In a large turnout for a small island, around 50 people showed up for Isle au Haut town meeting on Monday, March 29th. They passed a $190,696 school budget, re-elected most town personnel, and approved new money to finance the fire department and build a town sand shed.
Ted Hoskins was elected to moderate the meeting, with 64 articles on the warrant. Bill Clark, Jason Barter and Peter Burke were re-elected as selectmen, Susan MacDonald was re-elected as Town Clerk and Tax Collector, Ben MacDonald was re-elected as Treasurer, Bill Stevens was re-elected as Road Commissioner, and Greg Runge retained his job as Animal Control Officer. Deborah Schrader, Tina Tully and Kelly Hawks were elected as Assessors, and George Lamson was put in place as Fire Chief.
Boards and committees: Peggy Stevens was elected to a five-year term on the Planning Board, Dave Hiltz and Peter Burke were placed on the Colwell Ramp Waterfront Access Board for one year, and Diane Barter and Kelly Hawks were placed on the School Board for three-year and one-year terms, respectively. After a lighthearted discussion about who was on the Lighthouse Committee – unclear since it hasn’t met for about two years – Dave Hiltz and Al Gordon were elected.
The proposed school budget enlivened debate. Superintendent Robert Webster reported that major maintenance was needed on the old schoolhouse, and therefore the school budget included $40,000 to repair the foundation, repaint the interior of the building, replace a door and undertake electrical and plumbing work. Several citizens were concerned about the significant one-year increase, and suggested that the hefty reserve fund for high school tuitions be tapped to offset costs, since there was no anticipated large number of high school students materializing. In a compromise, voters agreed to draw $25,000 from the $41,000 of tuition reserve to help with the cost of the school repairs.
The town approved $10,000 for the fire department. Selectman Bill Clark reported that this money would be used for more fire hose, as well as pumps to help increase brush-fighting capabilities. The town also agreed to raise $7,500 for a new salt and sand shed with a concrete floor to prevent leeching into groundwater, but required the selectmen to carefully research the construction and consult with the state Department of Environmental Protection about standards, then return to the town for final approval before beginning the project.
After lengthy discussion about priorities at the Town Landing, with the wharf, parking lot, and winch and hoist all needing repairs or replacement, it was decided to approve $10,000 from the Town Landing account to match a grant for a new winch and hoist, transfer $5,000 from interest to fund parking lot repairs, and raise $5,000 to start a wharf repair reserve. Finally, islanders agreed to raise $500 to start an Anniversary Celebration Reserve, to pay for a grand all-day gala for the 100th anniversary of Revere Memorial Hall – to be held in 2006.