Hallowell’s City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday to consider proposed amendments to the general assistance ordinance that would change the definition of who is eligible to receive general assistance.
The amended ordinance would define an eligible person to include U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizens who are lawfully present in the United States and non-U.S. citizens who are pursuing a lawful process to apply for immigration relief. Assistance for noncitizens pursuing a lawful process for immigration relief would not be allowed to exceed 24 months. The council plans to have all three readings of the amendments after the public hearing.
In other business, the fire services committee is expected to provide the council with an update.
At a committee meeting Monday, Fire Chief Mike Grant proposed building a fire station at the Stevens Commons site with the hope of renovating part of the campus’s Erskine Building into a public safety facility and community center that would include space for the Hallowell Fire and Police departments.
The committee is hopeful that in the next few weeks, Grant and Stevens Commons developer Matt Morrill can provide the committee with cost estimates. There will be another fire services committee meeting at 10 a.m. Oct. 29, and there has been talk of holding a public meeting, too, before the committee would make its recommendation to the council.
City Manager Nate Rudy has given the committee nine options to consider, including contracting fire services to Augusta and disbanding the Hallowell department, leasing space in Farmingdale’s station while operating an autonomous department, reconstructing the existing Second Street station, and building a public safety facility at Stevens Commons. The plans that include a 24/7 per diem department are all but dead because of the considerable cost to the city and tax burden that would be placed on property owners.
Other items on the agenda include a presentation from the American Association of Retired Persons, which recently designated Hallowell an age-friendly community; and a presentation by the Greater Augusta Water District.
In other news from Hallowell, the Maine Department of Transportation is hosting a public meeting Oct. 27 to discuss the continued planning of the upcoming Water Street reconstruction project.
City Manager Nate Rudy is holding interviews Oct. 13 of applicants for the vacant code enforcement officer position. Dick Dolby, who headed the code enforcement office in Augusta for more than 20 years, held the interim code enforcement officer title since Maureen Aucoin left the position in June.
Jason Pafundi — 621-5663
Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ
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