HARPSWELL

After a heated discussion that included complaints of impropriety by an elected official, Harpswell selectmen rejected a petition that would have called a town meeting to save the Mitchell Field water tower from demolition.

Given the choice to let an organization take over maintenance and use of the water tower or demolish it, Harpswell residents voted at March’s annual town meeting for demolition.

Unhappy with that result and claiming that voters were misinformed, citizens group Friends of Mitchell Field circulated petitions effectively calling for a redo. The group submitted 351 valid signatures — more than required by law — to the town at the end of April.

On Wednesday, selectmen rejected the petitions in a 2-1 vote — but not without a lengthy and heated discussion.

Recusal

The first issue in question was whether Selectman David Chipman, an active supporter of the petition effort, should recuse himself from voting on whether to accept the petitions.

Chipman has opposed efforts to bring the water tower down for years, leading petition efforts in 2015 and 2016 to stop the demolition. Even after becoming a selectman in 2017, Chipman continued to pursue his advocacy efforts.

During town meeting this year, Chipman advocated on the floor for saving the tower by handing it over to another entity. Chipman claimed that he was taking off his selectman’s hat and speaking as a private citizen.

At a select board meeting two weeks ago, the other two selectmen questioned whether it was appropriate for a sitting selectman to actively work to reverse the results of a town meeting. Chipman did not recuse himself from voting on a matter affecting the water tower at that meeting.

At that meeting, Chipman quibbled about whether he was a founding member of Friends of Mitchell Field, noting that he had helped form the group. However, Robert McIntyre, who sits on the Friends’ board of directors, has said that Chipman was not on the board of directors nor a founding member.

On Wednesday, Chipman said he was not a member of the group working against the demolition.

Regardless of whether his relationship with the group is formal, Chipman admitted Wednesday that he was active in the petition effort, circulating petitions and signing it. He also claimed that he had paid the legal fees to start Friends of Mitchell Field.

Yet despite those connections, Chipman downplayed his role with the group, calling himself merely an adviser to the group, a characterization that McIntyre seemed to corroborate.

Selectman Kevin Johnson called Chipman’s efforts to distance himself from the group “cynical as hell.”

“He’s knee deep in it,” he said.

Despite a review Wednesday as to the legal reasons an elected official should be recused, Chipman stated that he intended to continue voting on water tower matters. The other two selectmen chose not to force his recusal.

Allegations of misinformation

In arguing for a redo on the vote to demolish the tower, members of Friends of Mitchell Field claimed that voters did not have enough information to make an informed decision at the town meeting.

McIntyre alleged that the group was not given an opportunity to provide copies of their proposal or other documents at the town meeting, except for a brief summary of the group’s ambitions at a table. Both the town administrator and town clerk strenuously denied that they had prevented the group from distributing information.

“There was one handout that you gave us,” said Town Clerk Rosalind Knight. “You were there and you put it out.

“We didn’t get anything else from the Friends of Mitchell Field to display at town meeting,” she added, “and you put it out on a table like everybody else is allowed to put out things at town meeting.”

Friends of Mitchell Field was concerned that the town had not adequately argued on their behalf at the town meeting. The group’s information was not allowed on a table of town documents — but it was allowed on a separate table, similarly to other groups — and selectmen and town officials did not present their proposal during the meeting.

McIntyre said Friends of Mitchell Field operated “under the strong assumption” that selectmen would present the Friends’ proposal during town meeting.

“The select board did not mention the character of the proposal: No cost to the town, initial repairs, the breathing room in order to see if there was coverage,” McIntyre said. “Town meeting did not vote on our proposal. They voted on rumors and misinformation without access to the facts.”

The language of the warrant article simply asked whether voters would authorize the select board to enter into an agreement with an entity to take over maintenance of the water tower. While the Friends of Mitchell Field were the only group to submit a proposal prior to town meeting, the warrant article did not require the selectmen to enter into an agreement with that group.

Is it over?

Law requires a town that receives a certain number of signatures in a petition call a town meeting to vote on the item presented. However, Town Attorney Amy Tchao explained that courts have outlined a number of exceptions wherein towns could reasonably reject petition efforts. Specifically, she noted that a town can reasonably reject a petition which seeks to redo a recent vote.

“The purpose of the citizens’ petition is not to allow the will of voters to be upset simply by the filing of a petition,” said Tchao.

It was on that basis that selectmen Johnson and Richard Daniel voted against accepting the petitions. But even this latest action might not be the end of the story.

Tchao explained that if the town unreasonably refuses to call a town meeting as required by the petition process, a notary public could do so. If Friends of Mitchell Field opts to go that route, it will ultimately be up to the courts to decide whether selectmen acted reasonably.

Following the Wednesday’s meeting, McIntyre didn’t rule out pursuing legal action, noting that the group would be considering all of their options.

It remains to be seen then, whether the fate of the water tower is truly sealed. But as Friends of Mitchell Field consider next steps, the selectmen are expected to continue moving forward with the demolition of the water tower as approved by town meeting.

nstrout@timesrecord.com