Castine voters face petition articles

CASTINE – Voters will face two petition articles next week when they gather for the annual town meeting.

The first part of the town meeting dealing with municipal issues will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, March 22, at Delano Auditorium on the Maine Maritime Academy campus.

The second session, to address the education articles, will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at the auditorium.

The first petitioned article requests that the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife remove the extended archery season for deer from the on-neck area of town. The town joined the state program in 2000, which extends the archery season by two months, to control the expanding deer population in that area.

Joshua Adam, who submitted the petition to end the extended season, indicated that the extended season had served its purpose in reducing the deer population.

“We used to have a deer problem, but I think we have a normal amount again, a normal, healthy population,” Adam said Wednesday. “I think we have it under control.”

Most residents assumed that the extended season was a temporary measure, but it’s not, he said. “You have to request to get off it.”

Voters rejected a similar measure in 2001 by a 2-1 margin.

The second petitioned article asks voters to increase the members on the Board of Selectmen from three to five. If approved, the article calls for the two new members to be elected for initial terms of two and three years, respectively.

The school committee also has proposed increasing the membership on that committee, also from three to five.

The proposed municipal budget totals $1,370,724, a decrease of about $12,000 from last year. That budget reflects an operating budget of nearly $1.3 million, an increase of $94,438 from last year, according to Karen Motycka, finance officer and interim town manager.

That increase was offset by a drop in the capital improvements budget of about $105,000 this year, reflecting the completion of several projects. “Those projects have all been completed or are near completion,” Motycka said.

Some funds have been carried over in specific accounts in order to finish those projects, she said.

The most significant increases in the budget include a $20,000 increase in the public works maintenance account reflecting plans to improve the sidewalk along Court Street from Main Street to Green Street. Money from the Emerson Hall capital fund will be used to improve the section of sidewalk in front of the hall, and the town has applied for a $26,000 state grant for the sidewalk project.

Motycka said there are a number of other areas in town where the sidewalks need improvements.

“If we get the grant, we’ll do more sidewalks,” she said.

According to Motycka, selectmen plan to ask for an additional $20,000 in the road drainage account to deal with a malfunctioning storm drain on Perkins Street. The problem occurred after the warrant had been prepared. They may be able to coordinate the storm drain project with sidewalk repairs, if the funding is available, she said.

The town’s debt service account also increased by $33,400, reflecting the first payment on the Fire Department’s new truck.