Welcome to Stetson...

Welcome to Stetson, Maine! A small town with just over 1,000 residents, Stetson has always taken pride in its strong rural character. Located 17 miles west of Bangor, people originally came to settle here because of the scenic beauty, excellent farmland after it was cleared, and an abundance of lumber. Natural resources including forestland, abundant wildlife, wetlands, water resources and unique natural areas contribute greatly to the quality of life. At six miles square, Stetson continues to provide open space and recreational activities such as fishing, snowmobiling, hunting, canoeing, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. Pleasant Lake, located entirely within the town's borders, is a scenic 798 acre lake known for its excellent fishing and clean water. A scattering of camps and homes around its seven miles of shoreline have not detracted from its beauty or character. A second source of community pride is our historic Stetson Meetinghouse. Located in the center village, this beautiful building continues to serve as a gathering place for town meetings, public functions and community dinners.

While Bangor is the economic/employment center of the area, Stetson has taken on the identity of a bedroom - type community. Although experiencing moderate population growth, the town continues to maintain a rural, relaxed, yet active community atmosphere. Town government has always had the good fortune to have strong and conscientious leadership. Stetson has a history of fiscal responsibility, a relatively stable tax rate and maintains a capacity for growth. While welcoming such growth, Stetson continues to encourage safeguards and goals for protecting its natural resources and quality of life features well into the future.

Selectman’s Corner

Greetings,
I was about to start with "we made it through another winter", but then I saw the weather forecast and that "expert" says we are going to get twelve to sixteen inches of snow in a couple of days
(I'm writing this on March 12). Someone should go down to Pennsylvania and kick that ground hog Phil in his furry little butt, 'cause his six more weeks of winter is up tomorrow (!). Anyway,
to get back to my original thought, we are almost, maybe, done with winter soon. We had a few glitches early in the year with ice buildup on the roads.
We can lay the blame on this unfortunate situation on a lot of factors, including myself, but since it was corrected, with a lot of hard work, in a reasonably timely manner and is now history,
I will forego any further explanation and call it a lesson learned. Also, we will soon be deeply imbedded in mud season with a whole new set of problems.

Once again, the Election/ Town Meeting season will be upon us soon. The budget process has started and hopefully will be completed at a meeting on April 10th at 9:00a.m.
Nomination papers will be available soon (probably by the time you read this) for two selectpersons and one school director. Also, we need people to serve on the planning board and appeals board.
These are appointed positions with no time restrictions, if you can help out or have any questions, please call the Town Office.

These last few weeks there has been a committee in place under the guidance of Jody Lyford exploring all of the options available to the Town regarding the elementary school building's future.
At this point, there are two choices left on the table. These are selling/ demolition, and use as a town office/ community center (see enclosed proposals).
Both of these options come with drawbacks, both financially and logistically. We will schedule one or two public hearings in the near-future to discuss all of the ideas, problems, finances, etc.
These hearings will be held at 10am on Saturday, April 15t` and, if a second hearing is necessary, at 7pm on Wednesday, April 19th

As this will be my final contribution to the newsletter, I would like to say it has been an experience over the last twenty-six years. There have been a lot of changes in Stetson, mostly good, I hope.
I have served to the best of my ability with a lot of good people over the years, especially the volunteers who step up and make the selectpersons' job easier and the town a better place. In closing,
I will say I'm sorry to those people I have upset over the years. Overall, it's been a good run and I'm sure Stetson will continue to grow and prosper in the future.
My thanks to the citizens of Stetson. Stay safe and watch over your neighbors.

Respectfully submitted,
Don Carroll, Chairman - Board of Selectmen