RUMFORD – Selectmen on Thursday set a special workshop session for Jan. 25 to discuss a possible referendum question that would change the way the town does business.
The 6 p.m. meeting will allow the board to review ideas from the public on whether to allow referendum ballots on the annual municipal budget. Since the establishment of the town, that has been done through a show of hands at the annual town meeting.
A petition with several hundred names requesting the change was presented to the board late last year. Since then, the board has referred the statement on the petition to the town lawyer for legal wording.
But whether the potential change would be good or bad for the town has not yet been determined by selectmen.
Selectman Greg Buccina read an article from the Maine Townsman magazine that provided both sides of the question.
“I am not opposed to the secret ballot question, but I want people to know what is at stake,” he said.
One of the issues that should be solved is how to continue with the usual services if a particular department budget is turned down. Also, the question of how such a decision would be addressed so that a working budget was in place must be answered.
Board Chairman Jim Thibodeau wants residents with thoughts and ideas on the matter to contact a selectman or the town office prior to Wednesday’s meeting.
Also on Thursday, the board referred a long-standing quandary about what to do with the former Drug Abuse Resistance Education park on Falmouth Street to the Parks Commission.
Landlords have argued that more overnight parking is needed, particularly during the winter months when an on-street parking ban is in effect, while others have said that the park is needed for toddlers and young children who live in the neighborhood.
“There are lots of little children living there and that park was supposed to be for them,” Selectman Jolene Lovejoy said.
Some suggested that part of Hosmer Field be used for young children, while others said the walk across Lincoln Avenue to reach it would be dangerous.
The board will ask the Parks Commission to look for money to replace some of the worn out playground equipment, to remove the basketball hoops that are used by teenagers, and to take some kind of immediate action on what to do with the park.
“We’ve kicked this around long enough,” said Thibodeau just before that matter was referred to the Parks Commission.
The board also voted to join the Maine Service Center Coalition at a yearly membership fee of $645. The group supports towns and cities that provide services for people from surrounding towns.
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