Peabody Road construction squeaks through at efficient Town Meeting

A grandfather’s opposition to construction on Peabody Road, for fear it could transform the quiet street into a “raceway,” resulted in the only close vote at Harpswell’s annual Town Meeting.

The roughly 90-minute meeting on March 9 saw debate about funds for Curtis Memorial Library and Harpswell Community Television. However, everything besides the Peabody Road question passed by wide margins.

Most of the 54 questions, or articles, before voters were budgetary matters. The 2024 municipal budget totals $7.4 million, up 6.2% from 2023.

Big-ticket items on the agenda included $550,000 for Peabody Road, $375,000 for renovations at the Recycling Center, and $325,000 for a townwide property revaluation.

Peabody Road branches off Harpswell Neck Road and runs parallel with it for a short distance before the roads reconnect.

Richard Graves said he lives on the road and often walks on it with his grandchildren. He suggested that newcomers moving into a nearby development were pushing for the construction.

Graves said he had proposed an alternative to town officials and had offered to give up some of his land to enable it. The details of the plan were not clear.

Graves said neither he nor his neighbors who also have grandchildren “would like to see the raceway open back up that some of us used to do many years ago to pass vehicles on 123 that wouldn’t let you go by. If you do 70 down there, you could beat ’em.”

The moderator of the meeting, John Loyd, said the language of the article did not obligate the town to spend the money on Peabody Road.

The article asks if voters will approve the funds “for the capital improvement of roads … as determined to be appropriate by the Select Board.” However, a note on the article says the $550,000 is “expected to be used primarily for a project on Peabody Road.”

No one else spoke on the article. When voters raised their fluorescent green cards to indicate yes or no, Loyd deemed the vote too close to call by sight. He drafted volunteers to conduct a count before announcing that the article had passed, 97-72.

Another piece of town infrastructure to garner attention was the town dock at Potts Point, which was destroyed by storms on Jan. 10 and 13. Voters urged the town to find a temporary solution for the upcoming season, to move quickly toward permanent replacement, and to consider building docks elsewhere in town.

Mike Dana, of Potts Point, suggested that the town take $8,000 that had been budgeted for a new float at the dock and put it toward engineering and planning for a new dock. He also encouraged officials to start planning for docks elsewhere in town.

Harpswell has the longest shoreline in the state, and residents deserve access to that shoreline, Dana said. “By having adequate docks in various parts of town, this will help sustain the working waterfront and public access,” he added.

Select Board Chair Kevin Johnson encouraged residents interested in both short- and long-term solutions to the dock’s destruction to attend meetings of the Harbor and Waterfront Committee, which is discussing the matter.

“We’re looking at different solutions to get by this summer,” Johnson said. “There’s a couple ideas on the table.”

Perhaps the most vigorous debate of the evening focused on Harpswell’s contribution of $159,089 to Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. The contribution comes with memberships for all year-round and seasonal residents at no further cost.

Some residents objected to the discrepancy between the Curtis contribution and the amounts the town gives to Harpswell’s own libraries, its three independent fire departments, and other local nonprofits.

“We’re giving them (Curtis) more than we’re giving to any one of the fire departments, which I think we could argue are perhaps providing a greater service to the town,” said Margaret Broughall, of Orr’s Island.

“Let’s give them $30,000, like we give all of our other libraries, and then save the rest and build our own library on Harpswell Neck,” Broughall added.

Proponents of the contribution pointed out that Curtis regularly sends its bookmobile to locations around Harpswell. They said Curtis supports the Harpswell libraries, giving them access to the resources of a larger library.

“I support my local libraries, both of them in town, and will continue to, but I find the hours and services and convenience and parking at Curtis invaluable to me,” said Sharon Oehmig, of Great Island. “And I think it is true that Curtis will probably still go on, but the availability of its services at no additional charge to Harpswell residents, I think, would be very much missed if we declined to support it.”

The amount, which is the same as last year’s, passed with scattered votes in opposition.

The next article proposed to raise $87,580 for the Harpswell Community Broadcasting Corp., the nonprofit that operates Harpswell Community Television.

The article attracted opposition from Basin Point resident Dan McMahon, who accused the station of violating federal law governing 501(c)(3) nonprofits by airing a debate between Select Board candidates David Chipman and Jerry Leeman III.

But Orr’s Island resident Daniel Hoebeke, a retired tax attorney, refuted McMahon’s interpretation of the law.

“The suggestions that were just made do not hold water,” Hoebeke said. “If the station were to take a political position, endorse a political candidate, that would be one thing, but opening up forums and giving an opportunity to inform the community is not a violation of the 501(c)(3) regulations. In fact, it is encouraged.”

The voters eventually approved a motion to end debate on the question, then overwhelmingly approved the funds.

It is not yet clear whether taxes will go up this year. Several factors influence the property tax rate. The biggest factor is the town’s share of the local school district’s budget, which is not yet known.

Harpswell’s 2023 tax rate of $6.10 per $1,000 of valuation was the lowest among the county’s 28 municipalities.