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Eustis voters to elect selectmen, discuss fire department funding

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EUSTIS – Residents will head to the polls Friday evening to elect two selectmen, while a request to fund fire department coverage is expected to generate discussion at the annual town meeting Saturday morning.

Polls will be open from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the town office. Two seats on the Board of Selectmen are open, with four residents running for three-year terms: Durrell Brann, Amanda Brochu, Brandi Farnsworth and Patty Simpson. Two seats are also open on the town’s Planning Board, with two residents running for a single, 2-year seat: Jeffrey Brickley and Dwight Gellman. A write-in candidate could be elected to the 3-year term.

School board Director Sarah Strunk is running unopposed for her position.

The town meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in the community building. One subject that could generate debate, according to Board of Selectmen Chair Stephen St. Jean, is Article 14, which would raise and appropriate an additional $25,000 to provide 30 hours per week of coverage at the fire station. While that represents a major change from the volunteer model, St. Jean said, he hoped residents would support the request.

In addition to structure fire-related calls, St. Jean said, the department also responded to vehicle crashes and other incidents around Eustis. Getting firefighters to incidents quickly was sometimes difficult, due to the time it took for the volunteers to travel to the station to get their gear and equipment.

Other increases to the $1.2 million proposed budget include an additional $8,000 for insurance, $10,000 for Public Works and smaller increases to the proposed budgets for the library, the community youth program and the Flagstaff Area Business Association.

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