RANGELEY — Community planner Donna Larson Kane of LK Planning and members of the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee presented a segment of proposed Comprehensive Plan updates to selectmen Monday, Jan. 6. Chapters addressing Natural Resources; Historic, Archaeological and Cultural Resources; Regional Coordination Program and Population Characteristics chapters were presented.
The current Comprehensive Plan was adopted Sept. 13, 2012.
Kane said the goal is to have the plan ready for residents to vote on at the June town meeting.
“We have had several public meetings,” she added. “We met with business owners. We talked with the plantations. We also had a meeting with the Western Mountain communities to get input from them. In addition to that, I’ve also talked to a lot of people. Different members of the committee have talked to people and organizations. The intent is to have this be very homegrown. We are getting input from a lot of different places so that we truly identify what is happening in Rangeley, what has happened, where you are at now, and where you want to go in the future.”
Due to redundancy, the proposed plan will include consolidation of some chapters such as Water and Natural Resources, Kane explained.
“We have done the same thing with the economy section,” she continued. “It also includes agriculture, forestry and outdoor recreation because that is Rangeley’s economy.”
Each of the proposed chapter updates include ideas to consider.
“This is a road map with a number of ideas,” she added.
Selectmen should anticipate receiving the second segment at Jan. 21 meeting. That section will include the chapters addressing economy and transportation, Kane said.
“Housing by far is the number one issue that we heard no matter who we were talking to,” she added.
Kane asked to board to review the sections as they were presented and provide input, especially on items the committee may not have included. She asked the board to refrain from sharing edits at this time. The idea behind reviewing each segment is so that there will be some familiarity when the final proposed Comprehensive Plan is presented, she said.
Committee member Chris Farmer added, “Donna has done an excellent job on this and has been working hard. I would just like to reiterate what she said. As we send you these, we are not looking for you to be the publisher or editor. Content is the more important thing. We didn’t want to dump 13 chapters on you. We are trying to go at full speed to make sure we meet the deadlines to get this on the warrant.”
Farmer stressed that if the board felt it should be put off until November, the committee wanted to know.
Kane requested the board report on the first section presented at its next meeting.
Currently, the documents presented to the board can be found in the Selectmen’s meeting packets, located on the town’s website, townofrangeley.com.
In other matters, Rangeley Fire Rescue Chief Mike Bacon submitted a request for permission to accept a $6,500 donation from the Rangeley Firefighters Association to go toward the proposed purchase of a new 2024 Skandic Sport 600E snowmobile from Boss Power Equipment. The department would trade in its oldest snowmobile, a 2002 Polaris, for $1,000. The remaining $1,648 would come from the department’s current equipment budget line item.
Four board members voted in favor of accepting the donation and purchasing the snowmobile. Selectman Jacob Beaulieu abstained.
Following the board’s vote, resident Ethna Thompson pointed out the board did not follow the town’s usual procedure of soliciting multiple quotes.
“As it is not a single-sourced item, I believe it is important to ensure that the decision is based on a competitive and transparent evaluation process,” she said. “Additionally, I observed that the single quote comes from a location where one of the board members is an employee. I know personal relationships or affiliations are not uncommon but it makes it more imperative that action not be taken that can give the wrong impression to stakeholders regarding the fairness of the process. To maintain transparency and avoid the appearance of impropriety, it might be helpful for us to consider additional quotes.”
A second quote was solicited, however that information was not included in the proposal.
In December 2024, the board approved the purchase of a snowmobile for the sewer department. Bids from Oquossoc Marine and Mountain Side Powersports were received and reviewed for the proposed purchase. Ultimately, the board approved purchasing a 2024 Polaris 550 Voyageur from Oquossoc Marine for $11,261.
“Having the information from a recent snowmobile purchase, and this being a lot less, I am comfortable with this going through,” Vice-Chairman Ethan Shaffer said.
After further discussion, the motion was rescinded and the proposed purchase will be readdressed at the next meeting.
Finally, the board considered two Budget Committee Request for Appointment applications. Applications from Mark Beauregard and Thompson were received on Dec. 30, 2024.
“There are two vacancies,” said Town Manager Joe Roach. “I did not publish that there were vacancies, I did not direct anyone to publish the vacancies for this committee. For the first time in a number of years, we have enough people for there to be a quorum so it didn’t cross my mind. We did did not publish the vacancies for the Budget Committee.”
Chairman James Jannace requested the vacancies be posted.
“So, we are changing the process by which folks submit applications to committees? You’ve never posted committee vacancies before,” Thompson said. “Folks become aware there is a vacancy and they either apply or they don’t. Do we have a policy update that is changing how folks apply?”
Roach said typically committee vacancies are posted when member terms are expiring or when declaring a quorum becomes an issue.
Budget committee members are elected at the town meeting. Two write-in committee terms were listed on the 2024 annual town meeting warrant but no one was elected.
“These vacancies have been long-standing,” Thompson said.
Reading from the Budget Committee section of the Town Code, Roach said, “In the case of a vacancy, the board of selectmen shall appoint a member to serve until the next annual town meeting to finish the unexpired term. I think that is all the guidance you are going to get.”
In two separate motions, the board voted 3-2 to appoint Beauregard and Thompson to the Budget Committee for a terms ending June 2028. Shaffer, Samantha White and Keith Savage voted in favor of each of the two motions. Jannace and Beaulieu were opposed.
No motions were made following two scheduled executive sessions.
A Public Hearing regarding the Scenic Byway Gateway Project will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. at the Town Office.
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