NEW GLOUCESTER – The population in this town is growing, and volunteers are needed to serve on municipal boards. However, some say the time they devote isn’t appreciated by town officials.

Veteran volunteer Janet Smaldon resigned from the Planning Board and the newly renamed Land Management Planning Committee last week, and has some advice for retaining volunteers.

“While the town of New Gloucester says they want intelligent and diverse thinking individuals coming forth and volunteering for various boards and committees, the town doesn’t know how to keep them. Too many times I have been shot down,” she wrote in a letter to the town.

Of her seven years serving on various committees, Smaldon said, “Too many times I heard that because something had been tried 10 years ago, it wouldn’t work now. Or how about ‘I know what people of New Gloucester want’ or ‘I know the people won’t go for that,'” she said.

Cliff Andrews, who has served as a volunteer since the early 1980s, has made repeated visits to selectmen’s meetings and several times questioned why implementation hasn’t started on citizen recommendations made at last fall’s Business and Economic Study. The town spent $46,000 on that study, and Andrews argues volunteers’ time spent on those recommendations was valuable, and better communication and involvement with the public by the board is needed.

Steve Libby, longtime chairman of the Board of Selectmen, has served on various committees for more than 20 years. He’s running unopposed for a third term on the board and disagrees with the frustrations of the volunteers.

“Considering the funding we have and volunteers, we are doing the best we can. I disagree that someone doesn’t feel appreciated,” he said.

The problem, as he sees it, is that as the town grows, the percent of volunteers has declined. “We need more help. And, a more diverse group, the better,” Libby said.

Smaldon agrees that the town needs diverse groups of volunteers. “Good people need to stay on committees and boards. They need to be encouraged to be proactive and productive,” she said.

Selectman David Lunt wondered whether to run for a second three-year term on the Board of Selectmen, but is moving ahead with the race.

“I felt frustration and kind of lonely lots of time,” Lunt said of his past service. “Some nights I got home and couldn’t get to sleep. I am basically giving away my time, and I went on the board without an agenda.”

Lunt knows other groups of volunteers have been equally frustrated. Last summer, after a period of dissension among three municipal committees, facilitator Rich Livingston of Auburn was hired to meet with the New Gloucester Parks and Recreation, Fairgrounds and Fair committees to work to resolve conflicts.

Abigail Lumsden has served for 25 years on various committees, including the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Zoning Committee, Capital Improvement Planning and Water Resource Committee. She said recruiting citizens as volunteers for small projects is better for people with busy schedules these days.

“I think what’s happening is people don’t feel like they have a voice anymore and don’t feel they have full information. It’s the number of put-downs by people who feel they have better knowledge,” said Lumsden.

Former Selectman Steve Chandler, who serves on the Land Management Committee, understands the conflict from both sides.

“A huge frustration of those trying to work toward the future is that when new participants come forward we tend to rehash everything back to when Noah got off the ark. Plus planning is never done… it is a constantly changing playing field. Unfortunately the ideas are ahead of the curve, but implementing them is next to impossible,” Chandler said.

Anyone interested in serving on any of the town’s volunteer committees should call the town office at 926-4126.