From the Town Office

March 15th, 2021

To the Town of Embden Select Board & Town Residents,

Nitram Excavation has been plowing Maine roads for over 20 years and have been plowing the Town of Embden for the past nine years. We currently plow over 175 miles of roads across four towns and have nearly 30 plows trucks at our disposal to provide such services. We write this letter to shed some light on the reasons for the increase to the plowing contract for the next three years.

The increase to our bid was largely due to the cost of labor that it requires to perform the quality job that we hold ourselves to and that you have grown accustom to over the past decade. What some of you might not realize is the amount of time we dedicate to keeping the roads safe for travel. Our employees are on call 24/7 during the winter, including holidays and weekends which often keeps them away from home for days. We take pride in the fact that the residents of Embden can commute daily without concern for what we all know can be harsh winter conditions. To keep the roads safer, we have also increased the amount of salt in our budget to give us the ability to bare the roads as quickly as possible during storm events but also in between storms when the roads become icy. Another important point we believe to note is that we keep multiple spare plow trucks and loaders available at all times. This allows us to provide continuous service without interruption as we have learned over time that plow trucks always seem to breakdown at the most inconvenient times.

We thank you for the opportunity to provide you with our winter plowing services as your safety is our number one concern and we will be grateful if we are able to continue this going forward. We understand the increase is substantial compared to the last contract we performed under, and we hope the information within this letter helps understand why. This increase however, is within the current going rate for many towns that have rebid their plowing contracts within the past two years. In a “normal” year we would have attended the town meeting and answered any questions you folks would have had for us but since we are far from normal right now, we hope this letter can clear up some of the questions you might have had.

Thank you,
Scott Martin
President

Greetings,

My name is Jack Kaplan and my wife Janet and I were fortunate to have settled in Embden back in 1989 and have raised our family here.  We started Perfect Pools & Landscaping in the summer of 1990 and as the decades have passed we have grown into a four season’s business.  We have provided top quality commercial plowing and sanding services for the past 25 years and we are extremely excited about the opportunity to provide our services to our Embden neighbors.  I humbly ask for your vote in procuring the winter plowing contract.  My crew and I enthusiastically look forward to providing reliable professional service at a reasonable price.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jack Kaplan

Dear Citizens of the Town of Embden,

Due to circumstances beyond our control, namely the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Municipal Officers of the Town of Embden have decided to postpone the 2021 Town Meeting that historically occurs on the first Saturday in March each year. As a result of this action, please be advised that there will be a Town meeting/budget referendum style vote by ballot this year occurring on the same day as the Municipal Elections on April 9, 2021, from 8 am to 8 pm at the Embden Community Center.  Absentee ballots and 2020 Town reports will be available to the public prior to the vote.  There will be a Public hearing (virtual only due to building/attendance limitations) on Thursday, March 18, 2021, @ 6:15 pm.  Please refer to the Town of Embden’s website for the remote zoom link and passcode. Questions can also be presented via email and telephone after the hearing until the day of the vote.   

All aforementioned actions will be pursuant to the State of Maine’s civil state of emergency pandemic laws/guidelines which are ever-changing.  Thank you in advance for understanding as the safety of our citizens/community is our utmost concern during these unprecedented times.    

Sincerely,

Charles Taylor, Chairman

Wayne McLaughlin

Janice Welch

Topic: Embden Town Meeting Public Hearing
Time: Mar 18, 2021, 06:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97883653634?pwd=Qk04OEdpRGtkdnlabTk2T0d5L0JxZz09

Meeting ID: 978 8365 3634
Passcode: ETO1804

Topic: Embden’s Select Board Meeting
Time: Mar 4, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

        Every month on the First Thu, until Dec 2, 2021, 10 occurrence(s)
        Mar 4, 2021 06:00 PM
        Apr 1, 2021 06:00 PM
        May 6, 2021 06:00 PM
        Jun 3, 2021 06:00 PM
        Jul 1, 2021 06:00 PM
        Aug 5, 2021 06:00 PM
        Sep 2, 2021 06:00 PM
        Oct 7, 2021 06:00 PM
        Nov 4, 2021 06:00 PM
        Dec 2, 2021 06:00 PM

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Monthly: https://zoom.us/meeting/tJMvd-iqrTMrGtMmuLRASwnCD5FPvU4Vf5Wn/ics?icsToken=98tyKuCvrDsrGNedsRmARowEAIigd-rztlxcjbdwkQrJMQFgdQ3VErdkAqRKRO7W

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 972 0123 8107
Passcode: 6B75BC

The Town of Embden, Maine will receive sealed bids for contracted snow plowing and sanding for the period of October 2021 to May 2024.  Please refer to attached Town of Embden Snow Removal and Sanding Contract document for specifications and requirements.  Due to an abundance of caution for COVID-19 and the subsequent closing of the Town Office leading up to the initial bid acceptance timeline paired with the postponement of Town Meeting the Select Board has extended the bid invitation period.  Bids will be accepted and recorded by receipt until 4 p.m. on February 24^th, 2021 at the Embden Town Office, 809 Embden Pond Road, Embden, ME  04958. 

All bids shall be sealed and labeled as follows:

Contractor Bid for the Town of Embden’s Snow Removal and Sanding Contract 2021-2024

All bids shall be addressed to:

Town of Embden
Board of Selectmen
809 Embden Pond Road
Embden, ME 04958

All bids will be opened at a Select Board work session on February 25, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. for Annual Town Warrant budget purposes.

Contract bid will be awarded by warrant article vote at the Annual Town meeting/referendum by ballot (tentative date April 9^th, 2021). The Town of Embden reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids.

Charles E. Taylor
Select Board Chairman
Town of Embden
(207) 566-5551

Dear Citizens of the Town of Embden,

Due to circumstances beyond our control, namely the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Municipal officers of the Town of Embden have decided to postpone the 2021 Town Meeting that historically occurs on the first Saturday in March each year. As a result of this action, please be advised that there will be a Town meeting/budget referendum style vote by ballot this year occurring on the same day as the Municipal Elections (tentatively April 9, 2021).  2020 Town reports will be available to the public prior to the vote.

All aforementioned actions will be pursuant to the State of Maine’s civil state of emergency pandemic laws which are ever-changing.  We will post all pertinent dates with details on our website and at our Town Office for the public to review.

Thank you in advance for understanding as the safety of our citizens/community is our utmost concern during these unprecedented times.    

Through this pandemic the town has moved the Select Board Meetings to the first Thursday of the month at 6:15 pm. Also we are now offering the meeting on zoom. Please click the link below if you wish to join.

https://zoom.us/j/7587589320?pwd=VFZETjFoTHhttps://zoom.us/j/7587589320?pwd=VFZETjFoTHBRL2dmclo0N1hxanR1dz09BRL2dmclo0N1hxanR1dz09