WILTON – More than one selectman can serve on the Planning Board, Town Manager Peter Nielsen told officials Tuesday.

The opinion was obtained from the Maine Municipal Association after Selectman Keith Swett refused to be reappointed to the Planning Board until the issue of eligibility was resolved.

“I’m no longer uncomfortable with being on both boards,” Swett said.

Planning Board Chairman Russell Black gave officials a letter of resignation, contingent upon Swett’s being reappointed. Black said he wanted Swett to come back because of the large turnover of Planning Board members this year.

“We need experienced members to guide the new members along,” Black said.

Officials said they could not accept Black’s resignation because of the way it was worded. Selectman Rodney Hall said the problem was that it was contingent upon officials taking a certain action.

Black then verbally resigned, and that resignation was accepted.

Selectmen appointed Swett to fill out the remaining year of Black’s three-year term. Swett’s term expired June 30.

MMA attorney Richard Flewelling said an incompatibility of office occurs when the duties of two public offices conflict in a way that an individual couldn’t be expected to devote undivided loyalty to both.

He said it is uncertain whether selectmen’s power to make appointments would constitute such an incompatibility, but he said most attorneys – including himself – would agree it is not.

The Planning Board’s bylaws spell out that only one selectman can serve on that board. Flewelling said the bylaws do not have the force of law; only town voters have the authority to adopt such stipulations. He said bylaws should be confined to procedural matters.

Nielsen also asked MMA whether three selectmen gathering at the same place at the same time – such as two on the Planning Board and one in the audience – constitutes a legal quorum.

Flewelling said that unless they were conducting selectmen’s business, it does not.

Selectmen asked Nielsen to draft a letter of appreciation to Black for his 15 years of service on the Planning Board.

In other business, selectmen agreed to erect a plaque in honor of Milford Burgess, whose wife, Lillian, donated 11 acres to the town in his name in 1994. The land was to be used for recreational purposes.

Their son, Harlan, asked that selectmen recognize the gift with a plaque, an idea that was presented at the time the gift was made. Nielsen will look into the costs and other details and present them to selectmen for their consideration.

Rail Trail Committee member Ed Leahy explained that in 1999 the state purchased the abandoned railroad bed that runs through Jay, Wilton and Farmington. The responsibility for the property was given to the Bureau of Parks and Lands Department of Conservation, which has earmarked $48,000 for trail improvements this year.

The state is hoping to get ideas from the communities for improvements and use of the land. Leahy said the state is trying to obtain some federal grant money. However, many of them prohibit the use of ATVs. Leahy said the state may look to the towns for help in the future.

That help may include using town equipment to grade the trail, asking police to enforce trail rules, creating an ordinance to limit oversized trucks from using Cemetery Road, and developing a park on the land given to the town by the Burgess family. Leahy plans to keep selectmen up to date on committee meetings and plans.

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