In a meeting that saw more people than the annual town meeting, Newcastle residents came out Monday, Oct. 19, to vote on the future of its public works operations.

In the end, the town voted, 37-28, to forgo creating its own Newcastle public works department and instead have the selectmen go back to the drawing board.

While several people spoke in favor of adding a full-time foreman, a seasonal worker and a contractual engineer to create a department, the more vocal majority raised issues pertaining to cost and taxes. Under that scenario, the overseer of the department would be current Superintendent of Roads Steve Reynolds, who would be hired as a contractor. The full-time position would have been responsible for a number of projects and the seasonal worker would be on hand to help with projects in the late spring, summer and fall.

Selectmen’s Chairman Brian Foote said the best way for the town to maintain its current level of maintenance and repair was to have its own department. Foote said that under the current interlocal agreement with Damariscotta, work that would normally have been put off has been completed, and said he felt that Newcastle's roads were in better condition than they were before the agreement.

But, with only approximately $80,000 left in the budget after the interlocal agreement ends on Oct. 31, several audience members were worried that the newly-formed department would chew through that budget and ask for more money in coming years.

“Newcastle is a small town, and we have a small tax base,” former selectman Neiland Campbell said. “And our mil rate is among the highest in the county. For us to have our own public works department ... is a pie in the sky. We can't support it. We can't support it. This thing is going to grow like Pinocchio's nose.”

Campbell pointed to the work plan constructed by the selectmen and Reynolds that details what work the town will aim to accomplish in the coming five years and said it could be used in a different way.

“I say we bundle it up (the list of projects) and let local contractors in on it,” he said. “Let (the contractors) take the work. Let them take the insurance costs, let them take (the cost of paying) their men and let them take on the trouble. All that stuff we would have to pay for, let them take it.

“Figures don't lie, but liars figure.”

Foote said the plan was to keep the budget unchanged, but to allow for a three percent pay raise for the employees.

Foote added that while there may be added costs — such as adding a truck and trailer to the town's roster of equipment and potentially building a structure to house them — the cost savings would eventually come back to the town.

“I think it can be done,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but I really do think it can be done.”

Foote said that had the town been given the green light to form a new department, the job description would likely change for the full-time employee. Foote said that with a full-time employee there wouldn't have been a want for work — everything from plowing to carpentry would have been expected from the new position.

But members of the crowd weren't too pleased with idea of added costs stemming from a new department.

Several people in the crowd suggested Newcastle follow the same path their former interlocal partners have: contract the work out, but retain a supervisor to oversee the work. Several people indicated that they wanted to see the selectmen take an active role in the overseeing of any road work done.

The selectmen will return to the drawing board in the coming weeks to decide on the future of the department.