North Haven held its Annual Town Meeting March 9 in the town Community Building.
Roseanne Grant, John Dietter and Kate Quinn, acting as members of the Medical Services Board, face a potentially challenging year as North Haven residents continue their search for a new physician. After much discussion residents passed an article to appropriate $115,200 for medical coverage. This new and higher amount reflects the normal physician stipend and allows monies for a new assistant position. With both positions filled, North Haven will have year-round island-based medical services.
Selectmen were granted permission by an 85-28 vote “to expend funds necessary to resolve the status of Bartlett’s Harbor Road.” The issue selectmen seek to resolve is whether the property on Bartlett’s Harbor Road is private property or owned by the town.
Patricia Curtis was re-elected to a selectman’s seat, while John Emerson won the seat vacated by Jolette Adams. Both will serve three-year terms. Also winning a three-year seat was Christy Hallowell as Assessor of Taxes. New Budget Committee members will be Michelle Campbell, Christy Hallowell and Tammy Brown. Roseanne Grant and Julie Brown retained their seats as Directors for District #7, defeating Jerry White. Serving five-year terms are Cathy Macy as a member to the Board of Appeals, and Gordon Bubar as a member of the Town Planning Board; Ted Sage will fill the 2-year seat.
Harold Cooper was nominated to the Mullen’s Head Park Commission, while John Waterman and Michelle Campbell will serve on the Recreation Council. All will serve three-year terms.
Seats sought and won by unopposed incumbents were Forrest Sprague, Fire Chief; Elliot Brown, Road Commissioner; and Mary Waterman, Treasurer, Collector of Taxes and Excise Tax Collector.
After nominations and a few discussion-generating articles, the $836,225 budget passed. Voters granted the full requests of $720 to New Hope for Women and $1,000 for fireworks for North Haven’s Community Day.
The meeting progressed at a rapid speed, perhaps assisted by the presence of coffee, baked goods and beans offered by students of North Haven Community School.
Swan’s Island town meeting topics: emergency service, deer hunt
Swan’s Island held its annual Town Meeting on March 4 at the island school. Attendance was high, filling most of the gym. Terry Staples was elected to moderate.
Dexter Lee was re-nominated to be a selectman for a three-year term, continuing his work with the current selectmen, William Banks Jr. and John Grace.
The school board sought and filled nominations for two seats vacated by Lisa Stanley, and Rhonda Ranquist. Wayne Lemoine was re-elected, while Lorraine Stockbridge and Rayleen Banks filled the two open positions, a two and one-year term respectively. Tammie Staples and Myron “Sonny” Sprague, the chairman, round out the school board. Lawrence “Sonny” Stanley was re-elected as road commissioner and gained a seat on the planning board.
One of the most discussed articles was whether or not Swan’s Islanders would enter into agreement “with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to develop a long-term management plan to maintain reduced deer numbers on Swan’s Island by restoring deer hunting on Swan’s Island.”
Two state officials, Gene Dumont and Tom Shaeffer, fielded questions from residents ranging from who can hunt to the right to set restrictions. After much debate the question was raised, “Should we vote in a hunting season, can we vote it out in the future?”
The answer being yes, discussion ceased and the vote passed to support future hunting on Swan’s Island. This vote will not go into effect for at least two more seasons as residents continue a controlled hunt to reduce the herd to a manageable level.
Another matter discussed at length was emergency transportation involving the ambulance service and the ferry. Currently, if a patient must be transported to the hospital in Bar Harbor, the ferry can only wait for and return the ambulance to the island until midnight. After midnight, the ambulance must stay on the mainland until the first morning run.
This concerns residents and volunteers for several reasons. Should the ambulance not be able to return to the island and another emergency occurs, treatment would be unobtainable. After midnight, the rescue staff must transfer patients into another ambulance on shore in order to return to the island, an effort rescue personnel consider cruel, unsafe, and unnecessary. Time regulations for crews aboard Maine State Ferry vessels are another complicating factor as residents look for solutions.
In the last proposed articles of the meeting, residents accepted a $215,000 Community Development Block Grant for construction of the new fire station.
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Cranberry Isles approves school budget, refers mosquito problem to committee
Cranberry Isles voters approved a town budget totaling $763,238 at the annual town meeting on March 11 at the Neighborhood House on Islesford.
Hugh Dwelley was elected moderator of the meeting. Frances Bartlett was reelected Town Clerk, Treasurer, and Collector of Taxes. David Stainton was reelected to a three-year term as Selectman. Katherine Chaplin was reelected to a three-year term on the School Committee. Scott Bracy was elected to the Shellfish Conservation Committee.
Residents approved the proposed $345,738 school budget to operate the elementary school in Islesford for the next year and to pay tuition for Cranberry Isles students to attend high school on the mainland. Voters agreed to pay for two teachers in Islesford next year and to maintain the Longfellow School on Great Cranberry, even though there are no schoolage children on the island, on the possibility that a family with children might relocate there.
A total of $39,850 was removed from the proposed municipal budget. Voters rejected a $15,000 request for a plow truck for Great Cranberry Island. Voters also reduced the amount for repairs to the Islesford Wharf, as bids for the continuing project came in nearly $25,000 less than expected.
The town placed $5,000 in reserve to fund the cost of removing abandoned vehicles from the island, and created a committee to study how to deal with abandoned vehicles. Selectmen will appoint the committee’s members, who likely will bring a recommended ordinance before townspeople at the 2003 town meeting.
In response to the increased cost of garbage removal, Cranberry Isles townspeople also agreed to join the Acadia Disposal District, a nonprofit regional waste disposal group, and approved the town’s $3,000 share in the district’s budget.
One interesting item on the town warrant and approved by voters, authorized the selectmen to appoint a five-member “Mosquito Control Committee” for the purpose of assessing the severity of mosquito infestation within the town, and investigating methods for mosquito population control, with a report back to the town. The item produced some discussion of recent years’ mosquito perils, prompting one bemused voter to wonder if a committee to investigate the problem of cold weather during the winter might someday be proposed. Community members agreed that chemical spraying for mosquitoes should not be considered as a viable control strategy, in light of the effects that chemicals might have on the land and marine environments.