The Harpswell Select Board voted 3-0 on Thursday, Sept. 4, to send four local referendum questions to voters on a Nov. 4 ballot.
One measure asks voters to adopt a new comprehensive plan as recommended by the Comprehensive Plan Task Force. If approved, it would replace a plan adopted in March 2005 and amended in 2006 and 2011.
Another article would allow the town to accept gifts and to apply for and accept grants for improvements to the Trufant-Summerton Athletic Field, which could include a playground, as the board deems appropriate.
A third question would authorize a multiyear contract with Webber Enterprises Inc., of Harpswell, to locate emergency communications equipment on a tower at 26 Keri Drive, off Cundy’s Harbor Road. It also would transfer $50,000 from the town’s unassigned fund balance to its emergency services equipment reserve for purchase and installation. The reserve currently holds about $111,000.
Town Fire Administrator Mike Drake said the addition of a repeater in northeast Harpswell would close a coverage gap that remains despite recent upgrades. “If there were a trapped firefighter or an (emergency medical technician) calling for help, those calls, at this point, may go unheard,” Drake said.
The fourth article would authorize the board to accept an easement from Henry L’Heureux, owner of 71 Bethel Point Road, to install, maintain and operate a dry hydrant on the property on terms the Select Board finds in the town’s best interest.
The dry hydrant — a fixed pipe that lets fire trucks pump water from a local water body — would replace an aging, unusable one on Millstone Road and provide the most effective water supply for the Cundy’s Harbor village, Drake said.
