Damariscotta Selectman David Atwater has resigned.
“Since my positions are contrary to the direction town management is going, I feel I can no longer represent my constituency and therefore I’m stepping aside,” Atwater said in a handwritten letter to Damariscotta Board of Selectmen Chairman Ronn Orenstein.
The remainder of the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen accepted Atwater’s resignation in a 4-0 vote Friday, April 3.
In a brief phone interview after the meeting, Orenstein said Atwater’s decision to resign relates to ongoing discussions about the town’s interlocal agreement with Newcastle. The agreement establishes the framework for joint public works operations in the towns.
“This deals with the interlocal agreement with Newcastle and how we were handling parts of the interlocal agreement,” Orenstein said. “It deals with the contract for the road commissioner and … proposals by the town manager.”
Atwater was not immediately available for comment.
The Damariscotta and Newcastle boards of selectmen will discuss the agreement further during a joint meeting at the Newcastle town office at 6 p.m.,Wednesday, April 8.
Atwater was the senior member of the board. He was elected to a one-year term in 2009 and re-elected to three-year terms in 2010 and 2013. He was the chairman of the board from August 2011 until his resignation for health reasons in February 2013.
Atwater’s current term will expire in June 2016. The town will elect someone to fill the remainder of his term at the municipal election this June.
Orenstein has been on the board with Atwater since 2010.
“I feel he was excellent as a selectman,” Orenstein said. “We will all miss him.”
“I thought his work was very diligent and he always asked intelligent questions,” Orenstein said. “He really did his work and his reading, and he was very good.”
The selectmen were “quite surprised by his resignation,” Orenstein said. “All of us are disappointed.”
Atwater sits on the Damariscotta Financial Advisory Committee. Prior to his election to the board of selectmen, he was the chairman of the now-defunct Damariscotta Planning and Advisory Committee.
Atwater relocated to Damariscotta in 2000 after a career in the financial services and insurance industries in Massachusetts. He has had a second career as a local baker, caterer, and culinary arts instructor.
He opened The Bakery in downtown Damariscotta in spring 2010, but closed it in October 2012.
The Lincoln County News will update this post.