Edgecomb residents approved a $2.37 million dollar bond for work and paving on a number of town roads as well as paving five dirt roads at town meeting on May 11.
The three-hour and 45-minute long meeting went smoothly with most articles passing without amendment.
The paving bond was passed in two articles. The main $2,020,000 bond was proposed by the Capital Improvements Committee to address the needs of many, but not all, paved town roads.
The committee recommended an additional $352,300 in a second article for rebuilding and paving five of the town’s dirt roads after several people expressed interest in the option at public informational meetings.
The biggest controversy of the meeting came in discussions on a land use ordinance amendment which changed the zone designation and minimum lot size for properties in Marine District II (now combined with Marine District I and called simply Marine District), which may result in a potential class-action lawsuit against the town.
(See “Potential Lawsuit Follows Edgecomb Town Meeting,” this issue of The Lincoln County News.”
Voters approved a $2,482,077 budget for Edgecomb Eddy School, an increase of $60,834 or 2.5 percent over the current budget, according to budget documents.
The increase in expenses and a roughly $7000 reduction in state subsidy is offset slightly by an almost $15,000 increase in anticipated surplus, Rocky Channels School District (AOS 98) Superintendent Eileen King said previously.
The assessment to the town for the school budget would be $2,111,316, an increase of $53,334 or about 2.6 percent, according to budget documents.
Voters approved a total of $821,399.94 for the municipal budget, which includes $25,432 for payments on the paving bond and a $3431 overpayment for a drainage system at the town hall in fiscal year 2011-2012.
All municipal budget articles were approved as recommended by the budget committee except for funding of the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and the Wiscasset Public Library. Voters amended the amount to $8000 ($4000 each) over the recommended $4000 total.
Mary Ellen Crowley, the station manager for Lincoln County Television, asked those in attendance to reconsider the budget committee’s recommendation of $0 for LCTV.
The majority of Edgecomb has access to Time Warner Cable, which carries LCTV, and many also have high speed Internet and can view programming through video on demand, Crowley said. By the end of May or June, LCTV will also be available by streaming through the Internet, she said.
“Of course public television needs an audience, but the primary purpose is to give everyone access to producing television,” Crowley said. Edgecomb residents and groups use the station for those purposes, she said.
“It’s only fair that the town kick in their share of supporting us,” Crowley said.
Despite Crowley’s efforts, voters passed the article with $0 for LCTV.
The new fireworks ordinance, which will allow for local enforcement by the fire chief and places a variety of limits on commercial and consumer fireworks, passed handily with only clarifying questions being asked by voters.
In the elections, voting results were, for: selectman, Jessica Chubbuck, 48; Planning Board (two seats), Barry Hathorne, 47, Gretchen Burleigh-Johnson, 48; School Committee, Sarah Clifford, 49; tax collector, Deborah Boucher, 43, Karen Potter (write-in), 1; town clerk, Claudia Coffin, 48; treasurer, Claudia Coffin, 48; road commissioner, Scott Griffin, 48.
All candidates were incumbents except Potter and Burleigh-Johnson, who was an alternate on the Planning Board.
Harbormaster Corning Townsend announced Russell Sirois would be taking over as harbormaster as of June 30.
Moderator Carl “Chip” Griffin lauded the town for having more people show up for town meeting (roughly 70 to 80 people) than the referendum on May 10 (49 people).
“It’s really impressive and it’s really a tribute to small town democracy,” Griffin said.
