Island Falls plans town gathering

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    ISLAND FALLS — An attempt to force town officials into creating an ordinance to regulate the sale of town-owned property has been resurrected by a group of citizens.
    Toby Lougee, a former Island Falls selectman, confirmed last week that he has initiated a citizen’s town meeting through a notary public. That meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. at the VFW Hall located next to the municipal office.
    In order to initiate the special meeting, Lougee needed a notary public to agree to host the meeting. Florence Hardy, the town manager of neighboring Dyer Brook, agreed to serve in that capacity. Lougee is also the citizen who circulated a petition last month calling for a special town meeting. That petition sought to stop the sale of town-owned property through a realtor and return it to a sealed bid process with parcels voted on by the town as a whole.
    The board of selectmen unanimously voted to ignore that request during a July 18 meeting.
    Town Manager Dave Dionne said Tuesday he was not sure exactly how this citizen’s meeting would impact the town.
    “The selectmen will most likely show as citizens, but they have not yet discussed the issue that I know of,” Dionne said. “A few of them have trickled in and stated they will most likely be there. As for the town staff, we are waiting to hear back from the attorney’s office.”
    Dionne said once the town meeting is held, those results need to be brought to the selectmen.
    “The selectmen then decide to act or not,” he explained. “The last action can be court where a judge decides the case. That is my understanding.”
    At the crux of the issue is an article that was approved by voters during the annual town meeting in March that allowed the municipality to sell any “non-contiguous” pieces of town property of five acres or less that have no commercial value to the town, provided the sale is equal to or greater than its taxed value. All money realized from the sales of such parcels was to be placed in a Roads Maintenance Reserve account.
    At their regular selectmen’s meeting July 18, the board stated there was a committee working on a more detailed ordinance for the sale of property, as well as several other new ordinances for the town. Lougee said he was unaware of any town committee that was working on an ordinance.
    “I just want to see that everything is done properly,” Lougee said. “Why not clear everything up?”