BETHEL – Pending town meeting voter approval next month, Bethel may have its first ordinance enabling voters to recall elected municipal officials.

A citizen-initiated petition drive, which collected more than the required 115 signatures, put the proposal before selectmen Monday night.

The board subsequently agreed to place it on the warrant, which goes before voters at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, at Crescent Park School.

At a previous meeting, selectmen had refused Darren and Haley Tripp’s request to put the ordinance on the warrant. The Tripps then launched a petition drive to override the board’s vote.

Town Manager Scott Cole’s firing of Darren Tripp as the town’s police chief in February, and the Board of Selectmen’s subsequent 3-2 vote in March to uphold Cole’s action, sparked the request for a recall ordinance.

According to the proposal, it would apply to elected selectmen or assessors. School board members would be exempt from the recall and removal process.

In other business, selectmen established a public hearing for 7 p.m. Monday, June 7, in conjunction with their regular biweekly meeting. It will be on a proposed amendment to the site plan review ordinance and the recall ordinance.

The board also authorized a tax abatement to Dennis and Patricia Boston of Biddeford, who purchased a condo in Pleasant River Condominiums in West Bethel.

Additionally, selectmen authorized a contract for ambulance billing services with Medical Reimbursement Services of Windham and approved Eagle Scout Brandan Roberts’ project proposal to build an arbor around one of the benches in the town’s Pathway park.

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