A vote on whether to build a $6 million municipal fire and rescue station will take place by secret ballot, despite objections from residents on both sides of the question who want to see a floor debate and vote at a Town Meeting.
The Harpswell Select Board voted 3-0 on Thursday, March 27, to place the question on a June 10 ballot. The station was supposed to be voted on at the annual Town Meeting on March 8, but overcrowding forced town officials to postpone the meeting.
A subsequent Town Meeting was held March 22 at the same location, Harpswell Community School, but three contested articles were removed from the warrant — including the fire station — to reduce voter turnout.
Initially, town officials had discussed holding a rescheduled Town Meeting on April 5 at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham. Orion can accommodate up to 700 people, far beyond the Harpswell school’s capacity of 420.
But that plan was changed over concerns about the town’s then-proposed 2025 budget. Harpswell was only authorized by 2024 voters to continue spending through March, when the new budget was expected to be approved.
A yes vote on the fire station would authorize the town to borrow $6 million to design, build and equip a new emergency services building on Mountain Road. The original warrant article has been amended to reduce the repayment term from 25 years to 20, making it more consistent with Harpswell’s past borrowing for capital projects.
At Thursday’s Select Board meeting, a few residents spoke against the move to a secret ballot. They included Cundy’s Harbor resident Aaron Fuchs, who supports the proposed station, and Orr’s Island resident Melinda Richter, who opposes it.
“Melinda and I happen to be on opposite sides of the debate about the fire station, but we both agree that this was a terrible decision,” Fuchs told the board, adding that a secret ballot isn’t the same as debating and voting on issues in an open forum.
Richter agreed, telling the board: “I think it deserves a bigger debate than what you’re proposing to give it.”
Cundy’s Harbor resident Alison Hawkes said many residents feel “overwhelming frustration” with how officials have handled this year’s Town Meeting.
Harpswell Neck resident Jim Lockburn agreed, saying the move to send the most high-profile items to a secret ballot “violates the intent of the Town Meeting form of government.”
“The whole point of a Town Meeting is so residents can meet face-to-face, talk over important issues and make a decision while they’re there,” Lockburn said.
Select Board members attempted to reassure the frustrated residents. They said voter turnout for referendums is generally higher than for town meetings, meaning more residents will get to have a say. They also noted that Harpswell will hold an additional public hearing on each referendum item before the scheduled vote.
“It will be televised, just like being on the floor of Town Meeting, except you don’t vote then and there — that’s all,” Select Board member David Chipman told the residents. “It’s a different dynamic, I will agree.”
Select Board Chair Kevin Johnson said he has talked to residents who criticized the town for not putting the fire station and other major items on secret ballots to begin with. “I personally want to keep it on the ballot,” Johnson said.
A referendum on the fate of the administration building at George J. Mitchell Field is also expected to be placed on the June 10 ballot. However, the Select Board has yet to decide whether to incorporate a proposal to restore the building for use as a recreation center. The board is expected to decide that issue at its next meeting on April 10.
Also on June 10, voters will consider the local school district’s budget.
The third article removed from the March 8 warrant asked voters to approve a new comprehensive plan for the town. That item is expected to be added to the Nov. 4 ballot, but only after the draft plan is updated to remove items related to affordable housing that some residents opposed.
