TURNER – The uproar over a vote that the town boycott the community’s three Citgo stations, which prompted a selectman to resign his chairmanship of the board, may be quieted at Monday’s board meeting.

Selectman Charlie Mock, who made the motion calling for the boycott and instructed town employees to determine what brand of gasoline local stations have in their tanks, informed resigned-but-still-serving Chairman Dennis Richardson that he will ask that his motion be withdrawn and rescinded.

If that happens, Richardson says he’ll withdraw his resignation, which was made in protest of Mock’s move.

Richardson resigned as chairman, he said, because, “Boycotting local people who pay taxes and employ town people doesn’t make sense.”

The clamor began immediately after passage of Mock’s motion at the Oct. 16 selectmen’s meeting. Mock was aggrieved by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s reference to President George Bush as “the devil” during a speech to the United Nations.

Chavez has nationalized the huge and important oil industry of Venezuela, and Mock objected to the town sending money to a dictator who insulted the country’s president on U.S. soil, although the United Nations headquarters is considered to be international territory.

The motion was approved over Richardson’s strong objections. Richardson later announced his resignation as chairman. He asked for a motion to accept his resignation, but none was given.

Turner’s three Citgo station owners were stunned by the motion. They labeled it irresponsible.

Jinger Duryea, president of CN Brown, owner of the Big Apple station and store on Route 4, reminded the board the stations are independently owned and operated, are family businesses, pay taxes and raise money for charities.

The owners made the additional point that the fuel that comes into terminals in South Portland is mixed and there is no way to determine which country’s gas a motorist is buying at the pump.

Mock told the Sun Journal that “the discord created in this community by this well intentioned, but obviously not well-thought-out motion, is not worth any message that would be sent by its passage,” and said he will withdraw his motion. That has been confirmed at the town office and the agenda for the meeting.

Other action expected at Monday’s session will be a continuation of efforts by the board to obtain hard figures from the Town Office Building Committee for its plan to have a general contractor manage the entire project under a design/build process, rather than hire an architect.

Board meetings begin at 7 p.m. at the town office.