Connecting local government to the people we serve! |
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Have You Met the Road Warriors? |
We are fortunate to have many volunteers in the Town of Wells. The folks pictured here are the Road Warriors, a group of volunteers that tackle the litter that too often clutters our roadsides. On the day this was taken, the team had just collected about 10 bags of trash. They are well on their way to 1,000 bags collected over the 5 years they have been volunteering in Kennebunk and Wells.
Thank you Road Warriors, our town is a more beautiful place to be because of the time and effort you give!
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Town Manager Update
Larissa Crockett, Town Manager
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The Town of Wells could not succeed without the help of the dozens of volunteers that serve on our boards, committees, and commissions. We often have openings for new members on these advisory and regulatory boards, you can learn more and download an application on our website. Whether you have a passion for our waterfront, want to share your enthusiasm for open spaces, or have an interest in land use, energy, or, economic development, there is a board, committee, or commission for you.
Just recently the Select Board established a new Economic Development Advisory Committee that is in need of members. If you are a business owner or manager and would like to learn more, please call (207) 361-8894 or email me with you questions.
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Finance Department Update
Jodie Sanborn
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The department continues to be steady over the past month. The sale of seasonal beach stickers has slowed since before the Independence Day Holiday. Over the past month 497 beach pass transactions (443 new passes and 54 replacement stickers) have been done by staff. Online sales consisted of 60 new passes for the month. Over the past month staff has completed 1,115 vehicle transactions which consisted of 295 new registrations and 820 re-registrations, corrections or excise only transactions. As of July 20th the department has collected 97.4% of 2021 taxes. The department continues to work to collect outstanding personal property and real estate tax lien accounts. The department will be starting the 2021 tax lien process by sending out 30 day notice of lien for 2021 real estate accounts next month.
July 1 started the new fiscal year. For the last month the department has been working in both fiscal years. The last of FY 2021 accounts payable should be entered no later than the second accounts payable warrant in August. The Auditor’s performed the Town’s preaudit work for the FY 2021 year at the end of June. The two days of preaudit went smoothly for the department. The week of September 20th has been scheduled for full aud
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Parks and Recreation Update
Tina LeBlanc, Director
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It’s been a challenging summer with the ever-changing weather but our Summer Camps have been going strong. It is great to see all the children laughing and playing again in the fields. Our summer staff have been exceptional as they negotiate through the rainy days and heat waves while entertaining the children and keeping them cool and safe. We are currently holding 5 separate Summer Day Camps with a total of 141 children. We have had special entertainers come in such as Maine Search and Rescue Dogs, Wildlife Encounters and Jason Purdy the magician and we are looking forward to seeing our next performers; Flying High Frisbee Dogs and Johnny the K musician.
We are also offering additional specialty camps that have been well received. We offered a week long tennis program which unfortunately was rained out the first 3 days of the week but was able to be scheduled for make up dates. We are also offering a weeklong Mad Science Camp and Seacoast Soccer Camp that will be starting in August.
We are looking forward to a busy Fall season with Camp Daybreak and Camp Sunset, Soccer, Field hockey, Archery, Running Club, and other programs along with our Annual Haunted Hayride provided that CDC Guidelines allow.
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Energy Advisory Committee Update
Beth Widmayer, Chair
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Good news on our solar power purchase agreement to cover about 90% of the cost of electricity for all Town and School buildings. Both the Town and the School have signed the contract! The Nexamp solar project construction is underway, and when solar electricity begins flowing early in 2022, the Town and School will receive significant savings on electricity, and the CMP grid will be greener.
Other projects high on our current list:
· Community Solar: WEAC hosted a Community Solar webinar with ReVision Energy on 5/26/21. The purpose was to explain two methods of getting solar electricity that don’t involve your rooftop; the subscription model and the shared ownership model. If you missed it don’t worry you can watch it here!
· Promote electric heat pumps and energy efficiency programs for Wells residences (Go to Efficiency Maine for rebates!)
· Identifying private private sector partners for installations of EV charging stations in Town
· Investigate and educate on ways to increase energy efficiency and reduce fossil fuel usage in new construction
· Food waste: We’re looking into ways to address this issue for Wells and surrounding towns.
Electric Vehicle Show in Wells
Come test drive an EV! We’ll have severable models available. Sunday, September 12, 1pm to 4pm at the Library.
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Assessing Department Update
Keeley Lambert, Assessor
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The Assessing Office is excited to welcome Kimberly Lee as our new part time Assessing Clerk. She comes to us with a wide variety of knowledge in the tax world. Her main responsibilities will be the large task of taking care of all the campground ownership changes and putting in new units as well as removing them from the tax base. This is a large job considering the number of campground seasonal unit owners we have in the Town of Wells.
We have nearly finished inputting all the personal property accounts as of now with just a few remaining to get back to us. As that winds down we are now starting to input all the Homestead and Veterans Exemption applications. The period for exemption applications has closed for the upcoming tax year, but you can download applications from the State of Maine website and submit your applications any time before April 1, 2022 to have them apply for the next tax year.
Our seasonal field pick up is done and on to the task of making those corrections and updating our system.
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News from the Maine DOT
The Maine Department of Transportation will be conducting roadwork at the intersection of Routes 109, Crediford Road, and 9A, Branch Road. This project will involve excavation and the installation of a new advanced traffic controller cabinet, strain poles, and advanced optic equipment that will assist with advanced vehicle detection and emergency vehicle preemption. This work will require periodic lane restrictions throughout construction. Work will begin on August 1 and is estimated to be completed in April of 2022. This project will convert the current traffic pattern, which utilizes a two-way stop, to a fully signalized intersection with the latest technology. The contractor for this project is Electric Light Company. The contract amount is $246,350.
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208 Sanford Road
Wells, ME 04090
207-646-5113
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