatures are still in the 60s, the town is preparing for winter. Bids from R. L. Greenlaw and Eaton Oil to supply oil to town buildings were opened, and Greenlaw’s bid, at a fixed price of $3.25 was accepted. Billings-Pezaris said that was fine as long as the town didn’t have to pay in advance for all of the 15,000 gallons of fuel oil it will purchase. The bid includes fuel for the Island Community Center, which will pay the town for the fuel it uses.

Stonington is buying road salt through the Hancock County Planning Commission, which bids for several towns in the area. This year the salt is a little cheaper than last year, at $57.63 a ton.

The inter-local agreement to manage the Colwell Ramp requires that both Stonington and Isle au Haut pay for its maintenance. Selectman Evelyn Duncan, who is on the Colwell Ramp Committee, said they had not received the $5,000 from Isle au Haut, although she understands that the expenditure was approved at town meeting. Stonington’s $5,000 has been paid. Duncan said she and Billings-Pezaris needed to write a letter to the Isle au Haut selectmen about the money.

Stonington is still short one school board member. Appointing a new member is up to the selectmen. No action was taken.

In a proceeding water company meeting, Superintendent Roger Stone said that a test of the water shows a running average of trihalomethanes at 81.8 parts per billion, which is 1.8 ppb over the limit. Trihalomethanes are a byproduct of the chlorination process used to purify the water. Stone said the easiest solution is to take the two wells with the most sediment in them, and take the most cleaning, off-line, as they are only used in summer. He is also looking into other solutions.

He requested a new water tank for use in regenerating the anion-exchange chambers, which are used to remove uranium.

The portable tank used had been stored, unlabelled, at the town garage, and had been filled with waste oil. A new tank will cost $364. The selectmen, who are also officers of the Stonington Water Company, approved the purchase.

Return to the Island Ad-Vantages home page

Return to the Community News home page

---