Rumford to vote on wind power moratorium tonight

RUMFORD — A special town meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, in the town hall auditorium to discuss and vote on a petition-initiated 180-day moratorium on commercial wind power development.

According to the warrant, which is available from the town Web site at www.rumfordmaine.net, the petition seeks to ban development of any wind farm in Rumford for six months to give voters a chance to understand and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of them.

After the meeting, selectmen will convene for a regular meeting at 7 p.m. The agenda includes approving fee updates on licenses, permits, applications and other fees; approving a junkyard permit for Bernard Motor Exchange; and approving a liquor license application and special amusement permit for the Rumford Lodge of Elks.

There will be a discussion on fire call-boxes, possibly approving the sale of winter sand for commercial use, and accepting the resignation of Jeffrey Sterling from the Park and Recreation Commission and the Regional School Unit 10 board.

At their Nov. 23 meeting, selectmen appointed Sterling to a six-month term on the Board of Selectmen to succeed Robert Cameron who resigned last month. That meant Sterling couldn't serve on the other two boards.

Additionally, three executive sessions have been scheduled, all regarding personnel matters.

The first closed-door session is with Town Manager Carlo Puiia and the Park and Recreation Commission, the second is with Puiia and the Park and Recreation superintendent, and the third is solely with Puiia.

The first two closed-door sessions were to be held at the board's Nov. 23 meeting, but were canceled that night. Shortly afterward, Park Commissioner Dan Richard interrupted the meeting and publicly announced his displeasure with selectmen for canceling the executive session.

Richard then abruptly resigned from the Park and Recreation Commission, saying he would not wait another month to be heard.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com