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Jay board forms solar committee, approves road project

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JAY – The Board of Selectpersons discussed solar power, the Boston Post cane and approved the construction of an access road at the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The board approved the use of $18,000 to construct a road to access the headworks at the plant, which also treats wastewater from Jay. The funds to build the road will come of the plant’s reserve account; approval from both the Jay and Livermore Falls boards is required to access that money. Construction of that road was originally considered as part of the plant upgrade project, but had to be built separately due to a wetlands impact that wasn’t included in the scope of the larger project.

Livermore Falls’ board previously approved the expenditure out of the reserve account, which currently contains roughly $206,000.

The board also discussed the formation of a committee to look into the town’s options regarding solar power power projects and purchase agreements in Jay. ReVision Energy previously offered to form a power purchase agreement with Regional School Unit 73 and has extended a similar offer to the town of Jay. The committee would be able to research different options for the town. The board voted to put Selectpersons Gary McGrane and Judy Diaz on the committee, as well as planning board members and Rep. Tina Riley (D – Jay). More members are being sought for that committee.

Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere has been collecting some information on solar power and will be attending a meeting later this week in Portland on the subject.

The town will also be seeking a new nominee for the Boston Post Cane. Like many New England towns, Jay received a cane from the now-defunct newspaper in 1909. Originally awarded to the oldest resident in each town, the surviving canes – or in many cases, replicas – continue to serve that purpose.

The board approved collecting nominations for the cane until Jan. 8, 2020. The cane will be awarded to the oldest member of the town, assuming they wish to receive it. LaFreniere noted that the town had access to a list of registered voters but wanted to ensure that there wasn’t a qualifying resident that wasn’t registered to vote.

The town is also addressing issues with the roof-mounted heating units on the municipal building, a space shared by the Jay Police Department and town office. The police side of the building recently lost heat, with the problem eventually traced to a hole in a heat exchanger inside the roof-mounted units. The units are now 11 years old and approaching the end of their useful life.

The hole in the exchanger was patched and town officials intend to have an assessment of the building’s heating system conducted prior to sinking more money into the units.

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