OTISFIELD – Selectmen were informed Wednesday that their meetings, and those of other town boards, will soon be videotaped by a citizens’ action committee.

Gordon Chamberlain, the acting chairman of the Otisfield Citizens Action Committee, said he plans to videotape all board and committee meetings, according to letters he submitted to the selectmen.

In a letter to the board that Chamberlain read during the meeting, he requested the board make arrangements and rules to facilitate the taping. The committee plans to start videotaping during the board’s Aug. 18 meeting. Chamberlain also asked that chairs of all committees conducting town business be informed of the videotaping.

Chamberlain read a second letter, asking the board for information about town committees and boards. He sought a list of active town committees, the purpose of each committee, a list of appointed members of the committees, the selection criteria for members, and the name of the chairmen of each committee.

When asked who appointed the citizens action committee, the selectmen said they had not appointed the group.

“They have no legal standing in our town,” Selectman Lenny Adler said.

“It is not a representation of this town,” Selectman Mark Cyr said.

When the selectmen asked Chamberlain who is on the committee, Chamberlain said he would not divulge that information.

The selectmen said they want citizens and town board and committee members to know that the committee was not appointed by the town, and said it is illegal for anyone on the committee to act on behalf of the town.

In other business, a resident asked that the board demand three refrigerated water coolers for the Otisfield Community School. The resident who said he was at the school Tuesday said water from the water fountains was warmer than 72 degrees.

“We will pass your concerns on to one of our directors” on the SAD 17 board, Adler said. “I share your concerns.”

The assistant to the Board of Selectmen, Marianne Izzo-Morin, said it will cost $1,125 to install the three units. She said she called Superintendent Mark Eastman and asked him to visit the school and drink the water from the fountains.

Cyr raised concerns about dehydration and suggested the board raise this concern to the school district.

“We’re adults and we’ll drink 72-degree water,” Cyr said. “We might not like it but we’ll drink it. Kids won’t.”

The board agreed to send the letter to the SAD 17 Board of Directors.