On March 8 the townspeople of North Haven gathered at the community building in order to participate in their annual town meeting. With 81 articles to vote on, and coffee and muffins provided as a fundraiser for North Haven Community School’s class of 2009, folks seemed eager to get things rolling as 9:00 a.m. approached and the meeting was brought to order. Community member Jerry White was quickly elected to fill the role of moderator and subsequently set townspeople about the tasks of establishing the budget for the next fiscal year, addressing community issues, and the filling of important positions on a variety of town committees.
Bill Bartovics was elected and Jon Emerson was re-elected to the two vacated positions on the Board of Selectmen. The budget committee, the North Haven Medical Services Board and the SAD#7 school board each added three community members to their ranks. Long time road commissioner Eliot Brown was re-elected as was fire chief Forrest Sprague. Members of the planning board, the board of appeals, the Mullen’s Head Park Commission and the recreation council were also filled, and an assessor of taxes was appointed.
While all articles passed during the morning, a few were especially noteworthy: Article 34, asking the community whether it would vote to accept the comprehensive plan, was unanimously passed by voters. The plan must now be reviewed at the state level.
Article 44 provoked considerable discussion and clarification. At issue was the dispute between the town and the abutting landowners over the Bartlett’s Harbor Road right-of-way. The article gave the board of selectmen the authority to seek a negotiated settlement by July 3, 2008 to avoid further litigation. The issue was addressed passionately by both Linda and Ryan Haskell, the abutting property owners, as they provided their historical perspective on the litigation. The town administrator, Joe Stone, and the outgoing chair of the board of selectmen, Pat Curtis, articulated the Town’s position in reference to the article at hand. When it became clear to all those in attendance through the questions and comments made by the aforementioned individuals and other members of the community that all parties involved were seeking a “yes” vote on the article, it was passed overwhelmingly.
Article 45 asked voters to raise $10,000 for the town to resolve or litigate the status of the Bartlett’s Harbor Road right-of-way. This seemed to be a sticking point for some weary community members who have witnessed this ongoing litigation for the past six years. While Article 45 was passed in order to raise the funds necessary to continue efforts to resolve the status of the Bartlett’s Harbor Road right of way, a common sentiment throughout the building was that hopefully the interested parties will be able to come to an amicable solution in the near future without the need to spend much of the designated money.
A little before noon, the town meeting came to a close with the approval (after some amendments from the floor) of $1,687,777 funds for town services with a net taxpayer portion of the budget accounting for $1,117,377 — a 6.8 percent increase over taxes raised in 2007 to support the municipal budget. Afterwards, townspeople mingled about for a while, and delved into a benefit lunch provided by North Haven Cares while chatting with neighbors about town politics, winter happenings and hopes associated with the approaching spring.