BUCKFIELD – Buckfield voters Wednesday night turned down a petition to go from open town meetings to referendums by a vote of 61- 50.
Some comments in favor of referendums were that more people would vote at the time of their choice and that absentee ballots would be available. Some working people said they find it difficult to come out for a meeting on a weeknight. One farmer spoke in favor of a Saturday vote in the winter when he wasn’t busy in his fields.
Ken Hicks said, “If people can’t come to one meeting a year, they deserve the kind of government they get.”
Others said they liked to hear other people’s opinions. One proponent of a referendum vote said ballots would preserve people’s privacy, as compared with voting in an open meeting.
Another resident countered that he didn’t care what his neighbors thought. He liked the open meetings.
A clerk who works at the polls said the expense of paying people to count a long warrant would be tremendous and would take forever.
There was some confusion over the wording of the petition circulated by Judy Berg. Attorney Jim Burke said, “I don’t know what it means by the way it is written.”
However, many people took the wording to mean the end of town meetings.
In other business, an ordinance titled “New Building Permit” was approved after much discussion for clarification. Planning Board member Margo Seikman fielded questions.
The new ordinance clarifies the number of buildings permitted on a single lot, specifies minimum lot sizes for principal dwellings, and allows a separate secondary dwelling unit to be constructed on a lot of 60,000 square feet or less.
It also restores the Board of Appeals’ ability to grant waivers for more than 10 feet, rather than the 15 feet permitted in the 2003, beyond the 25-foot setbacks; and reduces the length of a building permit’s life from five to three years.
After much discussion, voters defeated an article that sought $500 to show support for the Oxford County Department of Soil and Water in seeking a grant to do an in-depth study of North Pond, which is Buckfield’s water supply.
Concern was voiced over the fact that the Buckfield Village Corp. owns the pond and has the power to control it. Town Manager Glen Holmes said that the town is in the process of putting the corporation under town government.
Voters amended some social service accounts. Community Concepts had requested $3,446 and the board recommended $500. Voters approved the Community Concepts’ request in total. Western Maine Veterans had requested $150 and the board had not budgeted anything, but voters approved the $150.
Holmes brought before the group a request to add another $50,000 to the budget to get a second plow truck for the same $50,000 price as the one already sought. The trucks have new chassis but have used wings and sanders. They are being purchased from Canada at about half-price. Voters approved the $50,000.
The town’s property tax levy limit, as set by the state, is $366,772. The final article, allowing the town to spend the amount approved at the meeting, passed by a 38-16 vote.
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