Southport Selectmen

Southport Water moves closer to consolidation

Wed, 11/14/2012 - 12:00pm

A day after being voted into the Boothbay Region Water District, the Southport Board of Selectmen wasted no time in filling the two trustee positions they gained along with their district membership.

At its weekly meeting Wednesday, Nov. 7 the Southport Board of Selectmen picked Smith Climo and Gerry Gamage to be the island's trustees on the Boothbay Region Water board.

Selectman Mary Koskela was originally selected but she respectfully declined.

Gamage's term ends in April 2013 and Climo's runs through 2014. Both positions will be voted on during the town meeting of that year.

Southport was voted into the Boothbay Region Water District by a wide margin. It had to be approved in Southport, but also pass in Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor as well.

In Southport it garnered 286 votes in favor and 139 votes against. In Boothbay it was passed 1,593 to 402 and approved 1,109 to 246 in Boothbay Harbor.

The tentative plan is to have the Boothbay Region Water District take control of the Southport Water District by the first of the year. Because the district's budget cycle begins January 1, it makes sense to set the first as the date, Boothbay Region Water District Supervisor Jon Ziegra said.

“That makes the transition cleaner for us, budget-wise,” Ziegra said. “(Merging Southport) will probably be easier than when East Boothbay joined the district.”

With the merger being passed the focus will soon turn to the proposed Cross Road Project, in which a water main will be installed across Cross Road.

Ziegra said the Boothbay Region Water District will be eligible for consolidation grants, which could help fund projects on the island.

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 844-0711 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.