The Bath City Council is to be commended for its appointment Wednesday of retired Maine superior court Justice Robert Crowley to examine its sale of a city-owned building in May.

Crowley is well liked in the legal profession, and made absolute independence a condition of his employ. The council, again, made a wise choice in granting him that leeway, the better to restore its own credibility, which has been tarnished, rightly or wrongly.

Crowley’s personality made him a favorite of colleagues and lawyers during his 28-year career as a judge. On the occasion of his retirement, Maine’s Chief Justice Leigh Saufley told The Portland Press Herald he brings a balanced approach — which includes humor — to his dealings.

“He does know how to be humorous and human in the courtroom, and at the same time, serious matters are handled very seriously. … (He) represents the very best of judging, and he has been a role model and a mentor for many a judge,” Saufley said.

Humor may be what’s called for here, in the aftermath of a bruising fight (over a building?).

What needs to happen — far and above any finding about whether the value of the building was fully realized in the $799,000 transaction — is the restoration of the governing process in Bath.

That means going forward the allvolunteer council needs to be educated — rather than upbraided — about methods of dealing with the sale of property that protect both the sanctity of confidential records and the public’s right to know how its dollars are being spent.

We have every confidence this will occur, and that Bath can get back to the business of good governance and being the Mid-coast’s “little city that could.”

While we’re on the subject, we’re left wondering why — if it was so heinous an act — no one stepped up in the latest round of City Council nominations.

If they’re doing a poor enough job to merit a recall and purported boycott, shouldn’t there be a line around the corner for reformers to take their spots?

No takers, Larry Scott? Not you, Mike Wischkaemper?

It seems anyone who has a problem with government — not just Bath city government — these days would rather blame and complain than fish for solutions.

In the aftermath of the building sale, it will be interesting to see what the developer has planned for the site, and whether it can become as successful as the Midcoast Center for Higher Education — a center of nonprofit learning, medical offices and other rent-paying businesses.

The results of the investigation will be telling, yet the Bath City Council does seem to be turning the corner on this issue in a positive way. Finally.