MINOT – Selectmen voted Monday night to hold a referendum in March on a $2 million expansion of the Minot Consolidated School.

The referendum ballot will be presented to voters during the annual elections Friday, March 5, not on the floor of the town meeting the following day.

Selectmen assured those pushing for the expansion that they would let voters decide the question at the annual meeting.

Harold Bridgham noted that many in his parents group distrusted selectmen, fearing they would find technical flaws in the group’s petition and refuse to allow a vote.

Board Chairman George “Buster” Downing said although attorney Rebecca Seel determined the petition was flawed and not legally binding, the board would honor the group’s intention by placing the issue before voters.

When Bridgham asked whether members of the parent group could work with selectmen to write warrant articles, Downing said the board would not be developing the wording. He said Seel advised that the School Committee’s attorney would be in the best position to assist in that.

The proposed expansion project, which would cost the town more than $2 million, would include a performing arts center, renovating the administration area and other improvements, including additional parking.

While the school board has not taken an official vote supporting the expansion project, it has encouraged the parent group’s efforts to press for a vote.

The committee will focus on a 7,800-square-foot modular classroom addition to be placed behind the gymnasium/multipurpose room.

Selectmen will also seek a legal opinion on whether a vote at the March 2000 town meeting adopted specific decibel levels in the noise ordinance portion of the town’s land use control ordinance.

This issue has arisen in connection with the debate over noise levels at Hemond’s Moto-X track. The Hemonds suggested that the vote that amended the town’s land use control ordinance didn’t include specific decibel levels.

Planning Board Chairman John Geismar and Selectman Dean Campbell reviewed the record and determined the vote had included the specific decibel levels; however, several on the board were not as convinced and wanted a third party opinion before giving a ruling to the Hemonds.

Road Manager Arlan Saunders said he was meeting with Brian Keezar from the Maine Department of Transportation to review the town’s options for changing traffic patterns on Old Woodman Hill Road. He also noted that MDOT will be recommending reducing the speed limit on the entire length of East Oxford Road to 35 mph.

Selectman Steve French publicly thanked well driller Skip Hodgdon for his efforts to drill a new well for the school.

“As a town, we’re very lucky to have a resident well driller who is willing to put in the kind of hours it took to do this in an emergency situation,” said French.

French noted that Hodgdon worked for more than 48 hours straight in order to pump it clear so that the water could be tested. He also noted that the town was quite fortunate that the well came through with a production rate of 20 gallons per minute, just about the rate that the old well had before it began to fail.

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