Chairman Contreni started the evening’s planning board meeting with a public comment period regarding Greenville’s proposed zoning ordinance changes. No vote was held Wednesday evening. Instead, this was the public’s opportunity to ask questions and express concerns.
CEO Ron Sarol showed a map which highlighted lots on the left side of the Steam Plant Road. In support of the zoning change, he named Ware-Butler and Pepin Associates as two commercial businesses on that road, and argued the lots are not being used for industrial purposes. Sarol said the State is encouraging Greenville to look at options to increase residential housing in our area, and changing this area from Commercial Industrial Zone to Greenville Village District would open up this option. Currently, in the Industrial Zone, residential housing is not allowed.
Scott Hersey spoke and said he was involved at the time the steam plant road association was formed in the early 90’s, and at that time there was a lot of grant money involved and the hope Greenville Steam would gain a partner and flourish. He said at the time, it was almost opposite of what it is now; they were trying to bring more industrial business into the area, as our local sawmill had just closed, and were not worried as much about housing. Hersey said, “Obviously, needs have changed, and ownership.”
Indeed, the road association was dissolved by the state in 2012. Sarol said he spoke to representatives from the steam plant recently and they said they are still trying to make “a go” of the plant, so zoning for the steam plant area on the right side of the road would not be affected by this proposed zoning change. Sarol said the private owners on the left side of the road, including Melrose, Ware-Butler and Pepin Associates, were “all for it” [the proposed zoning change].
The board then moved on to the second proposed zoning change, which concerns the Hammond Lumber property downtown, which is made up of three lots. There are requests for them to be able to build a large building out there so they can bring inside what’s being stored outside, but it’s not allowed under the current zoning. This change would allow them to do that. Sarol says it will “clean up that entire area” as the older buildings come down and storage is consolidated.
With no further comments, Contreni closed the public comment period at 5:18 pm. After the vote, presumably next meeting, the zoning change will go before the select board and then be discussed at the Annual Town Meeting. At 5:30 pm, the regularly scheduled planning board meeting opened.
In his CEO report Sarol said the past two weeks have been largely spent with 911 addressing. He also visited and spoke with landowners regarding zone changes. The board also reviewed a setback variance request form proposed by Sarol should the proposed setback variance ordinance pass.
Sarol has been getting a lot of requests to extend permits from last year because the projects did not get done, and he has granted those extensions. He’s continued reviewing the Blair Hill Subdivision, but has not yet received their completed survey. He approved one permit for a 40×46 garage out by the industrial park. The Town is up to 12 permits for the year so far.
The board continued to discuss the Property Maintenance/Dangerous Building Ordinance. The board is reviewing existing ordinances from Milo, Maine, Anson, Paris and others. The board is going to review and revisit this proposed ordinance next meeting.
Near the end of the meeting, the planning board discussed the lack of housing in our area, an ongoing concern for the board and our community. Ireland said right now there are only three houses available in town and the cheapest one is $250,000, which is out of reach for many families in our area. Arco brought up a worker at Indian hill who was forced to move back to Camden because there were no rentals available for her. The board pointed out the conundrum: we want people to come here and stay and bolster the economy, but there’s no housing available. This will undoubtedly be an issue that will be revisited many times in the near future.
At the beginning of the evening’s select board meeting, Chairman Murray asked for a moment of silence for Stephanie Elsemore, who passed away tragically and unexpectedly on April 1st. Stephanie was a much-loved member of the community: coach, wife, sister, mother and friend, and leaves a big hole in our little Town with her passing.
Tammy Firman introduced two liquor license renewals: one for Moose Creek RV park and Kelly’s Landing. Chief Carr had no issues and recommended approval for both. Both were approved 5-0 and signed by the board.
Chief Carr and Deputy Chief Guay gave their first Police Department report of 2025. Carr said it’s “…been busy in Greenville and the PD is no exception.” He started off the report by talking about a grant the Town has received for ATV compliance for the last several years. Carr feels complaints about the ATV’s have died down and voluntary compliance to the ATV rules has gotten better. About the ATV’s in Town, he said: “Enjoy yourself, but just obey the rules.”
Carr gave an update on the new body camera program and admitted that, while he was a skeptic at first, the body camera program has been “very successful.” He said the body cams protect the police and the Town from all liability, cut down on personnel complaints, and save our officers time in court and in trial.
On the county side of things, the Town is working with the county on their multi-million-dollar program to do radio tower upgrades in the region. Jim’s focus locally is the Moose Mountain tower and the Airport tower. Jim has also been going to meetings for mass casualty training. Down the road, we’re expected to receive a grant for emergency management training that will likely come to fruition next school year. He said this is a, “good training for everybody.”
Town Manager Mike Roy and Carr have been getting complaints about the new public safety building. Residents are generally upset about the lack of an officer stationed at the building at all times, and even when an officer is present, Carr said it’s difficult to hear the phone ringing from the lobby unless you’re right next to it. They decided on a doorbell system which will be installed soon, and they’re trying to rearrange the PD schedule so someone is available there at all times.
Carr just finished up with his 2024 state mandated reporting and categorization of the year’s 911 calls. We ended the year with 1,496 calls, which is an increase from last year. The breakdown is as follows: 90 calls were 911 related misdials, hang ups or open lines. 74 were alarm calls for houses that have security systems. 42 calls were for suspicious people or vehicles. The Town handled 34 animal complaints, which ranged from the fox at the school, to an injured deer, to domestic animal complaints. There were 46 accident calls and four personal injury accidents, 22 thefts, 18 trespassing complaints, 11 domestics, 17 mental health calls, 14 harassments and 376 traffic stops. The town also was involved in 50 agency assists. These calls can be anything from BMV/DMV investigations, VIN verification, or even the State police or Bangor PD looking for vehicle.
Carr shared the details of one particular Sheriff’s office assist. It involved a suicidal individual in Monson who had gravely harmed themselves and cut the propane lines in their home with the intention of blowing up the house. Carr said igniting the 500-gallon tank would have “blown up the whole block.” Officers Guay and Plume were the first on scene. They were able to get in and subdue the individual and get them mental health attention, which prevented more than one tragedy that evening. Carr said this highlights the importance of having experienced officers on staff like Plume and Guay and that the sheriff’s office was “very appreciative.”
Carr continued that people complain all the time about the Town cruiser sitting at Breton’s or Northwoods because they think nothing is getting done, but oftentimes these officers are parked listening to calls come in and that it also, “…helps you solve stuff. People will come up to you, talk to you.” Similarly, he said he’s not a fan of the coffee next door (at Big Apple), but likes going in for coffee in the morning to talk to the locals and get a feel for what might be going on around town.
Carr received two phone calls recently from two out-of-state police departments They called to thank the Town of Greenville, in particular Officer Guay, for stopping two imminent school shootings in Vermont. An individual who wishes to remain anonymous felt comfortable enough to approach Guay about this situation they had become aware of. Carr said the shooting was “going to happen” and was “imminent,” but thanks to Guay’s intervention notifying the proper authorities, the individual was taken into custody and their weapons seized.
When it was Guay’s turn to speak, he elaborated on the situation by sharing the suspect was a 14-year-old “kid” who had drawings, plans, a way to access the school, weapons and even a tactical vest. He had also already targeted specific students and staff members. Upon further investigation, the suspect’s Facebook page was a shrine to former school shooters, the Columbine shooters in particular, whom they “idolized.” Guay said the individual “made no bones” about the fact they fully intended to carry out the shooting and the only reason they hadn’t is because they were having trouble accessing their guardian’s gun cabinet. This scenario highlights the importance of Guay’s role as our School Resource Officer and “building relationships” so kids feel “comfortable” reaching out. He also said usually these situations “stay internal,” but, “…people need to know that the system does work.”
Guay continued to talk about how his new role as SRO is going. He feels his daily routine of greeting students in the morning and saying goodbye to them in the afternoon is especially important. He’s been working with the warden’s service on a week-long program on ice safety for Pre-K through Grade 12.
Guay’s Choices Matter program is already scheduled for next February, where a guest speaker will talk to our students about their experience losing their father at a construction site due to someone’s poor choice to text and drive. This program has been going on for several years now at no cost to the school or town, and teaches students about the seriousness of their choices from the point-of-view of individuals who have either made life-changing choices, or were on the receiving end of someone else’s bad decisions.
Guay is working with Fire Chief Murray to start Greenville’s bike rodeo back up. He’s continuing to do fire safety and 911 talks with our students and has taken over the emergency management planning for the school, which includes fire and lockdown drills. He’s been working with our Health teacher, Andy Shaw, to teach students about the effects of drugs, doing welfare checks, and generally building rapport with students.
Chairman Murray expressed his gratitude for Carr, Guay and our local PD by saying, “You guys do wonderful work.” He then transitioned into a discussion about our transfer station contract, which is up for review this June. Out of three proposals reviewed by the Transfer Station Committee on March 11, only two were returned, and a representative from each of those two entities was present at the meeting and had a chance to speak.
The owner of Bolster’s, a Maine Rubbish & Recycling Company locally owned and operated since 1975, said, “We think that we add value to the businesses and residences of this town. [We] think that we can do a really good job for you.” He said they are a relatively small company, and one perk is there is a real, live person available to answer the phone during business hours. He continued, “[We are] not looking to put anyone out of business…just looking to throw my hat in the ring [and] provide a little friendly competition.”
When it was his turn to speak, Sean Bolen, the current holder of the Town contract, said, “You know what I do, you know what I’ve done. I’m part of the Town.” Unlike Bolster’s that is already fully-staffed, Bolen’s operation creates jobs for locals. He currently has nine employees, four full-time, and says he’s been “doing this since I bought it in ’97.” As stated previously, the contract is up for review in June. No final decision has been made yet and the Transfer Station Committee is continuing to review the two proposals.
To close the meeting, Mike Roy gave a brief Manager’s Report. He was happy to share we have a new Deputy Town Clerk. They currently live in Dover-Foxcroft, but are actively looking for property in Greenville. There’s been a positive development for our local Public Works, as well. Former Town employee Matt Hall recently came on board part-time to help out and wants to help the Town rebuild its Public Works Department. Interviews will start next Wednesday for additional positions.
Starting May 1st and continuing throughout the year, Maine is rolling out its new “Pine Tree” license plates. All “chickadee” plates will have to be returned at the time your registration is due, but if you’re not a fan of the new pine tree design, you can still opt for a specialty plate or a plain “no tree” plate, which is a plain white plate with green and blue lettering.
In closing, Roy shared he’s collaborating with the Moosehead Marathon to ensure a successful event in terms of public safety, and all present seemed excited about the event and the new possibilities it will bring to “mud season” in Greenville.