When the Jan. 23 meeting to discuss tax exempt properties was being dismissed by Rep. Mick Devin, he urged towns, nonprofits, tax-exempt entities and taxpayers to write their legislators.

At least one entity will take him up on that offer.

On Feb. 16, the Newcastle Board of Selectmen will send a letter to Gov. Paul LePage and other legislators, concerning the proposed tax on previously tax-exempt entities, and the paring of revenue sharing.

Selectman Pat Hudson said that when she attended the Jan. 23 meeting, the overwhelming feeling was opposed to replacing revenue sharing funds with the new, proposed tax.

“(Town administrator) Lynn (Maloney) and I went, and felt a little overwhelmed,” she said. “There were four people on the board, and they all had excellent points, but we tried to show how the town has to pick up the tab.”

Hudson said losing the homestead exemption on top of losing revenue sharing might help the state government, but would likely hurt towns, such as Newcastle.

During the Jan. 23 meeting, Hudson pointed to Newcastle's current tax-exempt situation in which approximately half the town is off-limits to taxes because it is either tied to a land trust or tree harvest.

Hudson argued at the earlier meeting that having some of the town's best real estate essentially off-limits shrinks the tax base.

“People expect service,” she said during the Monday meeting. “They expect their roads to be open soon after a snowstorm, they expect someone to be at the town office, if they have an emergency, they expect the fire department to show up.

“All those things are on the backs of the towns.”

Bristol salt shed falls;

grants unlikely for Newcastle

While one salt and sand shed has fallen, it might be a little longer for another to get off the ground.

Superintendent of Roads Steve Reynolds spoke with the board of selectmen Monday, Feb. 16 about not only the possibility of a new salt and sand storage shed for Newcastle, but the town of Bristol's recent shed collapse.

“The snow built up on one side, and unlike wood, metal just fails,” Reynolds said. “There's no splintering, no sign that (it's about to fail). Luckily, no one was hurt.”

Reynolds said that Newcastle's shed situation might take a little time, as potential grants might not be available because Newcastle doesn't meet certain criteria. With certain grants, such as the one Damariscotta recently applied for to fix part of Theater Street, require a wider demographic, Reynolds said. The town will continue to look at potential designs for the salt and sand shed.