Residents of Perry debate and reject comprehensive plan

Voters in the Town of Perry came together at their annual meeting on the night of August 24 to voice their opinions and cast votes on 57 articles presented to them by town officials. On the beautiful clear night, emotions ran high inside the Perry Elementary School, where over 60 residents gathered to go over the line-by-line items.
Many of the articles were controversial, and a lot of questions were posed to selectmen during the three-and-half-hour meeting. One of the articles that brought lots of questions and opinions asked voters to authorize selectmen to establish a municipal trash bag fee in the amount of $1.50 per bag.
The fee, according to selectmen, would be used to offset sanitation costs associated with curbside pickup that the Town of Perry currently pays to the Marion Transfer Station. Costs to the town have doubled from $24,000 last year to $50,000 this year. Perry's trash amount for the year has topped at 800,000 pounds. The per bag fee, similar to the program in Calais, would also apply to those who dispose of residential or commercial waste in dumpsters. The bag fee, suggested by the selectmen, was intending to promote recycling within the Town of Perry and reduce sanitation costs. The fee charged to the town increased from 3 cents a pound to 6 cents a pound.
Selectmen told voters that the bag fee would offset and reduce the $50,000 appropriation amount for the sanitation account. One resident said, "I already pay my trash hauler $16 a month, I recycle all of my recyclables, why do I want to pay $1.50 a bag when I don't accumulate enough to fill a bag?" Selectmen told voters that 10 trash bags could be purchased for $15 and the town would probably purchase about 25,000 bags at a cost of $6,000 to get the program rolling.
Voters went deep into discussion about recycling, and although some were grateful for the selectmen's work on the idea of trash bags, they felt more information about a recycling program for Perry would be a better solution. The article failed by show of hands.
Another article on the agenda that brought temperatures up asked Perry voters to approve the town's Comprehensive Plan, developed by a Comprehensive Plan Committee with assistance from Judy East of the Washington County Council of Governments. It was submitted to the State Planning Office in February of 2010. The plan was available at the municipal office for the public to review and also on the town's website.
Planners, in attendance at the meeting, noted that the committee had worked on the plan since 2007 and was complying with the state to write up the 242-page document that indicated future land development for the Town of Perry. The total cost for the work done on the plan was $15,000. Chairman Gerry Morrison said that members had joined with the Town of Pembroke "during the LNG timeline" and worked on the plan after that period to put it in place. "Although we realize that the plan is not perfect, we have spent a long time working on it and we can adjust what we need to."
Many residents were angry and upset that a map of some of the properties in town were "zoned" as industrial and commercial areas. Morrison assured people that the map showed these areas as "close to rails, highways and businesses that already have businesses there." Voters were also assured that the land areas were not labeled as zoned area for industry, and that the town, once it had voted on the plan, could amend the document and land map.
Voters weren't convinced. Resident John Cook said, "Look, I know this took a long time to complete. You did a great deal of work and background work. But the public should be involved in this. No one knows where these areas are. The plan is unsettled." Another resident, Ralph Farris, said, "I want to know where the land [commercial or industrial] is before I vote." Others asked for the plan to move forward. "It can be amended later," one man said. Others were angry and said that public input was not allowed. Planners disagreed and said that there were plenty of informational meetings and advertising of the plan.
Anger rose from residents who felt that they were being directly targeted for their land to be tagged for commercial and industrial use. This issue resulted in a secret ballot that brought the article down, 38 against and 22 in favor.
Another long battle concerned the town's surplus account. The matter was brought up during a discussion of Article 38, to see if the town would authorize selectmen to carry forward all unexpended funds from fiscal year 2009-10, totaling $302,328.17, to a surplus account. Perry Fire Chief Paula Frost asked voters to remove the fire department operating expense fund in the amount of $2,504.57 to help with the remodeling of the inside of the new meeting room in the municipal building. Voters accepted that motion, and shortly afterward the fireworks began.
Resident Mike Patulak voiced his opposition with the other carryover amounts on the list and asked selectmen several times, "Why can't we use this surplus account to reduce our commitment?" Town Treasurer Barbara Hicks explained that the auditors for the town recommended that the surplus amount stay in an account to cover any expenses that may have to be expended. Selectmen David Turner also explained the audit process and how it works, although some voters were confused. "We need a working amount in there, and a working cash amount is required by federal law." Voters found out that approximately $250,000 is already in the account and that last year they voted to use some of it for other commitments. Turner said that this year if the surplus were to be used, "we will be in a lot of trouble. You will really mess up all of our accounts, and this could affect the mill rate if we use any of it."
Hicks also explained that the funds could be used in the case of property owners who could not pay property taxes. Turner said that the surplus was there to use for tarring roads or school warrants if needed. Patulak didn't back down. "It's a slush fund, and you know it." Resident Ann Skriletz agreed with Patulak about using some of the surplus to reduce taxes. Skriletz made a motion to use at least $102,000 of the surplus to reduce taxes by one more mill. The motion failed.
On the subject of unpaid property taxes and tax due dates, Article 10 asked voters to fix a date when taxes are due and payable and when interest will be charged on unpaid taxes. Selectmen recommended that the due and payable date be November 30, 2010, and the rate of interest be 7% on all unpaid taxes as of December 1. The article was amended to change the unpaid due date to December 31, 2010, and the rate of interest to 6%. Selectmen told voters that tax bills were to be released on September 30, 2010.
Article 40 concerned the adoption of updates and changes made to the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance map, as presented by the planning board, to be effective August 24. A copy of this document was also available at the municipal building and on the town's website. Resident Bob Costa spoke out against adoption, saying, "This map is highly inaccurate. The maps are not precise." Despite a passionate plea to vote against the article, it passed 30 to 9.
About 10:15 p.m., Superintendent Jim Underwood went over the cuts made by the local school department to reduce any tax increase. Underwood said that the state contribution to Perry for the education of students for 2010‑2011 is $529,029, which is a reduction from the previous year by $181,144. The school committee reduced its budget by $109,607, with a teacher position being eliminated, and then brought forward every dollar in carryover funds to eliminate the need for additional local tax funds.

Election results
Election results for the Town of Perry are as follows: Karen Raye received 112 votes and was elected as selectwoman for a three-year term. John Cook received 98 votes as a write‑in candidate. Janice Scanlon received 209 votes for a three-year term as town clerk and 203 votes for tax collector. Barbara Hicks received 195 votes for treasurer. Ivy Newcomb, with 189 votes, and Eileen Curry, with 165 votes, were both elected to fill two seats for three-year terms on the school committee. The following planning board members were elected, all for three-year terms: H. Richard Adams, 168 votes, Gerry Morrison, 152 votes, and Linda Newcomb, 160 votes. Elected to the board of appeals was Austin Frost; Recreation Committee, Ralph Farris and Carol Bryan; Equipment Committee, Gerry Morrison; and Municipal Building Committee, Austin Frost.

School budget validation
Voters will return to the polls on Wednesday, September 1, to validate the school budget for the Town of Perry. One question asks: Do you favor approving the Town of Perry school budget for the upcoming year that was adopted at the latest town meeting and that includes locally raised funds that exceed the required local contribution as described in the Essential programs and Services Funding Act? The second question reads: Do you wish to continue the budget validation referendum process in the Town of Perry for an additional three years? A no vote will provide instead that the annual budget will be finally adopted at a meeting of voters of the Town of Perry.
The voting will be by secret ballot from 3 to 7 p.m. at the municipal office building. The registrar of voters will hold office hours to correct any error or change in name or address on the voting list and to accept the registration of any person eligible to vote.