Wiscasset Selectmen’s Vice Chairman Ben Rines Jr. on Tuesday night proposed a ballot question to pursue the closure of Wiscasset Municipal Airport. He withdrew the motion after board members and Town Manager Marian Anderson came up with an alternative, reaching out to Maine’s Congregational delegation to address Rines’ concerns that prompted his proposal.

In a brief interview following Tuesday’s meeting, Rines said he was very optimistic that involving the delegation will help. He said his motion accomplished what he hoped it would, to draw attention to the need to talk with the higher levels of federal government.

Lower-level talks are a good way to get lost, he said during the meeting.

In making the motion, Rines told fellow selectmen that voters need protection from decisions the federal government makes that could impact the airport and taxpayers. He said one of those decisions was the closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station, clearing the way for civilian use of the Brunswick airfield. He also cited federal rules that could leave Wiscasset having to eventually repay federal funds, if the town stopped getting federal aid for the airport.

“To me, that is not how democracy works. The voters should not be coerced in that manner,” Rines said.

Board members expressed concern about Rines’ proposed ballot question to authorize selectmen to negotiate with the federal government for the purpose of closing the airport.

Selectman Jeff Slack urged him to be careful with the wording, because it would limit options following the vote. That’s what happened with the committee that negotiated the town’s withdrawal from Regional School Unit 12, said Slack, who served on that committee.

Airport Committee Chairman Ken Boudin told Rines the proposal for a town vote was premature; the committee is just starting to work on issues Rines was raising, he said.

“Give us a little time to work,” Boudin said. He invited Rines to attend the committee’s meetings.

Boudin disagreed with Rines’ suggestion that the loss of Brunswick Naval Air Station stands to hurt Wiscasset’s airport.

The board talked about sending a letter to the Congressional delegation. Anderson said she would come back to the board when it has been drafted.

The half-century-old airport in Wiscasset faces serious issues in the next several years, according to airport manager Ervin Deck’s Dec. 14 resignation letter to Town Manager Marian Anderson.

“The condition of the runway and obstructions growing around the airport (have) reached the point where the solution is no longer easy, simple or cheap. What could have been easily resolved 40, 30 or even 20 years ago, now has the potential to divide the town with a not so predictable outcome.

“However, I remain confident that with careful planning and a calm resolve, we can solve this problem to the satisfaction of everyone,” the letter states.

Selectmen on Tuesday accepted Deck’s resignation with regret. He confirmed in October that he planned to resign. He plans to stay involved with the airport, including helping with Wings Over Wiscasset.

The town opened the airport in 1961 after a series of land buys dating back to 1957, according to the town’s website at www.wiscasset.org. Further land buys resulted in the runway’s extension and a taxiway, the website states.

Talking tree-cutting

At their next meeting, selectmen will hear from the town’s code enforcement officer regarding tree-cutting in the area of Cushman Mountain, town officials told resident Larry Lomison. The matter is being looked into, Board Chairman Pam Dunning said.

Attempts to reach Codes Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz for comment were not immediately successful.

Lomison told the board he has been woken up by early morning logging, and that logging occurred on the New Year’s Day holiday. The trees’ removal is devastating to wildlife and could risk a washout on Route 144, Lomison said during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s board meeting.

On Jan. 2, Wiscasset police responded to a 5:25 a.m. complaint on Westport Bridge Road about alleged loud noise from logging on Cushman Point Road, according to a weekly log the Wiscasset Police Department released Jan. 5. Police were unable to find the loggers, the log states.

Rines on terrorism and Maine Yankee’s nuclear waste

Rines on Tuesday aired concerns about whether the nuclear waste still in Wiscasset from the closed Maine Yankee nuclear power plant is safe from terrorism.

A lot has changed since the waste was first stored, Rines said.

“The terrorists have gotten a lot meaner, and I mean that seriously,” he said. “If there was a concerted effort to have an attack there, is Maine Yankee prepared to deal with it?”

Selectmen went on to discuss having Maine Yankee officials meet with the board. Maine Yankee officials have previously offered to speak with the board, town officials said.

Maine Yankee spokesman Eric Howes responded on Jan. 7 to a request for comment. “Last fall Maine Yankee invited the selectmen and town manager to visit the Maine Yankee site to learn first hand about the storage of spent nuclear fuel and the robust casks where this material is stored. We understand they are interested in doing that and we look forward to scheduling a site visit,” Howes writes in an email to the Wiscasset Newspaper. “Maine Yankee secures the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation site 24 hours a day seven days a week in accordance with our approved U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission security plan.

“Maine Yankee has confidence in our federal, state and local law enforcement agency partners on matters of homeland security, however we do not discuss security related matters publicly,” the email concludes.

Officials, residents remember Wiscasset’s Bill Phinney

Selectmen and fellow residents reflected on the citizenship Bill Phinney demonstrated, as someone who cared about Wiscasset’s history and spoke up about many issues in town. Phinney died Dec. 24. Describing Phinney as a historian, resident Steve Mehrl said: “He was one of the few people who went the extra mile to try to keep Wiscasset alive from that point of view.”

Selectmen supported Rines’ motion to later adjourn the meeting in memory and lasting tribute to Phinney. “He kept us in line as well as any citizen in town,” Rines said.