Woolwich Road Commissioner Jack Shaw is asking Route One motorists to be patient as work commences on a water main project near the Route 127 intersection. Shaw told the selectboard Aug. 16, he recently spoke to the contractor, Bath Water District and highway officials. The construction zone is behind Cumberland Farms, where the two state roads converge. Traffic is heaviest during the morning and afternoon commute of employees from Bath Iron Works.

“The contractor has assured me they’d be through the worse of it by the 25th of the month. The best thing to do is wait, be patient and see how it goes,” said Shaw. Currently, northbound traffic on Route 127 is being detoured to Nequasset Road to avoid the construction area.

Chairman David King Sr. said the town office had received complaints about the traffic delays and the detour although he acknowledged there was little the selectboard could do. “We thought initially more of the construction work was going to be done at night but that’s not been the case,” he commented. King added the selectboard would be willing to meet any time to discuss the project with BWD officials, Maine Department of Transportation and the contractor. “That would be helpful,” he said. One question King had was why work had started at the south end of town and not on Nequasset Road near the elementary school where there is less traffic.

When completed, BWD’s new water transmission line will extend northward on Route 127 where the contractors are now working and eventually link up with an existing main near the elementary school.

In his report to the selectboard, EMS Director Danny Evarts said there had been 13 ambulance calls from Aug. 1 through 16; seven patients were transported. Evarts wrote, “Mutual aid was provided once to Boothbay, at the request of Lincoln County Dispatch, and did so after confirming we had a separate (ambulance) crew ready to respond to in-town calls.” Evarts told the selectboard Jason Downing will be serving as assistant ambulance director and Zach Miller has agreed to be deputy assistant director. He added, Emma Collins is joining the ambulance department having completed her application process. “We’ve received three more applications, two advanced emergency medical technicians (EMTs), soon to be paramedics, and one EMT,” stated Evarts.

The ambulance department is attempting to find homes for old emergency and training equipment it no longer uses. Among the items are older CPR training dummies. Evarts said he hopes to donate these. He said an area school might make use of them.

Fire Chief Shaun Merrill said the fire department responded to 18 calls over the last two weeks; most were motor vehicle related and occurred on Route One.

In a 3-2 decesion, King and Selectman Dale Chadbourne dissenting, the selectboard voted to sign a “memorandum of understanding” with Consolidated Communications related to grants sought for broadband construction. At the annual town meeting, voters passed an article supporting town-wide broadband construction.

The board accepted the resignation of Kevin Bachman as 911 officer. The town administrator will fill in as interim 911 officer until the position is filled.

Woolwich received a $1,323 dividend check from Maine Municipal Association for its “good performance” in administering loss performance programs. MMA offers three self-funded pools: the Workers Compensation Fund, the Property & Casualty Pool and the Unemployment Compensation Fund and has been paying dividends to its members since 1997.

The town office will be closed Wednesday, Oct. 4 so Town Clerk Opal Keith, Tax Collector Candace Conrad and Town Administrator Kim Dalton can attend MMA’s annual convention at the Augusta Civic Center.