MACHIAS — The Machias Select Board has approved $6,800 for the purchase and installation of a 125,000 Btu propane heater for the Machias Bay Area Transfer and Recycling Center.
“We need a heater,” Select Board Chair Jake Patryn said. “Personally, I think the larger heater makes sense.”
Also at its Oct. 14 meeting, the board authorized Town Manager Sarah Craighead Dedmon to apply for a federal economic development planning grant for Machias Recreation and Leisure through the Northern Border Regional Commission. The total grant is about $119,000.
“It’s a very complex process,” Craighead Dedmon said, adding that it will “help us develop a unified recreation proposal stretching from the Machias River trail, down near Grove Street to Bad Little Falls Park.”
“That sounds awesome,” Patryn said.
At the request of Machias Ambulance Chief Ryan Maker, the board also passed a state-required municipal ambulance resolution.
In other business, contractors completed work on a new roof for Station 1898, Craighead Dedmon said. A grant from the Maine Community Foundation’s Community Building Program and about $3,600 from the Machias Bay Chamber of Commerce paid for the roof.
The Select Board also postponed a decision on buying a new engine for the transfer station’s forklift to await more information.
The board scheduled a cannabis ordinance workshop for 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, preceding the board’s 6 p.m. meeting.
The board plans to hold workshops and public hearings before determining if the six-month moratorium on cannabis businesses, passed July 8, must be extended.
The pause will allow town officials to gather public input, conduct research and propose updates to the ordinance voters passed in May 2024.
The board wants to hear “what works for the public and what works for the business owners,” Patryn said. “We want to hear from them.”
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Select Board plans to hold one meeting in November, at 5 p.m. Nov. 18. In December, the board is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Dec. 2 and Dec. 16.
