Possibly encouraged by a pre-meeting presentation by Southport Selectman Gerry Gamage, indicating that nothing they could do during their Annual Town Meeting would dramatically impact the anticipated bottom line, Southport voters approved nearly every article on the 62-item warrant in under two hours March 5.
The sole change voters made was amending an article seeking $500 for fireworks, increasing the line item to $1000 before passing it.
Among the money items voters approved were a series of school funding articles totaling $940,929.
The largest single line item difference between 2011 and 2012 was a $56,201 reduction in the line item for the office of the principal, falling from $119,023 in 2011 to $62,822 in 2012.
Speaking on the article, School Committee chair Katherine Tibbetts said the committee was acting in response to requests from their constituents and looking to hire a teaching principal for the coming school year.
Tibbetts said the committee has no idea which grade the new principal will teach, as interviews for the positions have not begun.
Voters approved three amendments to the town’s land use ordinance, adopting standards on geothermal heat exchange wells and wind energy systems and deleting language that allowed a non-conforming structure to be replaced on its current footprint if the applicant was willing to forego the possibility of present or future expansion.
Discussing the latter article, Planning Board Chairman Donald Duncan said the language was confusing.
During discussion of the amendment language for wind energy systems, Gamage said currently there are no known wind turbine systems in Southport, adding that without any regulation, there was no official way for the town to know.
After discussion, based on the totality of comments, the planning board was advised to consider further restrictions on wind turbine systems, given the possible impacts on neighboring properties.
Along with the ordinance amendment defining geothermal heat exchange wells, the same article instituted a moratorium on such wells.
Duncan said the language would give the town some basis for regulating geothermal wells and the immediate moratorium would allow the town time to study geothermal systems to determine whether such heating systems are appropriate for Southport.
In other action, voters approved $257,650 for public works, $160,845 for the Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District; $64,235 for town officers, $69,855 for town operations, $16,050 for town hall maintenance and $28,575, for Code Enforcement.
The town also approved $43,000 for fire protection and $17,000 for streetlights.
In municipal voting earlier in the day, Adam Harkins was elected to a three-year term on the school committee with 77 votes. School committee incumbent Jane Mulholland was elected to a two-year term with 76 votes.
Incumbent Selectman Mary Lou Koskella, (77) Tax Collector Donna Climo (75) and Fire Chief Gerald L. Gamage were all re-elected to three-year terms in their respective offices with 77, 75 and 75 votes respectively.
