Residents who returned nomination papers for Wiscasset town office before the April 9 deadline will be on the ballot of the municipal election. Others who wish to run for a town office still can. Selectmen set no date for the election when they met Tuesday afternoon, April 28.

The board considered holding the town election July 14, the new date for the state primary, but chose instead to wait and see if a 100-day requirement was needed, which would push the election back to mid-August. On March 31, the board voted to postpone work on the 2020-2021 budget and cancel the annual June town meeting and election.

Also April 28, the board discussed whether or not to grant public access to future  remote meetings. The board has been holding teleconference meetings since March 31. The meetings are carried by Cisco Webex and are by invitation; reporters from Wiscasset Newspaper and Lincoln County News have been listening in live. Recordings of the meetings are posted on YouTube.

Chairman Judy Colby said if someone wanted to address the board, they should contact the town manager. Colby said she was looking forward to when the state relaxes its social distancing recommendations.

Maine Department of Transportation’s downtown improvement project is nearing completion. Work is underway on Water Street including the planned parking lot where the CEI/Haggett building was. Town Manager John O’Connell will meet with Project Manager Ernie Martin to discuss the transfer of the parking lot to the town. MDOT bought the property and is paying for all the improvements. The work is scheduled for completion later this spring.

Wiscasset Municipal Airport will receive $3.2 million in federal funding. O’Connell said the grant monies will be used for repair and repaving of the runways. In another matter, O’Connell said he would be participating in a conference call with a party proposing a solar project on airport property.

Former town treasurer Vernice Boyce is returning to work for the town part-time. She will work remotely one day a week from home in Winthrop.

The board voted unanimously to ratify a new pact with one of three bargaining units represented by the IAMAW.  This bargaining unit represents public works, transfer station and waste water employees, a clerk at the town office, and a secretary at the police department. Terms of the new agreement were not released. Selectman Jeff Slack and the town manager plan to meet shortly with the police department’s bargaining unit.

A Climate Adaption Study of Wiscasset’s treatment plant is underway by Olver Associates, Inc. The Winterport-based engineering firm is helping the town apply for a $20,000 loan from Maine Municipal Bond Bank to finance the study, according to treatment plant superintendent Rob Lalli. Lalli noted in a written report to the board, the loan can be forgiven if the town follows the correct procedure. He also updated the board on required Department of Environmental Protection effluent testing. Monies will be needed for  weekly and quarterly tests.

The board directed that a letter of appreciation be sent to town employees thanking them for their service to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Please continue to do your best, and remember that your efforts are sincerely appreciated by the Board and inhabitants of Wiscasset,” it stated.