WINSLOW: CMP rep explains need to upgrade transmission lines

by Jonathan Strieff

More than 30 residents gathered at the Winslow Public Library to attend the monthly town council meeting on Monday, August 14. After a roll call vote and approval of the minutes from the July meeting, the first order of business was to award the 2023 Spirit of America award to Wallace “Wally” LaFountain. LaFountain served as a teacher at Winslow High School throughout the 1950s and ‘60s before going to work for the Department of Education, in Augusta.

He was the longtime head coach of the Winslow High School football team and started the school’s wrestling program. He was a 1940s “all-decade” football star and received a bronze star for serving overseas during World War II. His receipt of the Spirit of America award was met with a standing ovation by all present.

Next, representative Ben Shepherd from Central Maine Power Co. addressed the council with a 10-minute presentation concerning the need to upgrade and possibly reroute a 23-mile long section of transmission lines running between Winslow and Augusta. Built in 1920, Section One, as this particular stretch of transmission line is called, connects two substations and provides service for more than 77,000 CMP customers in Winslow, Benton, Vassalboro, and Augusta.

A 2016 assessment identified numerous issues with the aging infrastructure, including insufficient working clearances for linemen, broken and otherwise compromised conductors and insulators, the lack of a static wire to protect the system from lightning strikes and more than 90 of the 632 utility poles along the route failing a basic visual inspection. After submitting to a Nonwire Alternative review with the Public Utilities Commission in 2019, the PUC certified the project to rebuild Section One out of public necessity in July 2022 and granted final approval to the project last month.

CMP has an additional environmental survey to complete by the end of the year and to decide if the rebuilt transmission line will follow the current route or a slightly shorter route along another existing right of way. Construction is expected to start in January 2025 and be in service by the end of that year.

The board unanimously voted to add Peter Newkirk to the planning board.

Following the Town Manager’s monthly report about several new municipal hirings and ongoing infrastructure projects, Second District councilor Dale Maclean, proposed an item not on the agenda to direct the town manager to launch an investigation into allegations that Third District council member Jerry Quirion violated Maine’s Open Meeting laws by discussing municipal business with a quorum of council members outside of official public meetings. The resolution passed with six in favor and one abstention.

During public comment, many residents expressed anger that commenting on the town’s Facebook page had been disabled. The post in question related to the appointment of police chief, Lenny McDaid, to a new role as Director of Public Safety, now including the fire department as well. Town manager Erica LaCroix explained the decision to remove the public comments from the website came on advice from counsel, when the comments crossed the line to defamation.

Several amendments to the town’s medical marijuana ordinances to also allow for the cultivation and sale of adult use recreational marijuana received second readings and were approved unanimously. Also approved unanimously was an authorization agreement with the city of Waterville for emergency service dispatch, as Waterville was recently recertified as Public Saftey Access Point or PSAP dispatch.

New business receiving first votes included renewing the town contract with the Humane Society Waterville Area for animal services and the appropriation of excess revenues to cover budget overruns, largely due to an increase in overtime pay to the fire department.

The restructuring of the fire and police departments under the shared Public Safety department was expected to save the town money, but so far this has not been the case. Another public saftey budget overage resulted from budgeting money to hire new personnel, and for the necessary equipment to outfit them.

One item of new business passed without a second reading was the appropriation of $16,940 to board up the windows of the old Winslow Junior High School.