Norway residents were warned at this week’s select board meeting that police will enforce the winter parking ban to keep streets clear for plow trucks.
NORWAY, Maine — A day after the season’s first snowstorm, interim Town Manager and Police Chief Jeffery Campbell told selectmen a program that has town police officers deliver salt and sand to residents and senior citizens who cannot shovel and haul it themselves will continue this winter.
The project, called Operation Sandbox, provides home delivery of a bucket of salt-and-sand mixture to Norway residents in need.
“If anyone has a need for sand, they can call the Town Office, and the Police Department will organize that,” Campbell said at Thursday night’s Select Board meeting at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris.
Campbell said that while police cannot deliver truckloads of sand, they can provide a bucket or two when needed.
During the meeting, the Select Board unanimously approved a $700 donation to the skating program at the Norway Recreation Center.
Board Chair Russell Newcomb said the donation will cover the cost for 20 students from Guy E. Rowe Elementary School in Norway to attend the program.
According to the Norway Parks and Recreation website, the program will run Monday afternoons from Jan. 5 to Feb. 9. It is designed for beginners and advanced skaters. Recreation staff members will meet students at the elementary school at afternoon dismissal and walk them to the ice rink on Cottage Street.
Board Vice Chair Sarah Carter applauded the town’s Highway Department for clearing streets during the storm Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
“I wish the plows would slow down,” Carter joked. “I like when I can ski down Main Street at midnight.”
Not all storm-related issues went smoothly. In his town manager’s report, Campbell said some residents violated the town’s parking ban during the snowfall.
“Some folks are not following the parking ban,” he said.
Campbell said he wanted to remind residents of the practicalities of the parking ban.
Under the ban, vehicles may not park on any street or road from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. between Nov. 15 and April 15. Violators face a $25 fine plus towing costs.
In other matters, Selectwomen Anita Hakala and Danielle Wadsworth said they received complaints that town employees were using municipal vehicles for nonwork purposes.
“It’s a reminder that unless they are doing town work, they should not be using town vehicles,” Hakala said.
Campbell said some positions, such as the fire chief, drive municipal vehicles because they are always on call and must respond quickly to emergencies. He added that he will work to clarify when town employees are permitted to use municipal vehicles.
Campbell also said the application count for the open Norway town manager position, which closes Monday, Dec. 8, has climbed to 21.
Campbell said the next step is for the Select Board to review applicants at its Dec. 11 meeting and narrow the pool to 10.
Hakala said the town should begin forming a committee and encourage public participation in the budget process — the sooner, the better.
Hakala said other area towns are informing the public about budget meetings and recruiting members for their committees, with some already having meetings scheduled.
Campbell said there was no word yet on whether last year’s volunteers would return, and no budget meeting dates have been set.
“At last year’s town meeting, the budget was the big issue,” Hakala said. “I want everyone in town to have a say in it. We need to keep trying to get more people involved.”
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. To get regular coverage from The Monitor, sign up for a free Monitor newsletter here.