The Edgecomb Board of Selectmen and School Committee are at odds over whether a 2002 John Deere tractor is town or school property. The Edgecomb School Committee believes state law mandates that it is the responsible party for maintaining, repairing and disposing all property purchased with education funds for its municipal school, Edgecomb Eddy.

The selectmen disagree. Selectmen Jack Sarmanian and Stuart Smith told the school committee members on Dec. 1 that all school property is owned by the town. The selectmen contend disposal of school assets valued at a certain level requires voter approval.

The school committee met with the board of selectmen this week to discuss which party had the ultimate authority in disposing of a 12-year-old tractor which was deemed by school officials to be “unusable and un-fixable.”

While the two bodies didn’t agree on which entity had final authority, they agreed to wait and research how the matter should be handled before making a decision.

The school committee was pursuing an arrangement with Union Farm Equipment in Union to appraise the tractor’s value and sell it on consignment. However, the selectmen’s  concerns resulted in the committee agreeing to wait while the town sought a legal opinion from the town’s attorney and Maine Municipal Association.

School Committee chairman Sarah Clifford said state law was clear about which party had authority in the disposal of property and equipment. She said state statute Title 20A granted that authority to the school committee. Clifford added that the committee only needed to notify town officials about their decision to sell an asset.

Clifford began researching the committee’s responsibilities regarding property and equipment after town officials began discussing an alternative town use for the damaged tractor. She believes the school committee has a responsibility to local taxpayers to sell the tractor and use the proceeds to pay for the new one.

The discussion about transferring the tractor’s ownership to the town has put the committee in a difficult position, according to Clifford.

“It’s a pickle to be in,” she said. “It’s our responsibility to bring in the lowest possible budget. So we need to find out how much it’s worth first and it’s important to get an independent appraisal.”

Voters authorized the committee to finance the purchase of a 2014 John Deere during a special town meeting in October. The voters approved financing the $22,070 tractor over a five-year term.

Sarmanian wants to transfer the tractor’s ownership to the fire department. He believes the equipment will help the volunteer fire fighters plow the fire hall’s entrance and mow the grounds. Smith says despite the old tractor’s problems it has value and several townspeople have expressed interest in acquiring it.

“It’s fixable. It’s a 12-year-old John Deere,” Smith said. “One person interested has a 35-year-old John Deere and leaves it outside all the time. He uses his every day and says he wants to buy this one.”

Fire Chief Roy Potter expressed interested in the old tractor in September when school officials described the problems with the 12-year-old model. School officials said the tractor’s front loader and hydraulic systems had rusted in place. Since the tractor apparently had little value to the school department, Potter believed the fire department could use for it.

“At this point I’m flabbergasted,” Potter said. “A little light when off in my head when I heard this was an old, no-good tractor which needed to replaced. I though to myself that the fire department could use it since it was being replaced. I’m sorry it caused so much turmoil and wish I hadn’t brought it up.”

Smith agreed with school officials the sale’s proceeds should be used to reduce the new tractor’s cost, but he believed that decision was up to the voter’s, not the school committee.

Other business

In other action, the selectmen discussed Topher Belknap’s complaint against the town using a portion of his Engelbrekt Road property as a turnaround for town vehicles. In October, the selectmen ruled the town had a right-of- way to maintain the privately owned property. The ruling allows the town to maintain the portion as it has done for the past two decades.

But now, Belknap claims the town is plowing a larger portion than in past years. Belknap, who has lived on Engelbrekt Road for 13 years, maintains Road Commissioner Scott Griffin has plowed a 10-foot section in past years, but now he is plowing a 60-foot section.

Belknap told the selectmen if they want to use his property the town should either ask permission or offer to purchase it.

“If you (town) want to do anything more with the property whether its improving or paving it then you need to talk to me, first, and get my permission. So either buy it or whatever,” Belknap said.

The selectmen countered it has both a legal right and obligation to continue maintaining the turnaround for emergency vehicles, school buses, and for other property owners’ vehicle who live on the privately owned subdivision’s road.

“The right-of-way goes back over 30 years long before he (Belknap) moved there,” Smith said. “You don’t ask a new property owner’s permission to maintain a turnaround for something we already have.”

The selectmen plan on discussing the matter further with Belknap and Griffin to determine the parameters of the turnaround the town can legally maintain.

The selectmen will next meet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15 in the municipal room.