Alna’s planning board will invite more written public comment and a subcommittee will work on a mining ordinance after voters rejected a proposed one last month. Selectmen on April 11 went with Planning Board Chair Cathy Johnson’s plan for pursuing a new proposal to offer voters. 

The planning board “remains fully committed to its responsibility to develop ordinances,” including a mining one that would get broad support among voters, Johnson said. She proposed the planning board immediately put out a notice seeking written public comment; and put two planning board members on the subcommittee, which would hold a “round table discussion” with a selectman, two representatives of small gravel pit owners, a representative of Crooker Construction, which owns a Whitefield-Alna pit, and three members of the public, “ideally representing neighbors, abutters and hopefully someone with some scientific expertise.”

The round table would be for “constructive back and forth” and would be held publicly for viewing in person or on Zoom, Johnson said. She said one on one discussions might follow the round table, and that all the comment would help the planning board draft possible changes to the ordinance that lost at last month’s town meeting.

Johnson said the planning board might have those changes ready for a public meeting by mid to late May and, with the input from that meeting, make a final draft to give the selectboard to offer voters.

First Selectman Nicholas Johnston felt the planning board showed disdain for Crooker while crafting the failed proposal, but versus a smaller panel another resident proposed, Johnston preferred Johnson’s proposed next steps as including more public input. The selectboard 3-0 went with Johnson’s roundtable version. Selectmen plan to put Johnson on the roundtable and the selectboard will appoint the selectman and rest of the round table using the categories Johnson outlined.  

Also April 11, selectmen changed when they hold their non-voting, work sessions for agenda planning. Those had been Wednesday nights on off weeks from their regular meetings, which are every other Thursday at 6 p.m. at the town office and over Zoom. Now the work sessions will happen after the Thursday night meetings.