Newcastle Selectman Ben Frey said residents should not panic as the town decides whether to study the feasibility of a police department.
“I am not suggesting, at all, that we form a Newcastle Police Department,” Frey said at the Sept. 24 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
Instead, as Damariscotta weighs a major change to local law enforcement, Frey wants to evaluate Newcastle’s situation.
“The issue has never been studied in Newcastle and it might be prudent to do so,” he said.
Damariscotta citizens will vote on a charter amendment in November that would grant the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen the authority to eliminate the Damariscotta Police Department and contract for law enforcement services.
Damariscotta has already solicited a proposal from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and town officials have said they plan to negotiate a contract with the sheriff’s office if the amendment passes.
Frey said he wonders whether, if voters reject the amendment, Damariscotta might approach Newcastle with a proposal for joint law enforcement services in an effort to save money.
The towns already collaborate for public works. A contract or “interlocal agreement” governs the sharing of equipment and personnel between the towns.
Damariscotta has not indicated that it would pursue a similar agreement for law enforcement, but Frey wants the town to be ready.
A joint police department “sounds great in theory, in the spirit of cooperation,” Frey said, but half of the $500,000-plus Damariscotta Police Department budget would be “a big gulp” for Newcastle to swallow, Heal said.
“We need to be armed with facts before we even think about having that discussion,” Newcastle Town Administrator David Bolling said.
Frey said some residents he has talked to about the idea of a police department adamantly oppose it as expensive and unnecessary. Those residents, however, assume he is talking about 24/7 coverage, which isn’t the only option, he said.
A committee or task force of citizen volunteers could study the issue, Bolling and Frey said. The group could examine Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office data about its activity in the town and utilize information available from the Maine Municipal Association and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Board of Selectmen did not take any action on the matter, although the selectmen encouraged Frey to collect information and names of possible task force members.
Newcastle Fire Chief Clayton Huntley volunteered to serve on the task force. He said Damariscotta shared law enforcement with Newcastle as recently as 20-30 years ago, when Newcastle voters chose to opt out.
Huntley said Newcastle already receives a high level of service from LCSO “because it’s a hub.”
Superintendent of Roads, Buildings and Grounds Steve Reynolds said at least a half-dozen culverts in Newcastle are “fully plugged,” which causes water to go around the culverts and wash out nearby areas.
He said he and Foreman Hugh Priebe, who has experience as a firefighter, would use a culvert nozzle and surplus fire hose to flush the culverts this fall.
The town would otherwise have to pay a private firm $100-$125 per hour to perform the work, Reynolds said.
Newcastle’s land use ordinance currently regulates signs. The committee would prepare a standalone ordinance that would address issues with the existing rules, town officials said.
The committee will likely consist of representatives from the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, Design Review Committee, Economic Development Committee and Land Use Ordinance Review Committee, as well as a citizen at large.
Bolling and town attorney Peter Drum would also participate in the process.
In other business, the selectmen approved an article for a November referendum that would grant the board authority to dispose of surplus property.
Chairman Brian Foote called for a moment of silence at the beginning of the meeting to remember George Cole and Waldo Waltz, both of whom died Sept. 19.
Cole, 83, was a longtime Newcastle resident and businessman who, at various times, served the town as a ballot clerk and member of the Appeals Board, Finance Committee, Planning Board and School Committee, among other assignments.
He was also active with local institutions as Lincoln Academy’s 1998 Alumnus of the Year, a master of Bunker Hill Grange and a president of the Newcastle Historical Society.
Waltz, 87, of Damariscotta, toiled for more than 55 years at the family business, Weeks-Waltz Motors, formerly on Main Street in Newcastle. He, too, was active in community service organizations, including the Alna-Anchor Masonic Lodge and Wells-Hussey American Legion Post 42.
