Cranberry Isles to consider police, moratorium

CRANBERRY ISLES – Residents are expected to consider several measures brought to voters by petition in addition to a proposed $1.4 million budget, according to town officials.

The items will be up for discussion and approval at the Cranberry Isles annual town meeting, which is expected to get under way at 9 a.m. today at the fire station at Great Cranberry Island.

One proposal brought by petition is to establish a police department.

Selectman Phil Whitney said Saturday that there’s some concern among Great Cranberry Island residents about the lack of a police presence on the island.

Shooting guns at targets, drunken driving, and driving improperly registered or inspected vehicles are some of the issues people would like to have addressed, he said.

In the past year, the town has appointed two part-time constables, one on Great Cranberry Island and the other on Little Cranberry Island, also known as Islesford, to help address these types of law enforcement issues, Whitney said.

The constables have coordinated their efforts with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department on more serious issues or when more follow-up with an incident is needed, he said.

The town hopes to get more law enforcement and harbormaster training for the constables to help improve policing on the islands, Whitney said.

Selectman Dan Lief pointed out that the town has not budgeted any money for a police department, so if voters decide to do something at Monday’s meeting, it most likely will be to look into the idea further.

“I hope, as a selectman, what comes from this is a meaningful discussion of what we should do,” Lief said.

Another proposal brought to voters by petition is to enact a yearlong moratorium on new ordinances. Petitioners believe that because existing ordinances are not enforced, it does not make any sense to enact new ones until the enforcement issue is addressed, selectmen said.

Lief said that the town has received two legal opinions that such a moratorium itself is unenforceable and should not be enacted. It also could interfere with implementation of an new harbor ordinance that a group of 10 volunteers has worked on for the past year, he said.

Whitney said the proposal nonetheless will be submitted to voters, along with the legal recommendations not to adopt the moratorium.

Voters also will be asked if the town should sell a commercial building it owns in Southwest Harbor next to a waterfront parking facility it acquired in 2002. And they will be asked to approve borrowing $90,000 to put toward a new fire truck for Islesford, Whitney said.

The proposed $1.4 million budget is a few percentage points lower than last year’s budget, according to Lief. He said that with debt service paid off this year, the town likely could afford to build a new town garage on Islesford without having to increase taxes.

“I think we are well positioned going forward,” he said.

Lief said it will not be known until nominations for town positions are made at the town meeting whether there will be any contested municipal elections.