The Boothbay selectmen will ask one more time for FairPoint Communications and Central Maine Power to remove old, broken unused utility poles before denying future requests for replacement permits. The board voted 3-0 Sept. 14  to approve a conditional pole permit for FairPoint Communications. The board approved the permit to replace a pole on Back River Road 1,081 feet southwesterly of Wendell’s Way.

The permit is conditional on FairPoint removing the old pole before replacing it. The selectmen said they included the condition based on FairPoint’s and CMP’s reluctance to remove old broken down poles in the past.

“I ask this question every time they come before us,” said Selectman Steve Lewis. “Can they remove the broken ones first before installing the new ones?”

In recent pole permit requests, the town has asked the two companies to remove the old ones, without any success. Last fall, Town Manager Dan Bryer emailed CMP about removing the unused poles around town before installing a new one. But he didn’t receive a response.

The selectmen will allow FairPoint 60 days to comply with the condition. The board also wants the public works crew to list all old, broken poles around town. Bryer will forward the list to CMP and FairPoint in hopes of resolving the issue. The selectmen will also review their legal options in handling future pole permit requests and seek guidance from the Public Utility Commission on handling the situation.

In other action, Bryer reported paving on the Back Narrows and Butler roads will be delayed for three weeks. The town’s public works crew has completed its work on the two roads, but the independent contractor, Crocker Construction, LLC. of Topsham, can’t resume paving until Oct. 3.

“Once the paving resumes everybody will be guns ablazing. So it shouldn’t take too long,” Bryer said. “Most of the preparatory work is done and the remaining work is pretty straightforward.”

Bryer also announced the public works crew will repair the post office roof in a couple weeks. The town purchased the building located on Corey Lane earlier this year. Shortly after the purchase, the lessee, the U.S. Postal Service, requested to have the roof fixed.

“The purchase happened after the budget was approved. So we had nothing appropriated for maintenance,” Bryer said. “We needed some time to figure out how to repair it before deciding on the public works crew. They are a pretty dynamic group of talented and dedicated guys.”

The selectmen also appointed residents Tim Utley and Rob Ham to fill vacancies on the planning board.

The selectmen will meet next at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28. A public hearing on the six local referendum questions will be held prior to the meeting. Bryer is checking with the Boothbay Region YMCA to see if the facility is available to host the meeting.