The Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen considered several issues at its Tuesday, May 27 meeting but made few decisions.

The only item on the published agenda was discussion of the recall provision provided to the selectmen by Norm Pierce at their last meeting. Selectman Robert Splaine moved that consideration of this provision be tabled until the board had time to study it further. Selectman Louis Burnham added that he would like to have Pierce present when the board discusses the matter. The board voted unanimously to table the discussion to a future date.

Town Manager Tom Woodin presented the board with a proposed revised fee schedule. Woodin said that he had met with other department heads over the winter to review fees and had compared Boothbay Harbor's fee schedule with other towns. After some discussion, the board decided to table a decision on the proposed fee changes to the next selectmen's meeting.

Selectman Denise Griffin asked to discuss a letter from the planning board regarding potential traffic impacts from proposed development at the Linekin Bay Resort and Mt. Dora Highlands. The planning board's letter stated that the intersection of Park Street, Union Street and Atlantic Avenue "is dangerous and should be improved in concert with these developments" since the proposed developments are expected to increase traffic at the intersection. The planning board asked for a letter from both the selectmen and the public works department that "recognizes and endorses the need to improve" the intersection if the proposed developments are approved.

Code Enforcement Officer Dabney Lewis explained that right- hand turns from Park onto Union Street are nearly impossible without intruding into the oncoming traffic lane. The planning board is concerned that the increased traffic volume associated with the two developments will exacerbate the problem, and wishes to place conditions on any permit issued to include improvements to the intersections. Lewis explained, "They're willing to place these conditions but are looking for the board's backing." Selectman Bruce Engert asked Lewis, "What are you thinking in terms of a remedy?"

"The least amount of disruption would be by increasing the right- turn radius -- taking a chunk off the corner lot, moving the sidewalk back -- so people can make the right-hand turn towards town," Lewis replied.

Splaine noted his involvement on the planning board and added, "If someone wants to build say 70 homes in a given spot, and they are legitimate in wanting to do that, it's the surrounding infrastructure that suffers. That surrounding infrastructure houses the residents of Boothbay Harbor that we represent. We really do have an obligation to say, in my view, `You want to do it, you pay for it'."

Lewis noted that the planning board has been struggling with this issue, and since any permit will ultimately come before the selectmen, the planning board would like to know their view in advance. Selectman Engert suggested that the board table the issue to allow further consideration and discussion. Lewis indicated that the planning board has 30 days in which to render a decision on Linekin Bay Resort's application.

Engert suggested that a discussion of the "way we conduct these meetings" and the agenda was in order. Woodin explained that the agenda format was inherited from previous boards and could change. Engert noted that Brunswick has a scheduled executive session before their regular public meeting, which would allow for feedback to the public on the executive session. He also suggested that a town manager's report would be a desirable addition. After some discussion, the board decided to discuss this further at future meetings.

Tom Carbone announced that the Boothbay Region Waste Disposal Facility, a.k.a., the dump, will begin accepting compost again on Monday, June 2. He noted that a new sheet that outlines what can be recycled at the dump is available at the town office.

Former BRHS industrial arts teacher Fred Lewis continued in his pursuit of answers from the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor school committee, as has been reported in previous issues of the Register. Lewis had made his case to the Boothbay Board of Selectmen the previous week, and told the Harbor selectmen "The taxpayers have been conned into paying for the misdeeds of the administrators of the school." Lewis noted his frustration with statements made by school administrators and stated that he wanted to see administrators held accountable. Sarah Sample thanked Lewis for his explanation and implored other citizens to become more involved in the school committee process.

After Julia Latter's financial report, Splaine asked when she anticipated the town would exceed the $7.2 million approved by voters last May. Because of the budget irregularities discovered at the beginning of the current town manager's term, the town has been operating under a revised budget of about $7.3 million. Splaine expressed concern that should the board approve expenditures over the $7.2 million, the selectmen could be asked to pay the amount over that approved out of their own pockets. Splaine asked Woodin to ask the town's lawyer for a document that could be used to hold the selectmen harmless for any overage.

On Monday, Woodin stated that Article 13 approved at town meeting authorizes the selectmen to use the undesignated fund if necessary when budgets are exceeded, thereby freeing them of any personal liability. Woodin also noted that going over budget certainly wasn't new for Boothbay Harbor and was, in fact, part of the reason that the undesignated fund has been depleted. However, current projections from the town manager indicate that while expenses will come in at about $116,000 over the approved budget, revenues are expected to be approximately $190,000 over the original budget. So, a budget surplus, not deficit, is expected at the end of this year, and there appears to be no reason to tap the undesignated fund. Presently, Woodin is expecting that the town will be able to contribute about $74,000 to the undesignated fund at the end of this year, over the $30,000 approved at town meeting in 2007.

The board unanimously appointed Engert to be the town's representative to the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service.

The next meeting of the board of selectmen will be held on Monday, June 9.