Town Manager

Here we go again with summer and Town Meeting time upon us (June 3, 2023). I would like to thank the Board of Selectmen, Town Staff, and community for working with me over this past year to work through several projects.  

One of the notable projects completed this year was the moving of the Town Office facilities to a new home and selling the old Town Office building located at 85 Pleasant Street. We are very excited and thankful to now call 127 Pottle Road the new permanent home for the Oxford Town Office. Most of the needed updates/renovations have been completed only leaving the improvements to the Selectmen’s meeting room. We are also looking forward to having our elections held at the new office building in June 13^th, 2023.

One of the other notable projects that continues to move forward is the Welchville Dam Project. In 2022 we applied for a congressional grant through Senator Collin’ s office and the Town was awarded $819,000. The funds are slated for the installation of a series of low-profile grade control structures within the outlet channel connecting Hogan Pond and Whitney Pond to the Little Androscoggin River. Once confirming that water levels within the ponds can be maintained through the installation of these structures, the Town can remove the Welchville Dam without any detrimental impacts on the landowners along the Ponds.

Another ongoing project is the revaluation of properties which will be completed shortly. Letters of value will be sent upon the completion to each property owner to review. The appraising company will be available to answer any questions on the updated value. Greater value does not always mean greater taxes, the increased valuation of the Town will bring equal and fair value to all property within the Town of Oxford, equally sharing of the tax burden. The Town will also gain new technology during the revaluation. We have contracted for GIS mapping. GIS capabilities are extremely useful offering real estate and tax mapping applications as well as ease of data collection and visualization to help us better understand the community.

In this upcoming year, we are targeting other projects including the self-funding/sustainability of the Town Wastewater Facility. We are also working to have an updated inspection/review of the Thompson Lake Dam completed. This will allow for a comprehensive maintenance plan to be put in place along with a capital improvement plan.  

We are also extremely excited to see the expansion of the Recreation Department’s activities. These activities will develop to include Summer Recreation and other excellent events for Oxford residents. If you would like information about these new Recreation opportunities, please contact the Town’s new Recreation Director Kalya Laird at oxfordrec@oxfordmaine.org.

As we continue to move forward, I am thankful to the Town for allowing me to be the Town Manager and I am very excited to continue working together with the Board of Selectmen, Town Staff, and community to move the Town of Oxford forward. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime by stopping in, calling, or dropping me an email at townmanager@oxfordmaine.org.

Respectfully submitted,