The selectmen will not meet Monday, Jan. 21 due to the Martin-Luther King Jr. holiday. Their next meeting will be Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at the town office.

Westport Island Selectmen spent much of their January 14 meeting discussing local code violations and Governor Paul LePage’s proposed budget. (See related story in this edition.)

Two certified letters will be sent to property owners who have violated town ordinances. A letter was sent from the selectmen to Richard Amistadi for violations in the Shoreland zoning area; a letter was also sent by the Code Enforcement Officer Gary Richardson to Charles Mixter for a violation of an erecting structure without obtaining a building permit.

Water testing

The selectmen recently had the water tested at the Wright House on the Ferry Road and the test came back that the water was satisfactory for drinking; a copy of the report was sent to the person now renting the house.

A discussion pursued as to having the water tested in all the town buildings. The issue was tabled until their January 28 meeting when a full board will be present. Selectman Gerald Bodmer was not at the meeting due to a meeting with the RSU 12 negotiating committee at the same time.

Appointment

The selectmen appointed Tamara Tyler as the town’s health officer for a 3-year term. She had been previously appointed for a 1 -year term, but because state law requires a health officer’s appointment must be for three years.

According to the law, a local health officer must be qualified by education, training and experience in the field of public health.  A person who is appointed as a local health officer who is not qualified by education, training or experience must meet qualification standards adopted by Department of Health and Human Services

The Maine Center for Disease Control will provide six-hour trainings at least annually in each of eight Department of Health and Human Services Districts. Current or proposed local health officers will not be charged for participation in these trainings.

The Maine CDC may offer additional trainings using different modalities such as the Web and telecommunication technologies in order to address the training needs of present or proposed local health officers.

According to the selectmen, Tyler will take her classes on line, at no cost to the town.

Next meeting

The next meeting will be Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at the town office.