OAKLAND — The Town Council voted to approve and sign a liquor license and special amusement permit for the Waterville Country Club on Wednesday with little discussion.

Town Manager Gary Bowman said the club has had two rescue calls in the past year and neither was alcohol-related.

The council also signed a sewer commitment and approved the revised Kennebec County Hazard Mitigation Plan.

In other business, Bowman reported that the town’s value decreased by $650,000 in the past year, according to the assessor, the first time the town has seen a decrease in valuation in a number of years. This affects the town’s commitment in Regional School Unit 18’s formula.

This year, the Oakland-based district has formed an ad-hoc committee to review the formula it uses to determine how much money the five towns have to raise. Councilor Don Borman, who is an alternate for Oakland on the cost-sharing committee, explained the process and where the committee stands after two meetings to the council.

“Our two representatives have spoken out quite succinctly that there shouldn’t be any change,” he said. Laura Tracy and Kelly Pinney are the two voting members who represent Oakland on the committee.

The committee is striving to make the fairest choice for all communities, Borman said, but he added that everyone has a different idea of what’s fair. Essentially, keeping the formula as it is, which weights student count at 25 percent and property valuation at 75 percent, benefits Oakland, Sidney and China. A change to weigh student count at 75 percent and property valuation at 25 percent would benefit Rome and Belgrade.

The councilors entered into executive session to discuss real estate and property development at the end of the brief meeting.

Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239

mstamour@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @madelinestamour

 

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