Newcastle and Damariscotta are almost separated.

The Newcastle board of selectmen met Monday, July 27, to again discuss the steps needed before the two towns can end their share public works department.

The town will meet again Aug. 3 to further discuss the interlocal extension, which will currently expire Aug. 21. The proposed extension runs only until Oct. 31, after which Newcastle and Damariscotta will part ways.

The board said it will likely meet with voters in September to discuss the future of the department.

But, before the future can be decided, the past needs to be settled.

Newcastle will likely seek reconciliation as Superintendent of Roads Steve Reynolds said Damariscotta used 62 percent of the time for the interlocal agreement, with Newcastle receiving the remaining 38 percent.

Town attorney Peter Drum said he and Reynolds went through all the shared equipment and divvied it up, but that they figured it would result in Newcastle owing Damariscotta about $3,000, which the town could pay for.

As part of the new contract that Newcastle hopes to sign, it would settle both issues as well as set in place new rules concerning employee write-ups for infractions.

“The statute of limitations would be 48 hours,” Drum said. “So that means that within 48 hours (of an incident) it would have to be written, then sent to the employee and the boards of selectmen.”

Drum said infractions that happened outside of the 48-hour window could not be used, citing an example of dredging up an incident from two years prior.

The board will first return to the town to see what taxpayers want from their public works, but one option that was presented by Reynolds included a full-time, year-round public works department that would cost $165,000.

From July 27 to June 30, 2016, when the current budget expires, Newcastle will have $109,000 to fund its public works department. Board Chairman Brian Foote made comments on Monday, July 27, that the board would not ask the town for any more money this year for public works. Reynolds added that by the time the agreement with Damariscotta ends in October, another $20,000 of that $109,000 will have been used for projects.

“That's something interesting to consider,” Ben Frey, Newcastle selectman, said. “For an extra $55,000 a year we could have our own full-time public works department that we wouldn't have to share with anyone.”

Another possibility that was floated was to keep Reynolds on as a contractor to oversee the direction of a newly-formed public works department with a foreman and seasonal employee. Another possibility mentioned Monday, and previously, was to simply return to the previous model, in which the work was contracted out.

Frey said the years since the interlocal agreement was signed has seen an increased amount of work in town, which could mean a difficult transition ahead.

“It's not a situation with a clear answer,” he said. “It's hard to compare what the cost would be if we contracted it out like we used to. We also used to get very little done.”

Reynolds said that Newcastle lagged behind its required maintenance for years.

“The problem with that is that you are reacting instead of being proactive,” Reynolds said. “For years and years we deferred maintenance, and we're just starting to catch up now. (The interlocal agreement) has gotten us over that hump, and has allowed us to catch up a lot.”