By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

PARIS – Voters will be asked to enact a six-month moratorium on methadone clinics at a special town meeting July 25.

The meeting date was approved by the Paris Board of Selectmen at a regular meeting Monday. There was little discussion before a 5-0 vote to approve a draft of the moratorium ordinance.

Paris may join the ranks of other towns in Oxford Hills and elsewhere in the state that have adopted temporary moratoriums so they may consider restrictions against methadone clinics.

Methadone is commonly used to control addictions to opiates such as heroin. Some local officials feel it is unlikely state law would allow an outright ban on such treatment facilities.

The town meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the town office.

In other business, the board voted 4-1 to “presume abandoned” an undeveloped portion of Ken’s Lane off Mountain View Drive. Selectman Bill Merrill voted against the motion.

Vice Chairman Barbara Payne said the section of the road in question, the southernmost portion, was never built and exists only on paper.

Selectman Gerald Kilgore said two of three legal opinions seen by the board supported the argument that it had been abandoned.

Although the road was adopted by voters at a town meeting in the 1960s, board members said state law renders a town road abandoned if it is not maintained over a period of 30 years. The southernmost section of the road has not been maintained for at least that length of time.

There was some confusion, however, as to whether the town made a decision to abandon maintenance on the southern portion of the road. Developer Troy Ripley and his brother Robert Ripley, who was at Monday’s meeting, have argued that a garage constructed by landowner Richard Kennagh has made it impossible for the town to maintain its entire length. The garage is in the middle of the road.

Troy Ripley received approval for a subdivision behind Kennagh’s property, but was asked by the Paris Planning Board to provide access to the land by way of Ken’s Lane.

Merrill cited state statutes that declare it illegal to obstruct a public way and suggested a district attorney be asked to handle the case.

Obtaining a legal opinion from a land-use lawyer was discussed, but the board took no formal action to authorize any consultation.

Merrill made a motion to overturn the 4-1 vote while awaiting a legal opinion.

His motion was not seconded.