Fiscal Year 2015 TOWN of WELLS ANNUAL REPORT
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TOWN OF WELLS TOWN OF WELLS, ME OF WELLS, TOWN ANNUAL REPORT Fiscal Year 2015 2015 ANNUAL 2015 ANNUAL REPORT For Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2014 and ending June 30, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Holiday and Meeting Schedule ....................................................................................................... 2 Dedication ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Administration Boards and Commissions ............................................................................................................ 13 Elected Officials .......................................................................................................................... 11 Maine Congressional Delegation ................................................................................................ 23 Message from the Governor ........................................................................................................ 31 Municipal Listing ........................................................................................................................ 10 State Legislative Delegation ........................................................................................................ 19 Telephone Numbers .................................................................................................................... 9 Town Manager and Board of Selectmen ..................................................................................... 5 York County Commissioner ........................................................................................................ 29 Boards/Committees Conservation Commission........................................................................................................... 72 Historical Society of Wells & Ogunquit ..................................................................................... 77 Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Wells Water District .............................................................. 96 Wells Public Library Board of Trustees ...................................................................................... 69 Wells Sanitary District ................................................................................................................ 99 Zoning Board of Appeals ............................................................................................................ 84 Department Reports Assessor ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Town Clerk .................................................................................................................................. 34 Code Enforcement Office ............................................................................................................ 37 Fire Department .......................................................................................................................... 38 General Office/Treasurer ............................................................................................................. 44 Harbormaster ............................................................................................................................... 46 Human Resources ........................................................................................................................ 47 Planning Department .................................................................................................................. 49 Police Department ...................................................................................................................... 54 Public Works Department ........................................................................................................... 60 Town Historian ............................................................................................................................ 62 Wells Chamber of Commerce ..................................................................................................... 76 Wells Emergency Medical Services ............................................................................................ 80 Wells Parks & Recreation .......................................................................................................... 70 Wells Public Library ................................................................................................................... 65 Wells Public Library Growing Again Campaign ........................................................................ 66 Wells Regional Transportation Center ........................................................................................ 82 Finance Audit ............................................................................................................................................ 116 Unpaid Real Estate and Personal Property Tax .......................................................................... 85 Cover photo courtesy of Bruce Bjork, Moose in Marsh off Furbish Road 1 HOLIDAY AND MEETING SCHEDULE 2016 Holiday Schedule New Year’s Day Friday, January 1, 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Monday, January 18, 2016 Presidents’ Day Monday, February 15, 2016 Memorial Day Monday, May 30, 2016 Independence Day (July 4) Monday, July 4, 2016 Labor Day Monday, September 5, 2016 Columbus Day Monday, October 10, 2016 Veterans’ Day Friday, November 11, 2016 Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 24, 2016 Day after Thanksgiving Friday, November 25, 2016 Christmas Day Monday, December 26, 2016 Regularly Scheduled Meetings All meetings are held in the Littlefield Meeting Room of Town Hall unless otherwise noted. SELECTMEN 1st & 3rd Tuesday, 7PM PLANNING BOARD 1st & 3rd Monday, 7PM ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 2nd & 4th Monday, 7PM STAFF REVIEW COMMITTEE 1st & 3rd Tuesday, 9AM COMP PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE 3rd Thursday, 5PM RECREATION COMMISSION 2nd Wednesday, 6:30PM (Meetings at Walter Marsh Recreation Facility) LIBRARY (Meetings in Library Conference Room) Board of Directors 2nd Wednesday, 6:00PM Friends of the Library 2nd Thursday, 10:00AM WELLS SANITARY DISTRICT TRUSTEES 197 Eldridge Road Last Thursday, 7:00PM WOCSD SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1st Wednesday, 6:30PM (Meets at Superintendent’s Office, Route 1 campus) ALL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 2 DEDICATION June Patricia (Hilton) Messier June Patricia (Hilton) Messier was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts March 21, 1931, and raised by her grandparents, Barbara and George Hilton. They owned an old farm homestead on Buffum Hill in Wells where they summered each year. Their son, (June’s uncle) Dorrell Hilton built a home in Wells abutting them, farming and opening the Buffum Hill Farm Stand in 1931. As a child, June came to Wells for the summer each year with her grandparents, learning farming and loving her time in our seaside community. When she was 14, June remained in Wells attending high school-- graduating from Wells High in 1948. June met her husband, Roger Messier when he was stationed at Fort Devin’s, Massachusetts. He agreed to help her move her ailing grandmother who had returned to Massachusetts, back to Buffum Hill in Wells. June says, “He came up the hill, liked what he saw, and never left!” They were married on February 29- leap year day- 1952. They have 2 children, Elizabeth and Patricia, 2 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She began her working career at the old Dresser Marsh in Kennebunk, then the offices of Cole Harrison, owned her own shop called “The Scottish Shop” in Portsmouth then moved it to Kennebunkport and in 1972 she and Roger took over the Buffum Hill Farm Stand from her uncle Dorrell Hilton. They expanded the farm produce -- and stand-- and June made homemade products to sell. They ran it until a few years ago when she and Roger retired from the farm stand business and now lease it out. People in Wells have seen June working at the polls on voting day for many, many years. “I’ve worked at the polls for so long, no one can remember when I started!” she laughs when asked how long she’s been doing it. June also built a professional singing career, hired as a soloist in many of the area churches and as choir director in others from Portsmouth to Biddeford, performing (and headlining) in 3 Cardiac Capers for 8 years raising money to build the Biddeford Southern Maine Hospital and in singing with Seacoast Savoyards. June’s volunteer efforts in Wells are legendary. She served on the school board for 8 years, including the difficult years of separation from Ogunquit, was a member and officer in the Wells Grange for more than 25 years, was Ms. Maine in the Senior American Pageant held in Atlantic City NJ in 1992 (she received honorable mention), was a board member for the Wells/Ogunquit Historic Society, served on the Wells 350th Celebration steering committee, was the creator and director of the Fractured Follies annual show for 12 years to raise money first for the Wells 350th anniversary and then the Wells/Ogunquit Senior Center , was one of the earliest members of the Senior Needs Committee of Wells and Ogunquit where she became (and still is) the Treasurer and worked tirelessly on efforts to raise funds to build the Wells/Ogunquit Center at Moody (Senior Center), is the director of the local community theater group “Applause for a Cause” doing volunteer performances to benefit local organizations, and has been in charge of