On Thursday, May 14 at 6:30 pm at the Coombs Municipal Building (town office)

the Land Use Planning Committee hosts its final Public Hearing on the proposed land use changes that are scheduled to go before the voters on June 10th at the Annual Town Meeting. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the proposed changes and how they may or may not affect your land, please plan to attend this very important public hearing.

Item 1: The Select Board will be holding its own public hearing on Thursday, May 21st at 7 pm on the entire proposed town meeting warrant. This hearing gives residents the final opportunity to let the Select Board know how they feel about the proposed land use ordinances as well as all of the articles on the warrant including next fiscal year’s budget (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010). The Board encourages residents to give input on the warrant articles before the warrant goes before the voters at the June 10th town meeting. Once the warrant is signed on Tuesday, May 26, there will be no opportunity to change it before town meeting.

Item 2: The Library is holding its annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 16th. Did you know that this is the longest running plant sale in the State of Maine? It was recognized as such by the Maine State Legislature and this year marks its 36th year. The Library depends largely on the proceeds from this sale for its operating costs. Locally grown annuals, herbs, vegetables, trees, shrubs, and over 120 species of perennials, in various varieties and colors, will be available. Lupines, daylilies, iris, sedum and phlox are just a sample of the hardy plants offered in the past. Remember, Buy local, Buy Bowdoinham! To learn more, contact the Bowdoinham Public Library at (207) 666-8405

Item 3: May 16th is also the reopening of the Merrymeeting Arts Center. It has undergone some remodeling and is planning lots of events and activities throughout the summer months. Buy local, Buy Bowdoinham!

Item 4: This year’s Earth Day Clean Up was another huge success. It was held on Saturday, April 18th and volunteers picked up 1,200 pounds of trash and 900 pounds of tires. The good news is that many volunteers reported less trash to pick up than in other years. This either means that people are throwing less trash out from car windows or we have volunteers picking up the trash throughout the year. Many thanks go to the 30+ volunteers who helped out this year and to Kevin Prout, Public Works Director who volunteered his time picking up the trash as well as disposing of it afterward.

Item 5: Community and Economic Development Director Tony Cox tells me that the Farmer’s Market will open on Saturday, May 23 at 9 am. This year the Market will be open on Saturdays only from 9 am to 1 pm. Buy local, Buy Bowdoinham!

Item 6: One half mile of Ridge Road from house #315 to house #447 is scheduled to be paved this month. Work on the northern most end of Ridge Road (house number #985 to the Richmond town line) will begin in early June.

Item 7: Browntail Moth Alert – The Maine Forest Service has identified the area of Bowdoinham along Rout 24 from the southern town line (Topsham/Bowdoinham line) north for about two miles as having a high Browntail Moth population. It reports that there are significantly more webs in the trees this year than last and this will mean that more residents will be affected. The hairs in the larvae cause a rash that is similar to poison ivy and can also cause respiratory distress in some individuals. According to the Maine Forest Service, “control of the webs is possible by licensed pesticide applicators using high pressure sprayers.” Also, there are special Maine Board of Pesticide Control regulations for spraying chemicals for Browntail Moth near coast waters. Go to www.state.me.us/agriculture/pesticides/laws/regs.htm for more information.

Item 8: Fire Chief Jack Tourtelotte is looking forward to some spring rain as the fire danger has been so high that the Town has stopped issuing burn permits. We are hopeful for some rain in the coming days. I advise residents to call the town office at 666-5531 before coming to the town office for a burn permit. The town office employees call Jack each morning for the daily status of burn permits. Remember, open burning is illegal unless you have a burn permit.

Item 9: For all of you fellow boaters, the town docks will be put it this week (first of May) weather permitting.

Item 10: The Public Works Department reports that it has already begun mowing grass – its first day was April 28th and Kevin reports that this is the earliest that the department has had to begin mowing. (I am not sure if this is good news or bad. I do know that as an allergy sufferer, the trees seem to be pollinating earlier this year!)

Item 11: In early April, Solid Waste Manager David Berry testified in support of a bill before the Natural Resources Committee in Augusta. The proposed legislation would require all Maine municipalities to provide for the collection of compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs). While CFLs have provided us with significant energy savings, they do contain mercury and if not properly disposed of can pose a serious health hazard. Recent legislation required all Maine towns to collect TVs and computer monitors (which contain lead and other toxics) and ship to a recycler for safe removal of the toxic elements. The towns provide only for collection and storage - the original manufacturers of the units pay transportation and recycling costs. The bill under consideration would require towns to handle CFLs in the same manner, providing CFL collection and storage only. Berry was invited to testify before the committee because of Bowdoinham's long-term experience with Household Hazardous Waste (oil-based paints and solvents, herbicides, pesticides, etc) and Universal Waste (TVs, monitors, mercury- containing devices, florescent tubes, CFLs). The proposed legislation would benefit Bowdoinham in that we would no longer have to pay disposal costs for the CFLs we collect. At present, these costs are not high - we collected just under 200 CFLs in 2008 - but the units have not been on the market very long and we can expect many more failed units as time goes on.

Item 12: May is a very busy time of year for our Recreation Director Brooke Cox. baseball, softball and t-ball are in full swing (pun intended!) and Brooke can be found most nights at the snack shack flipping burgers and serving onion rings or coaching one of the softball teams. Her husband Steve coaches baseball and volunteers most nights at the field as well. So if you are in need of the Cox family from now until the end of June, good chances are that they will not be home but at the recreation fields! Opening Day for Baseball and Softball was Saturday, May 2nd

Item 13: Village Seniors lunch on May 14. Pot luck lunch at The 2nd Baptist Church with Social hour beginning at 11:00, lunch will be at noon, and a concert by Ted Holdredge to follow. Ted has offered to open the floor up to other performers to practice their act for the Celebrate Bowdoinham Variety Show!

Item 14: Greg Reardon from Planet Tennis USA is holding a Tennis Camp, Tuesday June 23rd – Friday June 26th. There will be 2 different sessions: one for children 8-16 years of age and one for adults. The cost is $35 per session or $120 for the 4 days. The classes are limited to 12. Please call Brooke at 666-3504 if you would like to sign up. The Registration and liability forms are on the town's website on the Recreation Page.

Item 15: SeaSpray Kayaking Camp is coming to Bowdoinham again! The week of June 29 – July 3 from 9:00-12:00, come paddle the Cathance River! The Registration and liability forms are on the town's website on the Recreation Page.

This concludes the May 2009 newsletter. Look for a special town meeting newsletter that I will post on the website by the end of May. The upcoming town meeting looks to have some very important warrant articles included and I am hoping for a large turnout at the June 10th meeting.

In closing, please don’t forget your moms on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9th. I am fortunate to be a mother and plan to spend the day with my daughters as well as with my own mother, who moved to Bowdoinham four years ago to be closer to me and my family! Let’s hope for sunny, warm weather!!

Best,

Kathy Durgin-Leighton
Town Manager