DOVER-FOXCROFT – Selectmen signed a letter Monday that expressed their support for referendum voting, a move sought to dispel the notion that they are against the proposal.

Ever since residents submitted a petition for secret referendum voting and overwhelmingly approved it in November, there has been controversy in the community on how the board has handled the process. Currently the voting is by show of hands at the town meeting. Some residents believe the change should be incorporated in the town charter to make it permanent rather than an ordinance as proposed by selectmen.

A final public hearing on the proposed ordinance to implement the voting change will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at Center Theatre. Residents will decide the matter in a vote March 7.

“The Board of Selectmen are fully committed to referendum voting for the Town of Dover-Foxcroft and are hopeful that the voters will adopt the ordinance on March 7 to put the final procedures in place,” read a letter provided to the Bangor Daily News at Monday’s meeting.

All but Selectman Joyce Perry supported the letter, and Selectman Elwood Edgerly was absent from the meeting.

In other action, after more than a year’s wait, the town has settled its insurance claims for the loss of its recycling building and forklift in a February 2005 fire. Town Manager Jack Clukey said the total claim on the building will be $253,575, of which $100,000 already has been paid. In addition, $20,000 in expenses necessary to bring the building up to code can be recovered, he said.

As for the forklift, Clukey said the town’s insurance carrier settled for $20,690. With the settlement, selectmen voted to purchase a forklift from Maine Material Handling at a cost of $19,157.

A third claim for business interruption will be settled once the town determines its recycling loss, lost production and the additional transportation costs.

Also Monday, Selectmen learned the town would receive a $10,000 grant from the Maine Library of Geographic Information for digital parcel mapping to upgrade the tax maps, thanks to Connie Sands, code enforcement officer, who submitted the grant. The total cost of the upgrade project is $30,000.