LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen decided Monday not to appoint a resident to a vacant position on the RSU 73 school board.

No one contacted the town manager about filling the remainder of Ann Souther’s one-year term on the board, which ends in June, Town Manager Kristal Flagg said.

Souther submitted her resignation to the school board in January.

Chairman Bill Demaray said he had a couple of people contact him about the position and he told them they needed to contact Flagg.

No one contacted her, she said.

Since nomination papers for elected positions on the selectmen’s and school boards will be available on March 16, the board decided not to appoint anyone to the position. An election will take place Tuesday, June 12.

Selectmen also requested Flagg get more information on the proposed closing of the Livermore Falls high school and what the vote will mean to residents.

Selectman James Collins said he wants to know what closed means since the middle school was closed last year but the gym/stage portion is still open.

“Closed to me is everything shut off,” Collins said.

Voters need to have information on what is going, Demaray said. He had heard concerns that the RSU 73 directors did not discuss the closing of the school at the meeting they voted to close it as of June 30, 2013, in January.

Directors said they didn’t discuss the matter fully in January prior to voting because they had learned what they needed to know in committee meetings, he said.

The residents of the town did not go to the committee meetings, Demaray said. They need information before they vote, he said.

The school district will hold a public hearing prior to a referendum vote on school closure.

The school board has formed two subcommittees, Demaray said.

One is to look at what size addition would need to be added to the Jay campus of Spruce Mountain High School.

The other committee will look at the disposition of closed school buildings.

In a matter that came up in public session, resident Ron Chadwick said if he had a business in town, had several employees, paid taxes and the town was letting the town office be used by a buying club to meet, he would be upset.

The Spruce Mountain Buying Club has organized and is looking for ways to buy produce and other groceries in bulk to get a better price.

The club has met at the town office twice with Flagg present, she said.

Chadwick said it was not good public policy to allow the buying club to meet at the town office because they are buying items that Food City sells.

Demaray said the board did not endorse the buying club. He said he wouldn’t endorse it because he uses Food City, which also provides some of those items.

“We should not take sides,” Demaray said. “We should not make any endorsements.”

The board was brought up-to-date on the organization of the club at previous meetings so selectmen would know about it, Flagg said.

She will tell club members they need to find another meeting place, she said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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