POLAND – A few residents at Tuesday night’s selectmen’s meeting again made it clear that they have lost faith in Town Manager Richard Chick.

Former Selectman Glenn Peterson and Selectman Wendy Sanborn have been filing Right To Know requests with town officials, to get access to documents that could shed some light on when Chick became aware of the $2 million the town owes Poland Spring Water Co. The mistake in tax incentive finance payments was discovered this year during an audit.

Maine’s Right To Know law allows residents access to all public records, including correspondence regarding government business. Some e-mails they have found with the help of this law show that Chick had a meeting scheduled with Poland Spring as early as January.

But Chick maintains he did not know about the magnitude of the problem until the town’s audit revealed it, but Peterson and Sanborn said they plan to investigate further.

In other business, the proposed ordinance allowing voters to recall officers of the town was also placed on the agenda again at the request of Sanborn. She asked, on behalf of several residents who had contacted her, that the item be brought up again in order to discuss the possibility of a special town meeting to vote on it.

Previously, the board had decided against a special meeting and decided to place it on the agenda at the regular town meeting in April 2007, or on the agenda of any town meeting called between now and then.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Glenn Peterson and George Sanborn asked the board to reconsider that decision.

“This is a pressing issue,” Peterson said.

Chairwoman Sandra Knowles responded, “I feel we’ve acted appropriately.”

No change in plans was made.

The board also addressed the recent vandalism at the home of a lesbian couple. This is the first time the board has discussed it.

Knowles wanted it placed on the agenda so she could confer with the other board members about sending a letter to the couple from the board. The letter would acknowledge what happened, and reassure the victims that the board vehemently disagrees with such a crime, and regrets that it ever happened. Though no vote was requested, the other board members felt that would be an appropriate action, and Knowles said she would take care of it.

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