Waldoboro citizens overwhelmingly supported a lease/transfer of ownership agreement between the town and the Central Lincoln County YMCA, when they went to the polls Sept. 11. With 572 ballots cast, voters also passed five budget related articles.
By a vote of 442-128, voters approved the agreement calling for funds from the Anne Gay Bailey trust to be placed in an escrow account, to be used by the YMCA for improvements to the former school building.
The new YMCA will bear the Bailey name.
Terms call for the YMCA to lease the property from the town for five years, after which the non-profit recreation company would own the building.
If the venture fails within the first five years, ownership will revert to the town of Waldoboro, the lease agreement states. The Philbrook athletic field adjacent to the property would revert to the town at any time that the YMCA ceases to operate at the site.
The YMCA may terminate the agreement at any time by giving the town 120 days written notice.
Four proposals were put before voters in response to the failure of related budget articles at the June12 annual town meeting referendum.
The first proposal, to adjust the revenue estimate for fiscal year 2013 upwards by $40,000, was based on a new estimate that showed a potential increase of up to $60,000 in revenues for out-of-town ambulance calls. Voters approved that article by a 410-149 vote.
A proposal to take $25,000 from the undesignated fund balance, in order to reduce the amount by which the town would override the levy limit set my state law, known as LD 1, passed by a vote of 365-190, with 17 ballots left blank.
A third, budget article, calling on the town to adjust the expenditure for maintenance of the A.D. Gray School building, from $14,600 to $1249, passed by a vote of 398-164.
Ten voters left that article blank. This proposal anticipated approval of the YMCA lease/purchase agreement.
Voters also approved, in a 318-238 vote, a budget of $246,914 for the Finance and Customer Service Dept. That amount was unchanged from that on the June 12 ballot. Town Manager John Spear said earlier that reducing this amount would have a severe negative impact on the services Waldoboro residents receive in the Town Office.
Voters narrowly supported an override of the state-imposed tax levy limit, often called the LD 1 limit, which failed in June.
The levy limit for Waldoboro for fiscal year 2013 is $1,686,439. While no dollar amount appeared on the June 12 warrant, that request, if approved, would have put the budget $127,909 above the limit.
The revised figure, after the changes made by selectmen July 10, calls for an override of $39,556, or 2.3 percent higher than the amount allowed by state law, without specific voter approval.
The law allows a town to exceed the levy limit, if voters approve the override. That override passed by a vote of 290-261, with 21 ballots left blank.
A final article, empowering the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen to spend up to 6/12 of the previous year’s appropriation in the event that any of the previous items failed, passed by a vote of 375-177.
The board is scheduled to meet again the following night, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m., to sign the lease/transfer agreement for the YMCA and set the mil rate for the coming fiscal year.
For more information, call the Waldoboro Town Office at 832-5369.
