HOLDEN – Residents will get a chance to hear Town Council members deliberate on a controversial highway issue at a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, at the Holden Elementary School.

The Holden Town Council usually meets at the town office on Route 1A, but this meeting has been moved to a bigger venue because a large crowd is anticipated. Residents will not be allowed to speak at the meeting – public comment was given two weeks ago at a special town meeting.

The five-member Town Council will discuss the I-395-Route 9 connector study, review local opinions for and against options, and possibly decide on a course of action.

The council has not discussed recent developments on the controversial I-395 connector issue. Two weeks ago, several residents spoke out against the Ring route, an option that has gained favor with state and federal officials and was thought to be an effective compromise to solve a debate that has raged for 21/2 years. As the town whose residents are heavily affected by the proposed highway, most appear to favor the Corporate Boundary Route, which some say would cause less harm to the rural flavor of the town.

It remains unclear what the Town Council will do Wednesday on the complicated matter.

“There is no preconceived proposal for a vote,” said Town Councilor Clare Payne.

Town Council Chairman Joel Dearborn said he was “not exactly sure what will come out of the meeting. [Town councilors have] been trying desperately, carefully, to make sure no decisions are made until we have the opportunity to talk with each other and to hear what other councilors have to say.”

At the July 8 meeting, several residents objected to the Ring route, formally known as Route 3EIK-2. It was developed by Bangor City Engineer Jim Ring and affects the least number of residences. It is within cost guidelines set forth by the state and already has been recommended by the Maine Department of Transportation as the sole route to be considered for further study.

At the July 8 Holden meeting, a surprise contingent mostly from the Clark Hill Road expressed opinions that the compromise route would bisect the town, negatively affect its rural flavor and unnecessarily spoil a lot of wildlands and fields.

According to some, the compromise route flies in the face of the town’s comprehensive plan.

After the route was introduced this spring, Holden’s planning board recommended that the focus not be directed at any single route. The planning board suggested putting all the route options back on the table, many of which were thought to have been discarded last fall and winter.

Contacted Monday, Ring said he will not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

“Absolutely not,” Ring said when asked if he would attend. “This is Holden’s business.”

Ring said he designed the route with goals of minimizing environmental impact, minimizing human impact and “trying to come up with as direct as possible route for efficiency.”

Route 3EIK-2 proposes 10.6 miles of new roadway at an estimated construction cost of $40 million. The route proposal would call for four residences to be razed compared to a minimum of 10 homes razed in the competing corporate boundary route that many Holden residents appear to favor.

Asked if it’s too late in the process to have an effective voice in the matter, Dearborn said, “I don’t think any of us know what impact this will have, but we have an obligation to take a position.”

“I’m sure whatever we do, we won’t please everyone but the five of us have to make a decision and we’ll do the best we can,” Dearborn said.