Harpswell voters will decide two questions in a special town meeting by referendum on June 14. The town vote will coincide with the primary election and the Maine School Administrative District 75 budget validation referendum.
The first question on the town ballot asks voters if they will authorize the Board of Selectmen to enter into a multiple-year agreement with Cumberland County for emergency communication services.
A draft three-year contract shows the cost would rise from $36,972 for the 2021-22 fiscal year to $40,398.93, $41,606.37, and $42,864.12 in successive years. The contract would run through June 30, 2025.
The second question asks if voters will authorize the select board to execute a deed “releasing any interest the Town may have” in a parcel near the end of Washington Avenue, Bailey Island. The town’s interest relates to a tax foreclosure in 1913.
“We are trying to clear this title,” Town Administrator Kristi Eiane told the select board on April 14. “The records from that far back are not very complete and we’ve been approached by the current property owners to work with them to clear up that title.”
The owners — Claudia Haug, John Haug, Anne Pendleton Winter and Eric Winter — will reimburse the town for its expenses, including legal fees to research the matter and the cost to prepare and record the deed.
The select board will hold a public hearing on the ballot at the town office at 6:15 p.m., Thursday, May 12.
The polls will be open at Harpswell Community School from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 14. Absentee ballots are available from the town clerk’s office.
