The Select Board has clearly stated that Harpswell residents should decide the fate of the administration building at Mitchell Field and that the decision should not be made by the board.
But at the Select Board meeting on April 10, two members chose not to give residents a clear choice.
There are residents who prefer to demolish the building and there are those who envision it being repurposed, thus becoming an asset to be used by residents for many community activities. Remediation and demolition would be funded by the taxpayers; repurposing would be funded by donations and grants.
The administration building contains toxic materials. By law, they need to be remediated (removed safely) before the building can be demolished or repurposed. This is expected to take approximately one year to complete.
The Select Board has proposed a warrant article to resolve this that clearly does not give the residents a choice. It requires voters to choose whether or not to both remediate and demolish the building. There is no option to remediate and repurpose the building.
Supporters of repurposing the building asked the board to restate the article to contain two questions. The first would be whether to spend money on remediation; the second would have voters decide between demolition and repurposing.
Since remediation is a significant expense, it must be approved by the voters. Whether to repurpose or demolish is another question that needs to be decided by the voters.
Most speakers at last night’s meeting spoke in favor of allowing the voters a choice between the options. Two of our Select Board members steadfastly chose not to do so.
By voting no, against demolishing and remediating, the issue will be decided at some time in the future, hopefully with real choices.
Philip Conner, Harpswell Neck
