At their regular meeting Oct. 24, the Dresden Board of Selectmen decided against holding a special town meeting to vote on changes to the town government’s structure.
At a public hearing Oct. 17, the Board requested citizen input on potentially expanding the number of selectmen from three to five and allowing town officials to be appointed rather than elected.
According to Selectman Dave Probert, the Board determined that there wasn’t enough public interest in the two initiatives to warrant a vote at a special town meeting or at the annual town meeting in June.
While there was genuine opposition to an expansion of the Board of Selectman, the initiative to appoint rather than elect town officials met with mixed feelings among the general public.
Because there will be no special meeting on the above issues, a separate funding request by the Richmond Food Pantry will most likely not be voted on until the annual town meeting in June, Probert said.
A non-perishable food drive will be held on Election Day, Nov. 8, to support the food pantry. The food drive, and voting, will take place at Pownalborough Hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In other news, three bids for snow plowing town-held properties were opened and will be voted on at a special selectmen’s meeting Mon., Oct. 31 at 6:45 p.m after the Board’s biweekly public workshop at 6 p.m.
The Board also appointed Ryan Chandler as Dresden’s new Code Enforcement Officer and Licensed Plumbing Inspector. Chandler also serves in the same capacity in Richmond.
