PARIS — The Paris Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Thursday evening to reaffirm a decision taken last month to remove their directors from the Norway-Paris Solid Waste board.
Raymond Glover, who was appointed chairman at Thursday’s meeting, said the action is meant to remove any question over the previous vote’s legality. Glover and selectman Lloyd “Skip” Herrick were the only members voting to remove the Paris directors, since selectman Glen Young was absent and two other selectmen had been removed from the board. The five-member Board of Selectmen usually requires a quorum of three, but Glover and Herrick were advised by attorney Robert Crawford that they could make decisions with a majority of the remaining members.
Glover and Herrick voted affirmatively in the Feb. 25 decision to remove Al Atkinson, Joe Bracy, Bruce Hanson and Janet Jamison from the NPSW board of directors, which oversees the disposal of solid waste generated in Norway and Paris. The Norway selectmen voted that same evening to remove their three directors: Bruce Cook, Eric Grondahl and Dundee Pratt.
The selectmen made the decision following controversy over the NPSW board’s decision to amend its bylaws to allow the board to remove directors or decline appointments from the towns. The amendments were put into use shortly after their passage, when the directors voted 4-1 to remove Jamison. Atkinson, who was serving as president of the board, said the action was permissible under state law.
Glover, Herrick, and newly elected selectmen Ted Kurtz and Jean Smart agreed to uphold the prior decision. Young was not present.
Thursday’s decision also upholds the votes on the Feb. 25 resolutions to execute the restated articles of incorporation and appoint Town Manager David Holt of Norway and Town Manager Philip Tarr of Paris as temporary directors on the NPSW board. The selectmen also voted unanimously to appoint Crawford as clerk of the corporation.
Glover was unanimously approved as chairman after Herrick motioned for him to take over leadership of the board until after the June election. Herrick also motioned for Smart to serve as vice-chair. Both motions carried unanimously.
“I thank all of you for supporting me, and I’ll try to finish out the year in a calm, civil manner,” Glover said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.