PENOBSCOT – Voters at the annual town meeting next week will decide whether to enact a shellfish conservation ordinance.

Voting for municipal officers will take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, March 3, at the elementary school. Discussion of the warrant articles will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, at the school.

Interest in a shellfish ordinance was sparked last summer when the Spiney Creek Shellfish Co. received permission from the Department of Marine Resources to harvest clams in the closed area of Northern Bay, according to Selectman Paul Bowen. That process is regulated by DMR and not the town, Bowen said, but a group of residents was interested in conserving the resource in the open areas and in those closed areas once they are again opened to clamming.

The town has been working with the state to find a way to remove three approved overboard discharges into Northern Bay, which have kept a portion of the flats closed to clamming for a number of years.

According to Bowen, the shellfish committee worked with a DMR biologist to review other ordinances and to draft the proposed ordinance, which will regulate clamming in those areas that are open, including limiting the number of commercial licenses that can be issued.

“The idea is to conserve the resource for the residents of the town,” Bowen said.

Spiney Creek paid the town $1 per bushel for the clams it took from the closed area last year, and, if the ordinance is approved, the town will use those funds, $2,700, to hire a clam warden to enforce the ordinance.

Voters also will be asked to transfer $35,000 from the municipal surplus to fund a future revaluation of the town. Voters allocated $10,000 for the revaluation last year and the additional funds would allow the revaluation to begin late this year or early next year, Bowen said.

Voters also will decide on whether to fund a summer school program for kindergarten through grade eight. The school budget includes about $35,000 to cover staff and busing costs for the new program, according to Superintendent Arthur Wittine. Although the program is open to all pupils, Wittine said it is designed to help pupils who need extra help and tend to fall behind during the summer months.

The half-day program will run four days a week for five weeks.

Overall, the proposed school budget totals $1,485,461, an increase of $55,914 more than the current budget, up 3.91 percent. The budget includes sizable increases in the transportation and operation and maintenance of plant accounts, reflecting anticipated increases in energy costs.

There is one contested race for selectman this year. Incumbent Stanley Shorey faces a challenge from Albert “Bim” Snow Jr. for the three-year seat on the board. Running unopposed are: for town clerk, Mary Ellen Gross; school committee, Gaye Marie Rogers; and finance committee, Ellen Jamieson “Jamie” Sarna.

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

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