FARMINGTON – Board of Selectmen met Tuesday night to discuss a matter of concern from a member of the community; the local mother asked for the board to re-instate traffic signs to warn drivers in her neighborhood of her son with severe Autism who is liable to run into the road, endangering himself.
The present community member, Jean Mason, brought to the board’s attention the issue of the recent removal of traffic signs previously reading “Caution: Autistic Child at Play” that had been posted on her street. Though she was displeased with the verbiage of the signs to begin with, the complete lack of signs now is putting her son in more danger, she said. Mason felt that drivers should be made aware that while driving through her neighborhood, there is someone who isn’t always adherent to the normal traffic laws and could be in danger of high speeding and less than vigilant drivers. She asked the board for new signs reading “Caution: Autistic Child” to be placed near her house in the hopes that traffic would respond accordingly.
“This is life or death for my son. It’s not a luxury. This is no small matter in our state,” Mason said.
In citing the sheer frequency of children diagnosed with Autism, 1 in 68, she hoped to appeal to the board with research as well as her duty as a parent.
“We deserve to be supported and my son deserves to be protected,” said Mason.
There was initial concern about the effectiveness of the signs. Many board members discussed studies related to drivers eventually becoming desensitized to signs in their daily commutes, but Mason had a dispute for that as well.
“In the short amount of time the first signs were up, we saw a difference in the speed of traffic on the road. I understand the signs might not always be effective, but what’s 100 percent not effective is no sign at all,” said Mason.
This main issue with the reinstalling the signs resided in the mistake of them ever having been installed in the first place. According to town manager Richard Davis, the signs present a possible liability for the town and go against the stipulations of Uniform Traffic Control Devices since they are of a class of signs without any kind of legal enforcement behind them.
“Those non-regulatory signs give a sense of false security. To put the signs back up would be to go against all the legal advice I’ve received. If we put one sign up, suddenly we’re getting requests for hundreds more. I’m looking at the big picture here,” said Davis.
Other board members showed more sympathy for Mason, asking for a way to attend to her request without endangering the town with liability. Eventually, the board reached a compromise to draft a letter of understanding, or a liability waver, for Mason to sign taking full responsibility in the case of a driver injuring her son despite the placement of a new sign. The vote carried 3:2.
In other business, the board approved several retirements, including Nancy Twitchell and Edmund Lewis from the Town Report Committee, as well as Ron Gelinas from the T.I.F. Committee, who will also be leaving the downtown business area to downsize his current business Mainestone Jewelry.
“I would also add a thank you for his service to the town. Twenty-two years is a long time,” said Chairman Matthew Smith on Gelinas’ presence in the business community.
The applications for the Police Chief position close on Dec. 31. Davis said they currently have two internal candidates and one local candidate. Davis will be putting together an email to assemble a committee and acquire community input within the next few weeks.
Another advertisement in Discover Maine Magazine was considered but voted against as a result of the town having a history of advertising with them several times already.
