The town will improve public access to state land on Clark Cove after a 732-405 vote in favor of the proposal on Saturday, March 14.
Also at the polls on Saturday, Kevin Johnson fended off a challenge from Ellen Glew to win a fifth term on the Harpswell Select Board, 789-303.
Voters approved Harpswell’s annual contribution to Brunswick’s Curtis Memorial Library, 770-366. The library will receive $164,400, a roughly $5,000 boost after three years at $159,089.
School board members William “Bart” Beattie and Gregory Greenleaf secured reelection in uncontested races. Beattie received 899 votes and Greenleaf 937. Terms for the positions last three years.
Town Clerk Cathy Doughty reported that 1,140 of Harpswell’s 4,546 voters — about 25% — cast ballots in the municipal election and referendum, part of the annual Town Meeting. The polls were open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The business meeting, when voters consider budgetary questions and ordinance amendments from the floor, started at 10 and wrapped up in little more than an hour. This year’s business meeting generated little debate, with the most closely watched items decided by secret ballot.
The Clark Cove proposal passed by almost 30 percentage points despite organized opposition led by neighbors to the Harpswell Neck property. Opponents argued that it will lead to environmental harm and more traffic, among other undesirable outcomes.
The Harpswell Town Lands Committee put forward the plan in 2023, noting that the state had purchased the land for recreation in the ’70s but didn’t follow through to establish access, leaving the land technically public but unmarked and largely unknown.
The town’s proposal calls for the construction of a parking area with a maximum of six spaces and a trail through the 18.5-acre property on Allen Point Road. The land includes more than a quarter-mile of shoreline on Clark Cove.
The approval of the referendum question allocates $5,000 toward the work. Town officials have said they will seek grants and rely on volunteers to limit the cost to taxpayers.
Supporters of the proposal said it would have minimal impact on the environment while providing both a recreational opportunity and another point of public access to the water for the many residents who lack private shorefront.
The election outcome, meanwhile, returns Harpswell’s top elected official to office.
Johnson, a retired builder from one of Harpswell’s oldest families, chairs the board. Glew, a newcomer to town politics and a volunteer with several community organizations, said she wanted to make town government more responsive to residents.
