Kingfield moves toward conservation easement; no to wind power moratorium

KINGFIELD – Three newcomers were elected and, after good discussions, voters at the annual town meeting today decided to consider looking into conservation easement possibilities on a town-owned parcel and not to pursue a moratorium on wind farm development.

In written ballot decisions, voters added two new selectmen to bring the board up to five members. In a two-way race, Sarah Churchill edged out John Dill, a former longtime selectman, 64-60, to fill the new selectman’s seat for a one-year term. Incumbent Selectman Chair Heather Moody and Raymond Meldrum both ran unopposed for three-year selectmen terms.

In a three-way race, MSAD 58 incumbent school board director Judy Dill easily won another three-year term with 74 votes against challengers Michelle Beedy with 33 votes and Brad Orbeton with 14.

Following the selectmen’s election, two attempts were made to amend the selectmen’s annual pay from $3,000 each to $2,500 and then another try to lower it to $2,000 each. A few voters surmised that the job, now with five selectmen would be easier than with three members.

“I don’t see the workload changing any,” said Selectman Neal McCurdy. “There’ll be more input, but the amount of meetings will be the same.”

“If you cut the pay it will make it harder. It really is a volunteer’s position,” Selectman Mervin Wilson said. Both motions to cut selectmen pay failed.

When it came to how much to support the local organizations, voters went with all of the budget committee’s recommendations.

The Cemetery Association requested $23,300 for maintenance and to repair the Riverside Cemetery rock walls, but the budget committee and selectmen recommended $13,300 be raised and appropriated which voters approved.

Kingfield Days committee requested $3,000, normally the full annual amount but since an interim town meeting was held in March that approved half that, the balance of $1,500 was approved today. The Salem Economic Ministry, which runs a food pantry and other programs for the needy, requested $1,500, which voters approved. Sno-Wanders asked for $3,000 and got $1,500. The Stanley Museum also received $1,500 in March but requested another $3,000. Voters appropriated $1,000 today.

The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce sought $1,000 which selectmen recommended approving, but the committee believed $300 was enough and so did voters. Also approved was $500 for the Abused Women’s Advocacy Program, which had requested $1,000 and voters funded the full amount or $700 requested by Work First, Inc., a nonprofit program that provides training and employment support for people with developmental disabilities.

Voters approved, after considerable discussion, Article 34 which asked if the town would consider looking into the creation of a conservation easement on the 60 acres the town owns along the southern entryway on Route 27.

The idea of the easement would be to limit the land to its current uses: waste water treatment, public recreation and agriculture, while prohibiting building development in order to preserve the wide open view of fields at the entrance to town.

A large chunk of the parcel is currently used for waste water treatment by the Poland Spring water bottling plant across Route 27, as part of a tax increment financing agreement entered into with the town a few years ago.

Nina Young, a spokeswoman for Maine Farmland Trust, confirmed to voters today that there is a signed contract to purchase the 46-acre Hurvitt parcel which sits next to the town’s 60-acre property. The contract, with a purchase price of $140,000, is contingent on the town enacting a conservation easement on its land to guarantee the entire 106-acre expanse would be preserved.

Young said the trust is an interim buyer, in that the property would be resold for agricultural use, adding the whole purpose of the trust is “to get the land into the hands of farmers,” she said.

While many voters spoke in favor of moving forward to explore drafting an easement, other worried about “locking up Kingfield land that would impact future heirs,” as John Goldfrank said.

Selectman Mervin Wilson said he didn’t like the idea of a group “imposing we put our land in trust so they can purchase 40 acres,” he said, adding, there is no guarantee that should the town place a conservation easement on its land that the same would happen with the abutting parcel.

“If the town doesn’t own the 40 acres, they can do anything they want with it. I think the town should look at purchasing the 40 acres,” Wilson said. Young said if the town is interested in buying the Hurvitt property, the trust could give the town the first right of refusal.

Resident John Witherspoon said the question today isn’t exactly what the conservation easement should limit but if an easement should be considered at all.

“This is an opportunity on how we may or may not want to see happen with this land,” he said.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the consideration of an easement with the next step being the formation of a committee that will look into various possibilities. Voters would have the final say on the drafted easement at a town meeting.

In the final two articles, voters quickly turned down the idea of enacting a moratorium on wind farm development. A few towns in Franklin County have considered placing a six-month waiting period on wind turbine development in order to have time to craft a zoning ordinance amendment addressing the issue. Some towns have supported the idea, while others have turned it down.

Resident David Guernsey, a former planning board chair, said to enact a moratorium costs money and forces the passage of an ordinance regarding wind farm development. Instead, he advised on waiting until other towns have time to research applicable ordinance amendments to use as a model for Kingfield’s ordinance.

“If someone were to come in and apply then we should consider the moratorium,” he said. Voter unanimously agreed and the town meeting was adjourned.