South Bristol residents vote to reject proposed amendments to the aquaculture ordinance at the annual town meeting on Tuesday, March 10. Over a dozen people spoke about the article before it was overwhelmingly defeated by a vote of 109-38. (Christina Brown photo)
Proposed amendments to the aquaculture ordinance dominated the discussion at South Bristol’s annual town meeting on Tuesday, March 10.
During the nearly three-hour meeting in the South Bristol School gym, more than a dozen people spoke about Article 13, which dealt with amendments to the coastal water and harbor ordinance. The article was ultimately rejected 109-38.
The amendments would have allowed for the formation of an aquaculture review committee to approve or deny all aquaculture applications, prohibit large-scale coastal waters aquaculture operations, place restrictions on acreage allowed for farming, and allow for community-scale coastal waters aquaculture operations with a permit from the new committee.
Among the people who spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance was Joy Long, who said she was one of the citizens who helped bring the amendment to the town because she was concerned about large corporations coming in and taking over aquaculture farming in South Bristol.
“I want aquaculture. I think it’s good for the economy. But I want some checks and balances,” Long said.
Long also raised concerns over the impact large scale farming will have on the environment.
“Oysters are good for filtering the water, but we don’t know what the environmental impact will be if there are so many farms on the river or in the bay,” Long said. “We just don’t know the full impact of them.”
Brendan Parsons, founder and owner of Blackstone Point Oysters in Damariscotta, spoke against the ordinance, saying that it was not created by South Bristol residents.
“The ordinance makes it sound like it’s created by South Bristol residents, when really, this has actually been proposed and just regurgitated from a lobbyist group,” Parsons said. “If South Bristol wants to create an ordinance, that’s OK, but I urge South Bristol to actually have people together and put together a reasonable ordinance and take to actual oyster farmers.”
Parsons added the restrictions the amendment poses will threaten the livelihood of oyster farmers.
“When you are enacting an ordinance like this, you are eliminating jobs and thus livelihoods,” Parsons said. “It’s not really protecting the moral fibers and ethics and culture of a community in coastal Maine.”
Article 14, which provided updates to the shellfish ordinance, passed with little discussion.
When discussing Article 15 regarding whether the town should accept a land donation on Rutherford Island, Dick McKenzie proposed an amendment to change the wording to accept the parcel pending a suggestion from a lawyer for residents to be able to access the property by land. The article passed as amended.
Voters also approved for the amendment of the Central Lincoln County Ambulance Agreement with no discussion. The amended interlocal agreement would more clearly define CLC Ambulance as “a quasi-municipal organization” owned and operated by the towns of Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Newcastle, Nobleboro, and South Bristol.
The changes are in the wording so that CLC Ambulance can transition to Maine Municipal Association insurance and also help employees qualify for the Maine Public Employee Retirement system. An example of this is instead of referring to each town as a “party,” the amended agreement refers to those involved as a “town.”
Voters approved the municipal budget of $1,537,161.75, a decrease of $131,353 or 7.9%, with no discussion.
The budget includes, but is not limited to, the town expenses budget of $211,100, an increase of $142,500 or 101.89%; the highway maintenance budget of $100,00, an increase of $7,975 or 8.3%; the snowplowing budget of $270,000, an increase of $10,000 or 3.77%; the emergency management director of $4,040, an increase of $1,048 or 29.73%; the building and equipment budget of $20,000, a decrease of $27,000 or 80.59%; and the animal control budget of $1,0000, a decrease of $4,340.
After receiving a warning that the alarms would go off if there was any movement in the gym after 10 p.m., voters agreed to group the 10 articles concerning the $3,401,318.64 education budget into one vote. The education budget is an increase of $77,362.64 or 2.33% from last year.
Voters also approved the $39,588.50 for Johns Bay Coastal Alliance Education Service Center’s transition from AOS 93. Bristol and South Bristol will leave AOS 93 at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Elsewhere in the meeting, Betsy Graves was appointed to the budget committee for a two-year term, and Tamara Poland-Kaler was appointed to the budget committee for a five-year term.
Due to the late hour, the tradition raffle of a boat made by SBS eighth graders was postponed. A video of the eighth graders announcing the winner will be posted on the school’s website.
At the polls on Monday, March 9, voters elected incumbent Christian Cotz and newcomer Patricia Block to the South Bristol School Committee with 123 votes and 125 votes, respectively. Both terms are for three years. Joshua Irwin and Sean Norris, the other candidates for the seats, received 112 and 113 votes, respectively.
Adam Rice received 226 votes to be reelected to the South Bristol Select Board for another three-year term.
A total of 250 ballots were cast.
For more information, call 563-3977 or go to sbristolme.gov.
