By Emily Patrick
Chairman Geno Murray opened the first Selectboard meeting of 2025 by wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year. The selectmen first approved meeting minutes from the December 18 meeting.
Mike Wilson from the Northern Forest Center presented a slideshow to explain where they were at with the Spruce Street Subdivision. He explained that as the project has developed, their plan has varied slightly to address cost and practicality. Though nothing is set in stone yet, project leaders are leaning towards having one road leading into the subdivision with a turnaround at the end.
The project originally consisted of single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses, but they are shying away from the townhouse concept. Wilson says they leaned away from the rowhouses to keep it more low-profile and “friendly.” The current concept consists of 28 units that are all duplexes and single-family homes. There will be one “communal” building that may be used for storage, as the houses won’t have traditional garages, but they’re still looking at other options.
Part of the concept is to create space between the complex and the train tracks, because he says it’s loud if you’re standing right on the road and the train goes by. They’re also trying to be mindful of snow plowing, though that’s a piece the property managers will take on for now. They’ve also settled on a location for the pump house in the current conceptual plan. In their talks with Town Manager Mike Roy, they’ve tried to be mindful of practicality while also considering things from an engineering standpoint, all while trying to keep costs down as much as possible to make these homes affordable to middle-class, working residents.
The snowmobile trail is tight with the current concept, but Wilson wants everyone to know they are aware and being mindful of creating space within the plan for the snowmobile trail. They’re still exploring floor plans for the homes, but generally they are settling in on single-story, 2-3 bedroom homes that are around 1300 square feet, with a 3-season porch.
Wilson says the important thing on his end is they will be using a mass timber construction design. Mass timber construction is a type of construction that uses engineered wood products to create buildings and other structures. Mass timber is a strong, durable, and sustainable alternative to concrete and steel; in this case, panels of timber will be “glued” together.
From organizational mission standpoint, they’re interested in using this project as a pilot for the way people approach residential construction. Because the project managers are aware of the labor shortage, the homes will be easy to construct on site; they will come in panels as large as possible (with as few pieces).
Over time they hope this is something that can take root in this area, and be made with Maine timber to solve Maine’s housing problem. They hope others can look to this as a solution to housing shortage in more rural areas. Board member Pierce asks what the lifespan is on something like this. Wilson says going out on a limb, the homes will have a longer life expectancy than a typical stick-built home. In some cities, they are already building skyscrapers out of mass timber construction. They say the challenge for it to be affordable for small-scale construction.
Selectman Whitman asks who these homes are going to be available to. Wilson makes it clear these are not low-income houses. Wilson says NFC’s target is to make these available to year-round, middle-income residents, perhaps someone who works as a teacher or at the hospital.
They are looking at a hybrid heat pump and woodstove combination for the units. These are environmentally-focused units. Wilson says, “This is a project that we anticipate will draw some attention,” because of construction style and the approach they are taking. This is the first mass timber project on a small residential scale in Maine. Because of the way the homes are constructed, there is a lot of open space.
Haley Ward is doing the site engineering for the project. Currently, NFC is working with Town Manager Roy to work through the NEPA approval process to access NBRC funds. A public review period will follow. The town has to sign off on that to use those grant dollars. Wilson says they anticipate they will have that environmental assessment completed this week, followed by the 30-day public comment period. If all goes well, they move towards final approval.
NFC is also working with Roy on getting RFP’s put together. They do need to go to a subdivision review process because the project consists of more than four dwelling units. They will have to work with the Planning Board to go through that process. The Town will be especially involved in the road dedication and acceptance process. This process includes surveying the road and pump stations, posting public notice and hold a special town meeting. Once all this happens, they will clear land and start construction.
The goal is to have two model homes completed by Fall 2025. Wilson says he is happy to come in and share at any point in the process. Though they don’t yet have sale prices in mind for the homes, Selectman Pierce ventured a guess of $240,000, and Wilson said the price will likely be higher. However, their main goal is and has always been to make these homes as affordable as possible for year-round, working residents.
There will be a presale period for the homes, while some units will be held by NFC to lease for a period of time before they are sold. These will be primary residences, not second homes. Until all the homes are sold by NFC, regular maintenance fees will be borne by them, but they anticipate the formation of a homeowner’s association going forward once all units are sold and NFC has no ownership. At this stage, it’s likely association dues will pay for shared maintenance.
When the NFC was done with their presentation, the selectmen reviewed the 2025 County Tax Assessor’s Return. Greenville’s Tax Assessment due (or County tax) for 2025 is $797,684.000, up $125,460 from last year, which was $672,224.00. Chairman Murray said, “The reality is, we are looking at a significant increase.”
We have the highest valuation in the county at $5,080,000, second being Dover-Foxcroft at $442,300,000. From Roy: “…for the County 2025 Budget Year, Greenville will pay 13.43% of the county tax. Dover will pay 12.05% of the county tax.” He says, “This is where it hurts to be number one.” He continues, “We are the highest-taxed town in the County, and what do we get for it?” With this high valuation, we will likely lose our homestead exemption and school subsidies.
Selectman Peat asks if the county budget as a whole was up. The answer: it was not. Chairman Murray wrapped up the discussion by pointing out that everyone in the county gets the same services. We don’t get additional services because of our tax burden to the County. The motion to pay the tax as requested and in the manner requested was unanimously passed.
Next was the Town Manager’s report. Mike Roy had received a letter from Moosehead Cable, as many of us have, stating their intention to suspend cable in Greenville in six months. This is part of their obligation to local government as a provider- to notify them of this change in service.
The Eveleth Hill repair remains on hold, as the FEMA process is taking longer than expected. Next for repair consideration are the Leisure Life Road or McAfee Street.
The Town loader and backhoe were recently out at the same time, needing repairs. One repair estimate came back just under $10,000. Mike Roy sought a second opinion and was put in touch with mechanic through local contractor willing to do it for less than half. The repair on the Town equipment will start on January 16. In other Public Works news, the Town Foreman dropped off their keys and other town-owned items yesterday and has resigned.
The Town has hired a new transfer station employee who will start training immediately. His name is Jeffrey Rose and he lives in Harford’s Point. He is retired and has some heavy equipment experience and is looking for something to do! Welcome, Jeffrey!
The Town has received two bids for the storage building at Red Cross Beach. Roy and Rec Directory Tornquist will review the bids this weekend. However, there have been no bids yet for concrete slab for the storage building, so the Town had to repost that request.
Maine DEP showed up for an unscheduled inspection at the Town transfer station recently. Roy received the report and, while there were a few recommendations, Mike says they are minor “housekeeping” items. The general remarks from report stated that the, “Greenville Transfer Station is in excellent condition both in terms of operation and maintenance.” Roy thinks that’s “excellent” considering it was an unannounced inspection.
On the administration side of things, there’s some “refreshing” news. After 20 years, the Clerk’s office is getting a refresh, including new paint and trim on the walls. All three clerks had a hand in picking out colors, curtains, and more. Roy states it should be a “nice refresh” and that the Code Enforcement office will be next.
In airport news, the hangar lease renewals were sent out in December. As of the Selectboard meeting, all but three were received back.
Roy, for the third time, recently sent out letters to the property owners of the privately-owned portion of the transfer station road. This road is in serious disrepair and has caused both public confusion and outrage. Roy has received three responses back on his attempt to set up a meeting between the Town and the property owners, but seems to be making little progress. The County Commissioner’s reply to Roy was simply, “It’s a private road.”
Chairman Murray recognizes the dire need to do something about this issue. He says, “Until something is done about this road we are going to continue to get slaughtered by our taxpayers.” He continues, “How do we problem-solve this? What solutions can we come up with?” Several ideas were thrown around in the case of the Town being unable to fix the road (which, even if the Town got permission from private property owners, would cost upwards of $1 million to repair). Some possible solutions included building a new road, or closing the transfer station, or even moving it elsewhere. Though it’s all pure speculation at this point, residents of Greenville should know the Selectmen are taking this issue seriously and are committed to moving forward to find solutions.
During the public comment period of the meeting, Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Committee President Margarita Contreni reminded attendees of their recent partnership with Friends of the Mountain and intention to work with Friends to purchase the ski area. Margarita invited the public to attend the public launch of their fundraising campaign this Saturday at the Mountain at 4 pm. She said there will be, “Lots of remarks and good entertainment and refreshments.” She is scheduled to come back on February 5th before the Select Board for a presentation.