An announcement from Second Selectman David Probert about his decision not to seek reelection to a second 3-year term took the other two members of the Dresden Board of Selectmen by surprise February 25.

“I am speechless,” Third Selectman Allan Moeller said at the board’s regular meeting.

Chairman Phil Johnston, who is the board’s first selectman, expressed his regret over Probert’s stepping down this year, thus ending the second selectman’s three years in office in June. 

“With much sadness, you told me this,” Johnston said. “Because of the enthusiasm and time and skill you put out, this will be sorely a loss.”

The one-term selectman said he made the announcement Monday because he wants to give potential candidates for the office plenty of notice in time for nomination papers available toward the end of March. 

Probert has had the added duty of being the solid waste coordinator as part of the second selectman’s job description. Since he joined the board three years ago, Probert managed to get a change through making the coordinator position a part of the second selectman’s official duties. Thus, after the June town meeting, he will no longer serve in that capacity.

Before being elected and throughout his three years on the board, Probert has served as solid waste coordinator center since 2000, which entails being in charge of the recycling center. He joined the solid waste committee in 1989.

Assistant Administrator Trudy Foss commented that Probert has always been one who raised his hand to volunteer for anything that needed to be done.

Probert assured the board he would be actively involved in the town doing other things such as participating in the Pownalborough Courthouse future through involvement with the Lincoln County Historical Association.

During his term as selectman, Probert said he has been disappointed in the seeming lack of interest of residents in serving on various town committees and involvement in town affairs in general. “It’s the same people over and over,” he said.

A kind of visionary, Probert sees involvement as vital to the sense of community a small town such as Dresden can potentially afford with its many opportunities to work together to build a better place in which to live.

“I’ll still be here for anybody,” he said.

RSU meeting report

Johnston reported on the recent meeting at Hall-Dale Middle School the KIDS RSU2 board hosted with area legislators and town officials regarding Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budgetary reductions. Specific reductions in the area of education amount to a total $12.6 million.

“It tended to get mired in weeds,” he said about the session. However, he shared what he termed an “earth-shaking piece of information” that if the RSU reduces its budget, the state will reduce the reimbursement figures.

Probert objected to the news about the when he heard it at the meeting calling it counter-productive as an incentive to reduce the budget. “Overall the meeting went very well,” he said.

“We expressed the concerns we have to the legislators,” Johnston said. “We will do our best to get back to the legislators and invite people from the town to get in their word.”

Other business

Moeller said there was an issue about a frozen culvert on Blinn Hill about which Probert said the ice was gone from it this week. 

Following criticism about the plowing during the previous, Moeller said the plowing improved over the storm this past weekend and those doing the plowing are learning.

“They are all rookies,” he said. “They have plowed driveways but not roads. It’s a lot different.”

Probert reported the necessity of having to replace a burner at the recycling center. He said usually they are good for 6000 to 7000 hours and it had 8500 hours. He estimated the cost around $5000 for a burner that can burn waste oil, which, he said saves on oil.

The recycling center burns 500-600 gallons of fuel per year, according to Probert.

Board members also discussed beginning the town budget process at its next workshop next Mon., March 4 at 6 p.m. at the Town Office and appointed Carol Fackler to the budget review committee to fill a vacancy until June.

The next regular board meeting will be held Monday, March 11 at 6 p.m. at Pownalborough Hall.  

Johnston also criticized the lack of information on the budget at the meeting. “We still have no concrete information for the towns. We don’t have any closer idea of what the budget is going to be,” he said.