South Bristol’s annual town meeting lasted well into a fourth hour as residents picked their way through a 46-article warrant Thursday, March 16.
In addition to the length of the meeting, this year’s meeting was also unusual in that it was not held on the town’s traditional second Tuesday in March date. The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, but a late season blizzard prompted the continuation of the meeting until Thursday, March 16.
Opening the meeting March 16, select board Chair Chester Rice said five residents turned up at South Bristol School at 7 p.m. on March 14 to convene and continue the meeting for 48 hours. In addition to himself, Rice named and thanked citizens Gordon Farrin and Brent Barter, select board member Bruce Farrin Jr., and Town Clerk Brenda Bartlett for their participation Tuesday evening.
After extended debate, residents overrode an apparent select board protest against Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service, amending and approving a warrant article appropriating the full $174,989.13 assessed by the ambulance service.
Other articles of contention included a proposed moratorium on aquaculture leases in South Bristol waters, a proposal to change two elected offices to appointed positions, and an article that would have authorized the select board to appoint an individual to the budget committee.
As the meeting neared the two and half hour mark, moderator Jim Gallagher noted how unusual this meeting was for South Bristol.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years and I can’t remember one time perhaps in those 10 years we have had any amended articles, much less the three or four we have had tonight,” he said.
Although the meeting was comparatively heated for a South Bristol annual town meeting, debate remained cordial throughout. Gallagher’s admonishments to the assembled were limited to occasional reminders to direct public comments at the moderator.
By far, the most contentious debate focused on article 22, which asked the town to appropriate $96,586 from the Stratton Earnings and Dividend Account for the Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service.
Betsy Graves, a member of the South Bristol Budget Committee and the town’s representative on the Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service Board of Trustees, said the service changed its billing formula in 2022 and the actual assessment for this year was $174,989.13.
Affirming she is an employee of the ambulance service, South Bristol Fire Department EMS Coordinator Terry Mitchell motioned an amendment to fully fund the ambulance service at $174,989.13. Mitchell’s amendment passed 50-23, and the entire article was subsequently approved.
Rice said the lower figure was included in the article specifically to send a message to the ambulance service as well the other five founding towns of Bristol, Bremen, Newcastle, Nobleboro, and Damariscotta.
Rice said money to fund the entire ambulance assessment was included in the budget as presented. The remaining portion of the ambulance services assessment was included in article 20, Rice said. Voters approved the article minutes earlier, appropriating $320,000 from the Stratton account to reduce the tax commitment.
“There is money in this budget to pay for the whole thing, but … the selectmen’s office and the budget committee wanted to send a message to the ambulance service: South Bristol is not happy with the assessment process,” Rice said. “Last year the town of South Bristol sat down with ambulance service and the other towns. It was supposed to be one-third on calls, one-third on valuations, and one-third on population. We all voted on it. That was passed and we thought we were in good shape but all of sudden, it got changed back to the original formula, which is valuation based, only South Bristol has the lowest number of calls.’
Speaking to the issue, CLC Ambulance Service Chief Nick Bryant said all six participating towns signed a binding five-year interlocal agreement in 2022.
“The purpose of the interlocal agreement was to lock these six towns together,” Bryant said. “This is your ambulance service. You own and govern it and if somebody doesn’t pay their bill they will be held accountable. We are not like a municipality where we write the check and it goes through because it’s from South Bristol, Bristol, or Bremen. If we don’t have money in the checking account employees don’t get paid and the doors shut.”
Bryant said the formula was changed in the latest agreement because the previous formula – accounting for half valuation and half call volume – was inherently unfair. Under the previous formula, a Damariscotta taxpayer was paying $130 for ambulance coverage, while Bristol and South Bristol residents were paying $30, Bryant said.
“So right now depending on where you live, you’re paying somewhere between $50 and $70 for ambulance coverage, depending on the value of your home,” Bryant said. “So the same way you’re assessed by the county. I know it’s unpopular, but if my neighbor calls 20 times and yours call zero, neither one of us did that.”
Budget committee member Brian Farrin said Bristol and South Bristol account for half of the ambulance services budget, which is unfair to those two towns.
“Half of Damariscotta is tax exempt so that doesn’t count into the philosophy,” Brian Farrin said. “So once again, South Bristol gets whacked very hard. No one wants to pick on the ambulance service. We all love it. We appreciate it, but for them to hit South Bristol more, more, more every year, it’s not right. We should be divided equally.”
“Five towns actually control what South Bristol pays.” Rice said “That’s the bottom line.”
After debate, voters rejected an article that would have authorized the select board to make the elected positions of town clerk and tax collector/treasurer appointed positions. Rice said the town was advised by the town’s auditor Fred Brewer that to make the change would better position the town in the labor market.
“His recommendation is if you can find someone qualified for the job you better keep them,” Rice said. “You could take six months to a year to train a person to do the job, so his recommendation was almost every town in the county has gone to appointed positions instead of an elected position.”
Former select board member Ken Lincoln expressed strong reservations on the article, pointing out there was no public hearing on the proposal.
“This is a board of three selectmen, so this gives two people the power to run this town,” Lincoln said. “I’m very concerned with nepotism and I think this is a bad idea.”
South Bristol Budget Committee Chair Charles “Chuck” Plummer said the article had pros and cons, but he expressed concern a town clerk could be appointed who could nefariously impact an election.
“I am against it being appointed just on that minute part that it could be applicable, so I am against this, and I want to keep it still being a voted in position,” Plummer said.
Calling for a show of hands, Gallagher counted six people out of the more than 70 present in favor of the change. Reading the room, he asked if there were any challenges to his count. Hearing none, he declared the article failed without soliciting an opposing vote.
“From what I saw there was no question,” he said. “Just looking out at the number of hands come up I think there were six people who voted to make the elected position of tax collector appointed.”
Another article of debate proved to be a proposed six-month moratorium on future aquaculture leases in the waters of South Bristol and Walpole. As presented, approval would have authorized the select board to extend the moratorium for additional six month periods at the board’s discretion.
After discussion, the town voted to amend the article authorizing the select board to extend the moratorium for one six-month period.
Arguing in favor of the moratorium, South Bristol Harbor Master Cecil Burnham said the town is being inundated with commercial and noncommercial applications for leases that are crowding the Damariscotta River. Noncommercial, or limited purpose aquaculture applications, restrict the holder from selling what they grow, but allow each lease holder 400 square feet of river bottom, Burnham said.
“We getting overloaded,” Burnham said. “Right now we have 19 leases in the waters of South Bristol. We have 14 (limited purpose aquaculture applications), and on the leases, we have three people who got one they’re trying to get. We got five (limited purpose aquaculture applications) people want. They are starting to come in very fast.”
“Right now, there are very few places where they are not interfering with lobster fishing, clam fishing; navigation,” Rice said. “I think it’s enough so I think this moratorium is a good way to get a handle on what’s going on.”
An article to see if the town will allow the select board to nominate and choose one member to the budget committee for a five-year term drew debate and members of the public expressed concern the board was taking authority away from the town.
After a spirited discussion, voters rejected the article. Reverting to status quo, town meeting attendees nominated and elected Brian Farrin to the budget committee from the floor.
As the town turned its attentions to the school funding, South Bristol School Committee Chair Sara Mitchell explained budget figures printed in education articles 32-42 were not the figures reviewed and approved by the school and budget committees and select board in January. Mitchell said it is unknown how the printed values made it onto the warrant, but whatever the reason, the figures omitted $761.13, a sum that affected various line item totals.
Following the ambulance debate and approaching the three-hour mark, voters were in no mood to extend their evening. In less than 30 minutes, including presentation, discussion, and a written ballot vote, residents voted to accept the amended budget figures in entirety as presented, voted to combine all of the education articles into one vote, and passed the entire amended budget without opposition.
In consecutive votes, residents agreed to appropriate $1,026,491.21 to meet the state’s minimum funding level for Essential Programs and Services. With a 37-0 secret ballot vote, the voters agreed to raise and appropriate $1,126,355.78 to exceed that threshold. A 33-0 vote approved the entire education budget presented in article 45, authorizing the school committee to expend $2,530,872.967 for fiscal year 2023-2024.
As amended and approved voters authorized the town to expend $1,132,941.80 for regular instruction; $478.675.88 for special education; $100 for career and technical education; $240,081.50 for student and staff support; $59,977.14 for system administration; $192,754.96 for school administration $147,994.60 for transportation and buses; $253,247.09 for facilities maintenance; $0 for debt service; and $25,000 for all other expenditures.
With little to no discussion voters agreed to raise, appropriate, and transfer from surplus $174,590 for town administration; transfer $197,312 from surplus for health and sanitation; raise, appropriate, and carry forward $176,635 for fire protection; carry $112,607.53 and transfer for surplus $357,607.53 from winter roads; and raise and appropriate $27,237 for donations, and $41,400 for unclassified accounts, which includes general assistance, recreation and cemeteries.
Voters also agreed to raise and appropriate $5,371.19 as the town’s share of Central Lincoln County Adult Education and accepted an amended shellfish ordinance as presented. Ordinance amendments largely codified requirements to obtain and keep a shellfish license in the town.
The atypical meeting capped an unusual end to the fiscal year as two long-serving select board members leave public service this year, taking a combined 54 years of South Bristol Select Board experience with them. Lincoln resigned in January and was sitting among the private citizens in attendance for the first time since 1995.
This was also the final official action of Rice’s tenure with the board. Rice was first elected in South Bristol in 1997. He has been involved in local government and public service in one form or another almost continuously since 1960.
Turnout was heavy at polls during South Bristol’s municipal elections Monday, March 13. According to Bartlett, nearly 250 voters cast ballots in the election, which featured a single contested race.
Retired Colby & Gale Inc. executive Robert Clifford mounted a successful write-in campaign to win a one-year term on the South Bristol Select Board, defeating retired Bath Iron Works shipfitter Ralph Norwood III, 133-86. Clifford was elected to serve the one year remaining on the term of former select board member Lincoln, who resigned in January.
Walpole resident Adam Rice won a three-year term on the select board with 168 votes, filling the seat vacated by his retiring uncle, Chester Rice.
Jonathan Swall and Christian Cotz were both elected to three-year terms on the South Bristol School Committee with 183 and 179 votes, respectively. Swall and Cotz assume seats on the school committee vacated by Normand Saucier and Robert “Bob” Emmons, both of whom completed their terms.
