Carmel won’t hold another meeting despite questions

CARMEL – Selectmen agreed at an emergency meeting Monday night that they did not need to convene another special town meeting after questions were raised about last week’s special town meeting. Although the warrant was prepared, signed and was posted for a short time, selectmen rejected claims made by a local citizens group that the June 17 meeting did not conform to state law.

On behalf of Carmel Citizens for Responsible Government, Peter Pelletier questioned the validity of that meeting because the town budget committee did not review the warrant and some ballots were distributed before the moderator was elected.

“We demand that no action … be taken on these articles until these errors are corrected by proper means,” stated the letter, a copy of which was faxed to the Bangor Daily News.

At last week’s meeting, voters approved spending an additional $10,000 for legal fees and an additional $75,000 for construction on the Horseback Road by an almost 2-to-1 margin.

Town Manager Tom Richmond said Monday night that he drew up the warrant for a second special town meeting to be held July 8 after discussing the letter with selectmen last week. Three selectmen signed the warrant and it was posted before Richmond realized it was not legal because it had not been signed at an open meeting.

At Monday night’s hastily called meeting, Richmond told selectmen that members of the budget committee had declined to meet to discuss the June 17 warrant and that the ballots had been cast and countered properly. Selectmen agreed that a second special town meeting was unnecessary, even though Richmond warned them that they might be risking a lawsuit.

“I’m not afraid of lawsuits. I’ve never been before a judge and lost,” said Selectman Douglas Small, referring to the many years of litigation over the Horseback Road and related issues.

In response to a reporter’s question, Pelletier said that the citizens group had not discussed filing a lawsuit. He also said the group did not take a stand on Selectwoman Glennis McSorley and her husband’s dispute with the town over their gravel pits.

The group was formed to support responsible government and to advocate for lower property taxes, according to Pelletier.

The group backed two candidates for selectmen in the March election. Both were soundly beaten by incumbents Suzan Rudnicki and Jay Deane. At the annual town meeting, where voters approved spending up to $125,000 for Horseback Road construction, the group issued a statement in support of “the voters’ judgment on the election.” The group opposed using tax dollars to fix the road.

Preliminary work on the Horseback Road project started last week, said Richmond. It is scheduled to be completed in early September.