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WINTERPORT – Voters on Tuesday approved the creation of a charter commission and elected six residents to serve as members. They also elected two new members to the Board of Selectmen and a new assessor.
On a sour note for the town administration, voters rejected articles calling for expanded borrowing power for the Winterport Water District and Sewer District. The defeat could jeopardize the town’s plans to upgrade the utilities beneath Route 1 in conjunction with a state Department of Transportation highway reconstruction project scheduled for this fall.
The town has secured a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant to cover part of the cost of the project, but the districts may need to borrow additional funds to ensure its completion.
Town Manager Leo LaChance said he was disappointed by the rejection because it may hamstring the two districts’ ability to pay for needed subsurface utility upgrades before the highway undergoes reconstruction. He said the districts had hoped to do the work before, in tandem with the DOT project.
The article asking to raise the sewer district’s borrowing limit from $400,000 to $1.2 million was defeated 434-245. The article asking to raise the water district’s borrowing limit from $800,000 to $1.2 million was defeated 421-261.
LaChance speculated that the decision-making process was hampered by state law that prevented the town from including explanatory information with the articles.
“The law is written poorly because it doesn’t let us explain what we were asking for. It’s doesn’t mean they’re going to go out and borrow $1.2 million,” LaChance said Wednesday. “It’s going to take a lot of work on our part to go out and explain what we need. I’m very, very disappointed.”
The charter commission article passed muster by a vote of 368-288. Elected to the commission were Donna M. Gilbert, 411 votes, Charlotte C. Herbold, 368 votes, Patrick Quinn, 364 votes, and write-in candidates Susan Rioux with 33 votes, Steve Andrews with 12 votes and Randall Powlton with 8.
Along with the six charter commission representatives selected by the voters, the Board of Selectmen received authorization to appoint three additional members under the charter proposal.
The nine-member commission will have one year to review the town’s governing charter with the goal of either revising the existing charter or establishing a new one. All recommended changes must be approved by the voters before a revised charter or new document becomes law.
“It looks promising,” LaChance said of the commission. “There were some good write-in candidates. Some very capable people in town were elected to the charter commission.”
In the race for two open seats on the Board of Selectmen, Brian N. Littlefield and Stephen Cooper emerged as winners from a three-member field of candidates. Littlefield topped the ticket with 465 votes, Cooper polled 244 votes, followed by Thomas Edward Drew with 216. Littlefield and Cooper will succeed Selectmen Steven Clisham and Fred Norris. Both decided against running for another three-year term.
Roger F. Newey was elected to the board of assessors, and Lewis A. Aurelio was elected to the SAD 22 board of directors. Both were unopposed.
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