Special Town Meeting October 13th, 2016 6:30 PM Oxford Town Hall
WARRANT
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
October 13, 2016
TO: Rodney Smith, a Resident of the Town of Oxford in the County of Oxford and State of Maine.
Greetings:
In the name of the State of Maine, you are hereby required to notify and warn the Inhabitants of the Town of Oxford (the “Town”), in the County of Oxford, qualified to vote in Town affairs to meet at the Oxford Town Office, Selectmen’s Meeting Room, at 85 Pleasant Street in said Town, on October 13, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. then and there to act on the following articles, to wit:
Article 1: To choose a moderator to preside at said meeting.
Article 2: Shall the Town adopt the provisions of 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3441 seq. in order to assess parcels of land which are benefited by Publically Owned Treatment Works (“POTW”).
Article 3: Shall the following vote be adopted:
Shall the Town transfer from Reserve Funds under the Fund Balance Policy, Unreserved Fund Balance Policy Funds in the amount of $250,000 and authorize the expenditure of such funds to create a revolving loan fund to pay for installations and connections to Sewer Service Laterals, subject to the following terms: (1) The Board of Selectmen shall be delegated the authority to administer such revolving loan fund program which shall include authorizing the execution of loan agreements or other documentation, and (2) Such loans may include a portion of such loans to be forgiven as an incentive to hook up to the new Waste Water Treatment Facility, and (3) Said revolving loan fund program shall be structured to facilitate the repayment of such $250,000 in funds to the Sewer Department Reserve Funds – Unreserved Fund Balance Policy Account line over a period of ten (10) years by the Sewer Department Budget.
Board of Selectmen Recommendation: Yes
Article 4: To see if the Town will vote to amend the “Sewer Use Ordinance, Town of Oxford, Maine” Section 14.6, as follows:
Adding Section E: Building Permit Fee for Waste Water Treatment Facility Use. The building permit fee is based on the number of equivalent (dwelling) users (“EDU”) (also called an equivalent users) any particular use can be anticipated to produce and which will impact the wastewater treatment plant. An EDU is based on an anticipated load from a single-family home (1.0 EDUs = a single-family residential unit).
This fee will be determined by a vote of the Board of Selectmen, and adjusted from time to time, and charged for any connection to the POTW in addition to any regular building permit fees by the code enforcement officer and/or licensed plumbing inspector.
Article 5: To see if the Town will vote to amend the “Sewer Use Ordinance, Town of Oxford, Maine” Section 14.4, by: (1) deleting the strikethrough section below and, (2) replacing it with the underlined language:
Delete:
14.4 Sewer Service Charge Rate
In general, sewer service charge rates will be determined on a rate structure based on the following:
- Residential User: a base rate sewer charge plus a usage fee based on water consumption
- Commercial/Industrial/Governmental: a base rate sewer charge plus a usage fee based on water consumption
Amend:
14.4 Sewer Service Charge Rate
The Board of Selectmen will set the sewer service charge rate annually, using annual expenses and other revenue as the basis of need for the annual sewer service charge rate.
In general, sewer service charge rates will be determined on a rate structure based on the following:
- Residential User: a base rate sewer charge times equivalent dwelling units (equivalent users) plus a usage fee based on water consumption.
- Commercial/Industrial/Governmental User: a base rate sewer charge times equivalent dwelling units (equivalent users) plus a usage fee based on water consumption.
For users that do not meter water, service charges will be determined by base rate times equivalent dwelling unit (equivalent user) plus 8000 cubic feet times the usage fee.
Article 6: To see if the Town will vote to adopt the following Building Permit Fee Adjustment Schedule as “Appendix A” to the “Sewer Use Ordinance, Town of Oxford, Maine” for use in determining the estimated dwelling units for determination of building permit fees for connecting to Publicly Owned Treatment Works and for calculating quarterly user service charges:
APPENDIX A
BUILDING PERMIT FEE ADJUSTMENT
WASTE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY USE
Schedule of Equivalent Users
| Type of Establishment | Unit Measurement | Equivalent Users |
| Single Family Dwelling | Each | 1 |
| Additional Dwelling Unit | Each | 1 |
| High School
Junior High School Elementary School |
15 students
20 students 24 students |
1
1 1 |
| Motel, Hotel, B&B | 2 rooms | 1 |
| Conventional Restaurant:
3 meals/day 2 meals/day |
6 seats 10 seats |
1 1 |
| Disposable Utensil Restaurant | 12 seats | 1 |
| Church
Dining Seats Assembly Seats |
30 seats 50 seats |
1 1 |
| Club | 40 members | 1 |
| Daycare w/meals | 9 children | 1 |
| Public Meeting/Assembly Hall
without Food Service with Food Service |
50 seats 30 seats |
1
|
| Commercial/Industrial Facility | 5 employees | 1 |
| Government Facility | 5 employees | 1 |
| Casino | 21 seats | 1 |
| Gas Station | 1 pump island | 2 |
| Theater or Playhouse | 40 seats | 1 |
| Laundromat | 1 machine | 2 |
| Cocktail Lounge | 10 seats | 1 |
| Beauty/Barber Shop | 2 sinks | 1 |
| Car Wash (w/recycle) | 1 bay | 1 |
| Hospital or Nursing/Boarding Home | 2 beds | 1 |
| Store with Public Restroom
Store without Public Restroom Store with Food Service Additional for Seating |
Each
Each Each 12 seats |
2
1 2 1 |
| Shopping Center | 12 employees
75 parking spaces |
1
1 |
| Conference Center | 21 Seats | 1 |
Equivalent User numbers for types of establishments not listed shall be based on establishments with similar functions and/or estimated wastewater production. Estimated wastewater design flows are listed in the State of Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules, 144A CMR 241.
Building permit fee adjustment equals $1,000.00 per user. (*Note: The fee is adjustable by Board of Selectmen as authorized in Article 4 approved at a Special Town Meeting on October 13, 2016.)
Article 7: To see if the Town will vote to amend the “Sewer Use Ordinance, Town of Oxford, Maine” Section 14.3, by: (1) deleting the strikethrough section below and, (2) replacing it with the underlined language:
Delete:
14.3 Billings
Sewer services charges shall be billed quarterly. An interest charge at the same rate established by the Town’s Legislative Body (Annual Town Meeting) for uncollected taxes will be made on all bills not paid within 120 days after the date of billing.
Amend:
14.3 Billings
Sewer services charges shall be billed quarterly. An interest charge at the same rate established by the Town’s Legislative Body (Annual Town Meeting) for uncollected taxes will be made on all bills not paid within 30 days after the date of billing.
Article 8: To see if the Town will vote to amend the “Sewer use Ordinance, Town of Oxford, Maine” Section 2.1 Use of Public Sewers, D., by adding the following sentence at the end: “The Board of Selectmen shall establish any fees for permit applications and subsequent inspections as required in this ordinance.” And Section 2.2 Building Sewers and Connections, F., by adding the following sentence at the end: “The Board of Selectmen may establish a revolving loan fund or other program regarding these installations and connections.”