Personally for me, March means March Madness!

The time when the final 65 college basketball teams vie for the NCAA National Championship! As an avid sports fan this is one of my favorite times of the year. This year I am going with both the Oklahoma men and women as this year’s winners. With Blake Griffin playing for the men’s team and the Paris sisters for the women, I predict that there is no stopping the Sooners! But, enough of basketball.

As Town Manager, March means budget season. The draft budget for the next fiscal year has just been completed and it is now before the Finance Advisory Committee for review. After its review is completed, the Finance Committee makes its final recommendations to the Select Board. This all occurs during the month of March and into the beginning of April. This year’s budget poses many challenges as revenues from the state and municipal levels are down. Last year the Town’s budget was a zero increase from the previous year, and this year, while we may not be able to duplicate a zero increase, the Finance Committee and Select Board are committed to keeping the budget as low as possible while meeting the needs of the town.

Item 2: March also means the following for those of us who work at the town office:

• Nomination Papers – For Town Clerk Pam Ross, March means it’s time for those of you who are interested in running for Selectperson or School Board Member to come to the town office to pick up nomination papers. In order to have your name included on the June 9th ballot, nomination papers need to have signatures from at least 25 registered voters. Pam recommends that candidates get at least 30-35 signatures just in case someone signs the papers who is not a registered voter in Bowdoinham. The nomination papers are due back to the Town Clerk by 4:00 pm on Monday, April 27th.
• Land Use Ordinance – For Town Planner Nicole Briand, March is the month when Public Hearings are scheduled in preparation for the proposed town-wide Land Use Ordinance. The Land Use Planning Committee is making its final changes to the proposed ordinance and public hearings are set for Wednesday March 18th at 6:30 pm and Wednesday, March 25th at 6:30 pm. I urge all residents to read the final draft on the town’s website at www.bowdoinham.com or come to the town office to pick up a copy. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the ordinance, please attend the public hearings. The Land Use Planning Committee has been working endless hours on the ordinance. It is important that they receive feedback from residents before it goes to town meeting in June for final approval.
• Dog registrations – Beginning February 1, 2009 late dog fees of $15 were added to each registration. This fee will increase to $25 beginning in April. Remember, it is the law to register your dog! A law was passed by the Legislature two years ago that required all veterinary clinics to send rabies vaccination notices to the Department of Agriculture. In turn, the Department notifies the town offices. Therefore, if your dog received a rabies vaccination and it is not licensed, expect a call from our office alerting you to the need to register your dog. It is better for you to come to the town office and register your dog before you receive a call from us as it will end up saving you money.
• Moose permit applications are due April 1st. This year, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are NOT mailing out applications to people who have applied in the past nor are they supplying applications to town offices. This is a cost savings measure by IF&W. Here in the town office we have downloaded the paper application for residents to pick up. Or you may apply online at www.maine.gov/ifw/licenses_permits/pdfs/moosepermit_2009.pdf
• Road Postings – For Road Commissioner Kevin Prout, March means spring is on its way – longer days, warmer temperatures and less plowing. And, it means Road Postings. Roads will be posted by March 6th and will remain posted until late April. Roads are posted to protect them from heavy truck traffic when they are most vulnerable. In the spring, as the frost melts away from the road, the base becomes soft like a sponge. Heavy trucks may cause a lot of damage to the roads thus the need to post them. If you need to travel on a posted road, you may call Kevin at the Public Works garage at 666-3503 for a permit. Traveling will be limited to the early hours of the day when the temperature is at its lowest.
• Baseball & Softball Registrations – For Recreation Director Brooke Cox, March means it’s time to sign up for baseball, softball or t-ball. Registrations are due March 13th. Brooke has kept the registration fees at an affordable level- $25 for t-ball and $38 for baseball and softball with a maximum family fee of $80. The program runs from April to mid June and provides countless hours of recreation!

Item 3: 2008 Ice Storm – With all of the storms that we’ve had already in 2009, you may have trouble recalling the 2008 Ice Storm that occurred in December. The Town has completed the paperwork to FEMA and the total cost to the Town that is eligible for reimbursement is $35,728. The Town is expecting to receive 75% reimbursement or $26,796. Costs that were eligible included all overtime, sand and salt, and equipment costs.

Item 4: Adult Basketball returns to the Bowdoinham Community School on Wednesday nights from 6-7 pm. No pre-registration is needed.

Item 5: Senior Programs – Some regularly scheduled events are:

• Men’s Coffee Break – at the Fire Station Tuesday, March 3rd at 8 am.
• Second Thursday of the Month – Seniors Lunch at the Fire Station at 11:00 am. This is a Pot Luck and a movie too. The movie is Young At Heart. If you don’t cook, please come anyway, the more the merrier!
• Every Wednesday at the Bowdoinham Public Library from 2 – 6 pm bring your needlework or craft, a game, some yummy goodies and a friend for an afternoon of gab.

Item 6: FREE SWIM for Bowdoinham residents at the Bowdoin College Swimming Pool located in Farley Field House every Sunday afternoon from 4:30 to 5:30 pm until April 26th!

Item 7: News from the Recycling Barn – Please crush all large plastic containers (milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles, etc) before setting them out for curbside pickup or dropping them off with your mixed recyclables at the Recycling Barn. This saves the Town money as we can fill the truck up with more recyclables each time we deliver these mixed recyclables to be sorted.

Item 8: CAUTION when exiting from the Recycling Barn – higher snow banks mean less visibility and a greater need for caution!

Item 9: Emergency Medical Services – EMS Director Ann Davis reports that Bowdoinham EMS responded to 16 calls for assistance during the month of February. Also, Ann reports that EMS has lost a very valuable volunteer, Justin Stimpson. Justin is entering the Coast Guard and will be greatly missed by the EMS team.

Item 10: Speaking of Volunteers, the Town has a new volunteer, Peter Sullivan. Peter is taking over the task of updating the Town Sign located across from the Credit Union. Thank you Peter for coming forth and volunteering your time!!

Item 11: The Fire Department was also busy during the month of February. A total of 12 calls were responded to representing a total of 350 hours of volunteer time. Mutual Aid was provided to both Richmond and Topsham and there were two I-295 calls for assistance.

Item 12: Comcast Meeting – On February 17 over 35 residents attended a meeting with a representative of Comcast to discuss programming, services, and access, etc. Most of the residents who attended currently do not have cable access. In fact, the further from the village that you live, the more likely you are to not have cable access. This means that residents living along the north ends of the River Road, Carding Machine Road, White Road, Millay Road do not have high speed cable, cable television, etc. The representative from Comcast gave us little hope that cable would be extended beyond where it currently exists. However, I am now in discussions with Time Warner to determine if they are willing to serve these unmet areas by extending its cable from Richmond. More information to follow next month!

Item 13: Good News – We have gained 2 hours and 20 minutes of daylight! Also, don’t forget to SPRING AHEAD this weekend – set your clocks one hour ahead before you go to bed on Saturday night.

That’s it for this month’s newsletter. I welcome your comments or suggestions for future newsletters. The next issue of the Bowdoinham NEWS, the publication published by the Community & Economic Development Department is scheduled for delivery around the beginning of May.

Respectfully Submitted,

Kathy Durgin-Leighton
Town Manager
kleighton@bowdoinham.com