Sangerville voters pass most articles in lengthy session

Carone re-elected to board; code
of ethics ordinance fails

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    SANGERVILLE — It took two hours to get through the first 19 articles on the Sangerville annual town meeting warrant Saturday.
    But after a session of four hours and 15 minutes, voters passed most of the 70 articles, re-elected Selectman Tom Carone and rejected a code of ethics ordinance.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    IT’S A VOTE — Sangerville residents pass an article on a show-of-hands vote at Saturday’s annual town meeting.

    Carone went through three rounds of balloting to win re-election since he didn’t get 51 percent of the vote in the first two races when three candidates were nominated.
    In the first round, Carone got 42 votes; Mike Wark, 30; and Dale Gray, 28. Carone got 49 votes on the second ballot with Wark getting 27 and Gray 23.
    All three were nominated for the third time, but Gray withdrew. That allowed Carone to defeat Wark, 53-48.
    Newcomer Nicole Martin was elected to a three-year term on the SAD 4 Board of Directors.
    The $1.98 million budget is slightly higher than last year, partially due to an increase in the Piscataquis County tax and an anticipated 5 percent hike in the town’s share of the SAD 4 budget.
    The only funding article that failed was a request for $7,400 for new carpeting for the community room, hallway and town administrative offices. “I think it’s ludicrous to carpet all those rooms when our parking lot is nothing but mud,” said Alice Moulton.
    The article that drew one of the lengthiest debates was a petition-generated article by Richard Dobson to enact a code of ethics ordinance for the community.
    Dobson’s reasoning behind the petition was that a simple town policy could be overturned by the board of selectmen at any time while an ordinance could only be changed by voters at a town meeting.
    Dobson told voters that a letter in the town report from Sangerville’s legal counsel, Thad Zmistowski of Eaton-Peabody, which advised them to vote against the measure, was improper and misleading. “The code of ethics ordinance we’re voting on is only seven pages,” said Dobson. “But the opinion cites references to pages 8-10, which are not part of this ordinance.”

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    MAKING HIS CASE — Richard Dobson, right, read a statement supporting a code of ethics ordinance at Sangerville’s annual town meeting. Seated, from left, are Town Manager Kenneth Woodbury; Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Bill Rowe, and Selectmen Melissa Randall and Tom Carone.

    Dobson urged voters to “disregard the letter, which is based on totally erroneous information.”
    But Selectman Melissa Randall said that the three additional pages were a copy of the Maine statutes pertaining to the proposed ordinance, an article from the Maine Townsman magazine and a summary of the ordinance’s provisions written by Dobson.
    Randall said that MMA had advised the board that passage of the ordinance “would be just a path to a lawsuit; and if you want to stay out of court, you don’t do things like that. This town is already divided. We don’t want to pass something that will keep us in constant turmoil with each other.”
    On a secret-ballot vote, the article failed 60-34.
    Voters passed an article allowing permanent ATV access on portions of four town roads – Flanders Hill, Burroughs and Knowlton Mills roads and a portion of the East Sangerville Road. “I don’t know of anyone who travels those roads more than me and my trucks and I never had any problems with ATVs,” said Gerald “Chummy” Jackson.
    Residents also favored the planning board’s version of a property maintenance ordinance rather than one generated by a citizen’s petition. While some who spoke had reservations about enforcement being subjective, the article passed rather easily.
    Town Manager Ken Woodbury updated the audience on the former Abbie Fowler School which has drawn interest from a local developer who wants to convert it into an assisted living facility.
    Gordon Contracting President Brian Howard originally unveiled his plan at the Dec. 23, 2014 board of selectmen’s meeting. However, residents voted to have the building demolished at a town meeting in 2010. But the cost to remove the hazardous materials and level the building was estimated to be as much as $400,000.
    Woodbury said that Howard — or any other developer — could be eligible for grants to help remediate the property and reuse it. “But whatever happens, the proposal has to come back to the town,” Woodbury said. “This project would generate the equivalent of property taxes for 10 average homes in Sangerville.”
    On the suggestion of one resident, a straw poll was held to see if voters favored the town pursuing the reuse of the building and the result was overwhelmingly in favor.