Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett asked for two kinds of body armor after a National Institute of Justice presentation gave him concern that the equipment his officers were using was out of date and no longer safe.

While there was no budget for the vests this year, there are unbudgeted funds in the Sheriff’s Department that can be used for the purchase, and there will be federal grant money coming next year for bulletproof vests. Brackett said he wanted to replace 17 of the soft ballistic armor vests and 17 covers for the vests, which all officers wear at all times, and wanted a new purchase of 25 hard ballistic armor vests, which are used over the soft vests when there is a known danger from rifle fire. The hard vests will be kept in vehicles and be ordered to be worn when responding to certain situations.

The total cost for the equipment is $37,730.  The offsetting funds from the grant will be $4,659, but they are not expected to arrive before 2018.

The commissioners approved the request unanimously.

Town Administrator Carrie Kipfer discussed the changes in the recycling market that will affect the county’s recycling program. China, a major importer of recyclable materials, is no longer accepting Plastics #1, the lightweight plastics in food containers such as strawberry clamshells and salad bar takeout containers. There are still markets for this product, Kipfer said, but unless they are separated out, they are not usable and make other plastics they are mixed with unusable.

However, Casella Waste offered to pay the county the market value plus $5 per ton as long as the county agreed to an exclusive arrangement. The commissioners agreed to a three-year exclusive contract.

The plastics would still have to be sorted, but there are domestic markets for the Plastics #1. Commissioners agreed to provide bins at the transfer stations for Plastics #1 and any other plastic sorting bins that might be required.

In addition, the county will now accept recyclables from the Maine State Prison in Warren. Those will be presorted by inmates.

Part-time deputy Lucas Bickford has resigned to devote more time to his education, Brackett said; a contract for a new communications program called “I am responding” was approved; books from the law library will be recycled, as the Lincoln County Bar Association has not responded to requests that the association accept or find homes for the books; contracts for the boilers’ and generators’ maintenance were approved; and Kipfer announced possible options to make the retiree health insurance policy less expensive, which was a request from the County Budget Committee.