Upcoming Events and Reminders
If something looks out of date on the website, trying refreshing your web browser. Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for Windows: Press Ctrl+F5 (If that doesn’t work, try Shift+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R).The Town of Stetson’s Fire Department is presently covered by the Town of Levant and Northern Light Rescue.
Danielle Withee is the ACO 207-745-1130
Selectmen’s Meetings: 2nd & 4th Wednesday of each month. We thank the regulars who come to the Selectmen’s meetings and appreciate your questions and participation,
Tuesdays Trash Pickup
Trash must be out for pickup by 6:30am Tuesday mornings.
Upcoming Events
Nomination papers are available at the Town Office. The deadline to return nomination papers is April 17th' by the close of business at 5pm.
****REMINDER****
The Second Half of your tax bill is due on or before May 15th to avoid interest and potential late fees.Stetson Spring Clean Up Day (aka Big Trash Day) will be on May 4th from 9am - 2pm. All items are
to be brought to the Town Office. A list of acceptable and unacceptable materials will be available.
The Annual Town Meeting will be held on June 15th at 10 a.m. at the Town Office/Community Center located at 394 Village Rd. The voting for one Select Board member to a 3 year term and one School Board member to a 3 year term will be held Tuesday, June 11th from 8am-8pm.
Reminder that Dog Licensing was due January 31st. If you have not registered your dog, it is now past due. There is now a $25.00 late fee.
Proper procedure if finding a stray animal:
Please contact Danielle Withee, ACO instead of posting on Facebook. This ensures the pet/animal gets the proper care and/or attention needed, whether it be reunited with the owner or taken to the animal shelter. Thank you.
Code Enforcement Officer will be in his office
Thursday from 5 pm -7 pm
Please walk past the Town Office and down the hallway to his
office . He will assist you with Building & Plumbing Permits.Planning Board Meetings: 3rd Thursday of each month as required. Town Office Complex 7:00pm
The Corinth Transfer Station will no longer be accepting recycling from the residents of Stetson. They were willing
to take recyclables ONLY. Because residents abused this privilege and started taking things unable to be recycled such as household trash, our residents will no longer be able to take
recycling or anything else to the Corinth Transfer Station. Any questions, contact a member of the Board of Selectmen.Town of Stetson is seeking:
PLANNING BOARD COMMITTEE MEMBERS
BOARD OF APPEALS COMMNITTEE MEMBERS
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE MEMBERS
PARKS & RECREATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS
If interested contact Stetson Town Office 296-3232
Assessing Agent
Danielle Davis
1st Wednesday of the month
8:00am to 3:30pm
296-3232If you wish to request Vital Statistic Records at Town Office
( birth – death - marriage)
(please bring proof of ID and linage)
Stetson Town Office is located at: 394 Village Road
Stetson Town Office mailing address is: P.O. Box 85 Stetson, ME 04488
( misaddressed mail will be returned to sender by the post office )
If you need information about General Assistance or need to apply CLICK HERE.
Selectboard News
Hello, Stetson Residents! Here's hoping everyone had an uneventful winter and is enjoying milder
temperatures and gearing up for the start of summer.
We will start with an update regarding LS Power. As you are aware from the last newsletter, the LS
Power Committee was established. We held a special town meeting on December 27, 2023 and the
residents voted to approve the "High-Impact Electric Transmission Line Moratorium Ordinance in the
Town of Stetson, Maine". Because the LS Power Committee also agreed to take on the Land Use
Ordinance, the committee name has been changed to the Ordinance Committee and they have started the
daunting task of working on that.
The Town received a letter dated February 6, 2024 from LS Power Grid Maine, LLC. The good news is
the project has been suspended indefinitely. The not-so-good news is that they aren't done and this will
more than likely reappear. The letter is available at the Town Office if anyone wants to read it or obtain a
copy of it.
An update on the new boiler system is that a new propane boiler was installed by Dead River with a
lock-in price of $2.19 a gallon for one year. Due to the timing of the installation, and the ground being
frozen, four propane tanks have been temporarily placed. A larger propane tank will be installed at a
later date when the ground has thawed and the lines can be run.
A Land Lease Proposal from Revision Energy regarding the solar farm for the old Town dump in Levant
was received for the Board's review. This lengthy 18-page document in extensive legal language was
then forwarded to the Town's attorney for his input, suggestions and ideas. He has reviewed it and
replied with his suggestions. We are still in the early stages of this process and will continue to keep
residents updated.
Continuing with updates from the last newsletter, the Board received very minimal feedback regarding
the Town Park. If any decisions are made regarding this piece of Town-owned property, we will keep
you informed.
Now onto some new information. On February 28, 2024, a Special Town Meeting was held, "To see if
the Town will authorize the Selectboard to appoint in its sole discretion the Town of Stetson Road
Commissioner, for a term of 3 years, with this change taking effect at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting
and remaining in place until amended or repealed at a future town meeting." There were a couple of
reasons this came up during the discussion on whether to hold this Special Town Meeting. One was
financial responsibility and one was accountability. In regards to financial responsibility was whether
there was any difference if the Road Commissioner is elected or appointed. According to the MMA
Municipal Officers Manual, possibly not. However, there was something there regarding line-item
budgeting that needed further clarification. A reach out to the MMA Legal confirmed there is no
difference. Their response was, "...the Selectboard would be able to see what the proposed costs and
repairs are and approve or deny those costs and repairs before the work begins." This brings us to the
second reason of accountability. If an elected Road Commissioner doesn't do work, doesn't
communicate with the Board and/or determines solely what work on what roads will be done, there is
minimal recourse. We receive the bill on a warrant and pay it. If we delay payment for a discussion with
the Road Commissioner regarding the work or the cost, that's not good business practice for our Town,
and it won't take long for contractors to stop doing business with our Town. Contractors have bills to
pay just like the rest of us. If residents and/or the Board become unhappy with the Road Commissioner,
the easiest thing to do is just wait until the term is up. We have no recall ordinance in place in our Town.
With an appointed Road Commissioner, this issue could be more easily rectified. The residents who
attended voted to appoint the Road Commissioner. There was also a change made for this to be a
one-year term versus a three-year term.
As you recall, Danielle Davis was sent to a class for grant writing. She has taken what she learned and
put it to very good use for our Town. She did the Penobscot County ARPA funds grant for the new
boiler at the Town Office/Community Center. She also completed a very challenging grant through
MDOT regarding culverts. These three culverts are on the sharp turn on the Wolfboro Road, on the
Merrill Road just in from the Village Road, and on the Lapoint Road between Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
and Dearborn Road. Unfortunately, on February 28, Danielle received notification that we did not
receive this grant but are welcome to reapply next year. Another grant she applied for is the Gloria C.
MacKenzie Foundation grant. The Board came up with a list of things that were both needed and wanted
to be completed at the Town Office/Community Center. This grant had a submission deadline of March
1, 2024. If we are considered for this money, we will know by April 15, 2024, at which point there will
be a follow-up application due June 30, 2024. We will then receive our letter on whether we are
approved or not by September 30, 2024. There is also a Libra Foundation grant with a submission
deadline of May 15, 2024 in regards to work on the playground and another grant available for work on
the Meeting House. These grants lessen the burden on our residential taxpayers for work that needs to be
done. Grant writing is not an easy process and generally there is a lot of work and research involved in
them. So thank you, Danielle, for working on this time-consuming process.
As some of you are already aware, we have two units available at the Community Center. Unit 2 has
been rented to Outlaw Dance Studio. Many have taken advantage of the introductory free classes for
both kids and adults. We hope those that like to dance will enjoy having a dance studio in town. We also
were in negotiation to rent unit 3. Unfortunately, the direction the business was taking did not find the
rental suitable. As much as it is disappointing to not get the room rented, we have the room nearly
cleared out to rent it in the future. We will take the positive in the fact we have done much needed
purging and organizing. If you or someone you know has any interest in renting unit 3, please feel free
to reach out to the Town Office or a Board member.
The Board is getting bid requests out early this year for all of our mowing contracts, the trash contract
and the plowing contracts. Our hope is that we will have real numbers for the Budget season, not "best
guess scenario" numbers that can either help our budget by over-estimating or hurt our budget by
under-estimating. This will also allow contractors to know what they have for work lined up.
Finally, Budget season started in March. It will probably continue into the beginning of May. You are all
welcome to attend these meetings and provide input in where you want your taxpaying money to go.
You ALL are welcome to attend Selectmen's meetings. If you do not want to attend in person, we have a
ZOOM option.
Respectfully submitted, The Board of Selectmen
NOTICE
New Hours for Window Service at the Stetson Post Office
Facility Retail Hours
Monday – Friday
8:00am to 12:00pm
Saturday - 7:30am to 11:00am
