Sun, 11/05/2023 - 05:40 am

SUSAN JOHNS

File photo

Wiscasset’s and Pittston’s code enforcement officer will now also be Alna’s. Nov. 2, selectmen voted Bruce Engert CEO and local plumbing inspector (LPI).

First Selectman Ed Pentaleri said George Turnbull has done a really good job as LPI and has considered, but again declined, to also be CEO. Pentaleri said he thanked Turnbull for considering it, and told Turnbull the town would continue seeking “a complete solution.”

Before Thursday night’s vote, Pentaleri said Engert did both jobs in Woolwich for 14 years, and Alna Deputy Town Clerk Lynette Eastman, a past Woolwich town administrator, gave Engert a good recommendation, as did Alna Town Clerk Sarah Perkins.

So did resident Ralph Hilton. “Bruce is a great guy and does a great job. He’s the right man for the job,” he said.

Because Engert will get $250 a week and 56 cents a mile “for non-commute, work-related mileage,” the funds will run out in two to three months, Pentaleri said. Selectmen plan a special town meeting, date to be determined.

Also Nov. 2, the board announced Doreen Conboy as Alna’s choice for this year’s Spirit of America award. Conboy is the town archivist and a steward of the town’s historic buildings, Pentaleri noted.

“Doreen is exceedingly modest and no less generous with her time and knowledge, whether toiling away quietly in our historic archives or identifying and coordinating needed repairs of our historic buildings,” Pentaleri said in the meeting at the town office as Conboy listened on Zoom.

Conboy thanked the board and said doing the work is an honor. “And I’ve learned so much by the experience. We have a remarkable town, with a legacy of so many buildings that speak to our past. And I’m just one of many people who in a long line have felt that the buildings just should be preserved and handed down, so that’s what we’ve all tried to do.”

She recalled the town’s historical records went from being kept in homes, then in schools, then in the Webster house when it was the town office, to now, in the “wonderful” archives space in the basement of the new town office.

“I just want to thank Alna for supporting our historical buildings and supporting the archive. It’s great that we have them both, and it’s great to share in the learning about and the telling of the story of Alna,” she added.

Selectmen continued mulling a framework for the roads committee, including whether to have the document be a charter, ordinance, policy, guidelines, or something else. And Second Selectman Steve Graham said he was not sure the document should mention the road commissioner, in case that made it appear the road commissioner has “two bosses.” Pentaleri disagreed, as the draft document notes the committee is advisory only, and he said a Maine Municipal Association lawyer said such documents are a way to clarify roles.

Selectmen and Road Commissioner Jeff Verney plan to talk further, in a working meeting. Verney requested Pentaleri not speak then. Graham said Pentaleri is a selectman and has a right to speak.