It seems everybody has an opinion related to the trials and travails of the interlocal public works agreement between Damariscotta and Newcastle.
Damariscotta officials were obviously not happy with the agreement. Newcastle officials are not happy with Damariscotta. Concerned citizens in both towns are not happy with each other, and a few are not happy with us.
The position from the Newcastle side of the bridge is pretty straightforward. As far as they are concerned, the agreement works: it does not necessarily save money, but it does provide more and better services than either town could afford on its own. Newcastle voters overwhelmingly endorsed a budget for the agreement at their annual town meeting June 15.
Damariscotta’s position is a little more convoluted. The Damariscotta board reversed itself three times on the issue this year alone, threatening to end the agreement earlier this year; becoming more amenable to renewal, a course of action endorsed by the voters who approved the budget for it during Damariscotta’s annual town meeting June 10; to most recently, on July 1, voting to end the agreement entirely and transition to a new system.
It would be foolish to discount the impact on again/off again Damariscotta Selectman Josh Pinkham has had on these deliberations. Newly re-elected to his fourth term on the board following a one-year hiatus, Pinkham has consistently opposed the agreement and we believe it is no accident his most recent election coincides with Damariscotta’s decision to opt out now.
Although the work logs have consistently shown the road crew spends more time in Damariscotta than Newcastle, Pinkham’s long-standing position has been Damariscotta taxpayers are paying more money for less service while Newcastle reaps the majority of the benefits. He asserts it is better for Damariscotta to go it alone and bid out the services it needs rather than jointly maintain a standing public works department with another town.
We respect Pinkham for stepping up and acting on his beliefs, which makes it hard to fully embrace the passion of those upset by the board’s action now. Pinkham’s distaste for the agreement has never been a secret, yet he was unopposed in his bid to serve a one-year term created by the resignation of David Atwater in April.
Atwater, as it turns out, has written to this paper twice in recent weeks to criticize his former colleagues, which legitimately raises the question of why he left the board in the first place, if this was an issue of such concern.
Still, Pinkham is only one vote among five. There were four sitting selectmen at the Damariscotta town meeting (Pinkham was sworn in later). They heard the vote of the people and they still chose to go their own way, effectively leaving their closest geographic, economic, and cultural partner hanging: not a good look for one of the self-professed jewels of the Midcoast.
Against their expressed wishes, Damariscotta residents are about to find out if Pinkham is right. If he is, Damariscotta will end up with a leaner budget and a more efficient public works department and, if so, he should get credit for that.
As for Newcastle, you have to think things will only improve now that they are exiting a relationship with such a high-maintenance partner. They hope to find another town to pool resources with, hopefully one willing to stand by its word and work collaboratively and constructively to achieve the objectives voters in both towns say they want.
