Cranberry Isles voters reject police department

CRANBERRY ISLES – After lengthy discussion Monday at their annual town meeting, local voters decided not to establish a new police department for this five-island town.

Voters rejected the measure, which was brought to town meeting via petition, as well as two other voter-petition proposals, according to Selectman Dan Lief. They decided against enacting a yearlong moratorium on all new ordinances and against a proposal to sell a building the town owns next to its municipal parking lot in the Southwest Harbor village of Manset.

Lief said Tuesday that discussion at the meeting about law enforcement was a good one. He said there are issues, especially on Great Cranberry Island, that need to be addressed, but most residents do not believe creating a police department is the answer.

“It’s certainly not a dire public safety emergency,” Lief said with a slight chuckle in his voice. “[The petition] was intended to get people’s attention that we want to address it as a community.”

Among the concerns residents have cited about lax law enforcement is not having vehicles properly inspected and registered, drunken driving, and people shooting guns outside at targets, according to town officials. For serious matters, the town has worked with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department to have deputies conduct investigations or follow-up inspections.

Lief said selectmen agreed instead to have the two part-time constables, one on Great Cranberry Island and one on Little Cranberry island, receive formal law enforcement training. Those two islands are the only ones in Cranberry Isles with year-round populations.

“We don’t want a police department at this point,” Lief said.

Voters rejected the ordinance moratorium proposal after being told that the town had received legal opinions that such a moratorium would be illegal, the selectman said. They also rejected a petition to sell the Marsh USA Insurance building in Manset, but Lief said town officials will look into the issue more and perhaps bring it back to voters at a special town meeting in August.

The proposed $1.4 million annual budget was approved, including a measure to borrow $90,000 for a new firetruck on Little Cranberry. Voters were presented with preliminary plans for a new town garage on Little Cranberry but will not vote on a building proposal until a later date.

In elections, Phil Whitney did not seek re-election as a selectman, opening the way for Hal Newell to win an uncontested race for the vacant seat. With Whitney stepping down, Lief becomes the first selectman of the board.