KINGFIELD – A group of residents who’ve asked the Board of Selectmen to investigate the impact a proposed Poland Spring bottling plant would have on the town met with the board Tuesday.
In a letter to the board in late August, the group outlined questions they think haven’t been addressed by the town Planning Board and Water District, focusing on changes a plant might have on Kingfield’s economy.
On Tuesday, Win Robinson, who took part in writing the letter, asked the selectmen to create “a committee under the auspices of the selectmen to collect data in order to answer those questions and to objectively and independently report on” the impact a plant might have.
While First Selectman John Dill and Selectman Neal McCurdy both acknowledged the importance of objective investigations, they stressed the need to refrain from spending tax dollars on the project before Poland Spring begins a formal application process for a plant.
They agreed to begin forming a committee, but McCurdy expressed worry that the bottling plant issue was beginning to “polarize the town.” He asked that the committee be comprised of a “cross-section,” of townspeople, including residents from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and with differing opinions on the matter. McCurdy and Dill told the group that they’d begin looking for consultants and urged interested townspeople to get in touch with members of the board.
In other business, the selectmen voted to purchase oil for town use from Webber Oil at $2.229 per gallon, and to reimburse town employees $0.40 per mile rather than $0.35 per mile because of recent increases in gas prices.
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