The Newcastle Select Board reviewed election results and discussed scheduling a public hearing for a possible ordinance change during a two-hour meeting on Monday, June 22.
The annual town meeting was held via referendum on June 9 for the first time after voters approved the change at last year’s meeting. Town staff conducted a survey of residents about the change as they returned their absentee ballots and those who voted on Election Day.
A total of 350 people answered the two-question survey, with 268 saying they liked voting by secret ballot while 89 indicated they did not. When asked if they wanted to continue voting by secret ballot in the future 263 residents answered in the affirmative while 90 said they would not.
“Based on the survey results, it would make sense for the select board to continue with this approach for next year,” Town Manager Kevin Sutherland said in his commentary to the board.
With the survey came additional comments. Many residents who were opposed to the secret ballot said they were because they felt like their opinions could not be voiced.
Board Chair Tor Glendinning, who was reelected to the board on June 9, said the board will work on hosting more informational events so the public can understand the warrant before they go to the polls.
Resident Bill Weary said he voted in favor of continuing by secret ballot, but he will miss the opportunity for the town to come together once a year.
“It’s a great community event, and I really do miss that,” Weary said.
The board also discussed future changes to the town’s road, driveway, and entrance ordinance. The current proposal is the additions of a thoroughfares section in the core zoning code, the adoption of said section would repeal the road, driveway, and entrances ordinance.
The move comes after the Newcastle Planning Board met on Thursday, June 18 to review the proposal. Select board member Ben Frey said almost every application that came to the planning board this year “butt heads” with the roads, driveways, and entrances ordinance in one way or another.
Frey said in one case, the planning board has someone come back three times because the board continued to need more clarification and detail.
“The roads, driveways, and entrances ordinance, as written, really was a Band-Aid on an issue that was identified late in the game when the core zoning code was going up to be voted on pre-2020,” Frey said. “It served its function for a little while, but then it became kind of obvious that it was really a one size fits all.”
With the changes, town officials hope to properly distinguish the different types of thoroughfares, streets, and roads. Frey said in the past, the issue was not the standards for the construction of the roads, but with the rights of way. Many times, the planning board and applicants would run into the problem with the size requirements for rights of way. In many situations, Frey said the size requirement for the rights of way would be so big that other projects in the application could not get done.
“This would provide a way for people to hopefully be able to build the right-sized road for the project that they want to do without requiring that they set aside a whole bunch of unused, unbuildable, never-to-be-used land,” Frey said. “The idea is it will provide that level of flexibility in all districts for people to get more use out of their land.”
There will be a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 16 during the planning board’s regular meeting to discuss the amendments. The planning board could potentially approve a warrant article to be a part of a special town meeting on Monday, Aug. 10.
The select board will discuss the town’s road maintenance contract for the upcoming fiscal year at its next meeting. The decision was tabled after the board requested more time to consider different approaches to contract work.
The Newcastle Select Board will meet next at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 6 at the Clayton V. Huntley Jr. Fire Station. For more information, call 563-3441 or go to newcastlemaine.us.
