Wiscasset to gratefully accept Go Fund Me donations for general assistance

PHIL DI VECE News Contributor
Wed, 04/08/2020 - 7:30am
The Wiscasset municipal building remains closed to the general public due to the pandemic. PHIL DI VECE/Wiscasset Newspaper

    A portion of donations to the recently initiated “Wiscasset Go Fund Me” (WGFM) campaign will go to selectmen’s general assistance account. The board approved a request to do so Tuesday evening, April 7. The meeting was held via teleconference.

    Friends of Wiscasset Village started the campaign in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The intent is to collect donations to help residents in need. The goal is $15,000.

    “After a bit of research and several conversations, we would like to pledge most of the funds raised to be added to ... the town’s general assistance fund,” WGFM coordinator Terry Heller wrote in an April 2 letter.

    “If the WGFM takes off, there may also be an opportunity for us to dedicate some of the funds to one or two other local organizations,” Heller wrote. Sarah Emery, Gab David and Mary Ellen Barnes are also involved in the WGFM effort.

    As of April 7, it had received $2,380 in donations from 33 donners, according to the “Covid-19 and A Coastal Village with a Big Heart” site. To learn more or make a donation, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/covid-19-and-a-coastal-village-with-a-big-heart

    Town Manager John O’Connell said the office staff members are carrying on with day-to-day business as best as they can during the pandemic. “Almost all of our employees count as being essential for the operation of the town,” he said. “It’s been only three weeks since all this started but it seems like three months.”

    The board authorized O’Connell to reach out to former treasurer Vernice Boyce to see if she’d be willing to assist the town on a per diem basis. Boyce resigned in January; O’Connell and Administrative Assistant Kathy Onorato have been filling in to carry out the treasurer’s duties. The select board is considering contracting this position, or bringing in someone on a temporary basis.  
     

    The second half of 2019 property taxes are due by April 24. Because the town office in closed, payments can be placed in the drop box or mailed. The drop box is at the rear of the building. Chair Judy Colby said selectmen are considering delaying the tax deadline; they’ll decide at their next meeting.

    The board approved a business license application for Mark Pearson of Westbrook, dba Southern States Classics, at 263 Bath Road; unanimously agreed to let members of Wiscasset Police Department be deputized by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department; appointed Katie Bryant, 32 JB’s Way, to the Comprehensive Plan Committee; and scheduled an executive session to discuss a personnel matter at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 9. Selectmen’s next regular meeting will be held remotely at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 21. Both meetings will be held remotely.

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