PROSPECT – The newly instated board members appeared enthusiastic and determined as they took over the governing of the Friends of Fort Knox Wednesday.

The board members were elected in a disputed vote in November, but were not declared the winners in that election until Tuesday when an arbitrator ruled that proxy votes that had been counted in that election were invalid. The vote removed most of the incumbent members of the board and replaced them with this new slate.

The board had met Tuesday night and one of its first acts was to reinstate Leon Seymour as the executive director. Technically, Seymour will serve as the interim director until a formal contract is drawn up and signed, according to Michael Celli, who was elected as president of the organization at Tuesday’s meeting.

It was the decision by the former board of directors to seek Seymour’s resignation last August that resulted in a split among Friends members and an eventual lawsuit that was resolved by the arbitrator’s judgment.

“Yesterday’s decision was a victory for democracy, a victory for local control and a victory for the little guy,” said Bangor attorney A.J. Grief, who had represented one membership faction in the legal dealings. “Some have called this a civil war within this organization. If that’s the case then we will go forward with malice toward none and charity for all, as Lincoln said.”

Tuesday’s ruling does not resolve the complaint Seymour has filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission over his removal as executive director. Earlier this year, the commission ruled in favor of Seymour and that complaint has moved to Waldo County Superior Court. Seymour said he anticipated that Grief, who has represented him in this case, would be negotiating with the organization’s insurance company.

The new board members and Seymour both indicated that they face a “tremendous challenge” in order to put the year of strife behind them and to bring the organization back to the level it was before.

“We’ve stepped backward this year,” Celli said. “But with the support of a positive and empowered membership, we can bring this organization not only back to where it was, but to bigger and greater heights.”

The immediate concern, Seymour said, is finances. A preliminary review of the books indicates that the organization’s operational account is at a very low level, he said.

“My preliminary estimates are that they have left us $17,000 in operations with the leanest money months ahead of us,” he said. “When I left, there was $140,000 in the operating fund.”

Grief, who provided legal advice to the new board members pro bono, said the Friends’ legal fees would be covered by its insurance carrier. He added, however, that the old board had spent funds outsourcing certain functions, including bookkeeping and grant writing, that had previously been done by Seymour.

“They were spending far more than they were raising,” Grief said. “In an organization like this, you don’t spend your seed money. This should have been a time to tighten their belt.”

Seymour said Tuesday’s victory could not have been accomplished without the commitment of the membership, and he planned to draw on the committed membership to help ease the financial crunch. He noted that the Friends still has a contact with the Bureau of Parks and Lands to operate the main gate and the gift shop and to provide tours of the grounds for visitors.

“I think the first thing I need to do is to get an e-mail out to the members to request volunteer help, so we can begin to use volunteer help in many places and start to cut costs immediately,” he said.

Seymour and Celli both said the Friends hopes to bring back the popular Fright at the Fort event around Halloween. That event, which was scaled back last year, had been a major fundraising event for the Friends. Seymour said in 2004 it drew about 10,000 visitors to the fort and raised about $50,000.

The Friends needs approval from the Bureau before it can move ahead with Fright plans, he said.

The new board also is looking ahead to the completion of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory and hopes to play a role in that operation. Access to the observatory built into the bridge’s western tower will be from the fort’s parking lot, and Celli said he would like to see the Friends involved in aspects of the operation.

The board has not discussed what that role might be with Bureau officials, Celli said, but it could include supervision of the elevator that will take visitors to the observation deck, and providing tours of the area near the old bridge, where there are plans for historical and environmental displays.