(Ed Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported which Damariscotta Selectman made the motion to discontinue the inter-local public works agreement. This text has been revised accordingly.)
The Damariscotta Board of Selectmen met July 15 and approved the termination of the interlocal public works agreement with Newcastle effective Oct. 31. Selectmen Josh Pinkham, Jim Cosgrove, George Parker, and Ronn Orenstein voted in favor of the motion, and Chair Robin Mayer abstained. Mayer did not explain her abstention.
The motion, made by Cosgrove, included acceptance of a preliminary transition plan timetable and appointment of a committee to assist in the implementation of the transition by drafting contracts, seeking engineering consultants, and conducting other business to further the separation. The committee will be comprised of Town Manager Matt Lutkus and Selectmen George Parker and Josh Pinkham.
Former Damariscotta Selectman David Atwater – who resigned in April over issues related to the agreement – weighed in on the subject, asking the board how it could make the change regardless of the vote in support of the public works department at the annual town meeting June 10.
Lutkus said the vote at town meeting was whether or not to allocate funds for public works. The town voted to fund the highway department at $228,045 and the interlocal agreement at $105,495. Voters turned down a motion from Pinkham to eliminate funding for the interlocal agreement from the budget.
“If you do away with the interlocal agreement, it affects the highway department,” Atwater said.
“That’s one reason, though, that we’re putting together a plan,” Mayer said, calling the months to come a “transition period.”
Lutkus mentioned that one motive behind the separation was a personnel issue, and that the accountability and quality of the work has not met his standards. Lutkus has publicly criticized Damariscotta-Newcastle public works superintendent Steve Reynolds in the past, at one point saying he would not reappoint Reynolds to the post for the 2015- 2016 fiscal year before changing his mind.
Twin Villages Alliance Chair Mary-Kate Reny said it was “a sad day” and compared the result of the conflict to “Renys closing one of our stores because the managers couldn’t get along.”
The transition plan timetable calls for preparations to begin immediately, with personnel from the two towns working to distribute shared assets.
Damariscotta selectmen will be asked to approve the terms of the agreement’s termination by Aug. 19. The anticipated start date for the stand-alone department is Nov. 1.
