Vice Chairman Robert Splaine resigned his position with the town of Boothbay Harbor's Board of Selectmen December 2.

In his resignation letter, Splaine wrote, “It has become clearly apparent that personal attacks that have been allowed during meetings have taken their toll,” and that “these recent events have changed my mind and have seriously contributed to my decision to resign.”

Before the resignation is considered final, the remaining members of the board need to accept Splaine's letter of resignation. Hamblen is unsure if they will be able to accept it at their next scheduled meeting December 10, as Selectman Denise Griffin will be out of town on business. “We will have a quorum with three, but I feel we should have the full board there for such a task,” Board Chairman Bill Hamblen said.

“Bob has been a terrific selectman. His strength, intellectual capacity and motivation to do what is right for this community has been a great asset,” Hamblen said. “We will not be as good a board without him, and I wish him all the best in whatever he pursues.”

Calls from the newspaper to Splaine were not returned at the time of posting.

In his letter to the board, Splaine wrote, “I am grateful to the people of Boothbay Harbor who have allowed me the opportunity to serve their interests as a member of the Board of Selectmen for the past seven years and the Planning board for almost the same amount of time, and I offer my best hopes for its continued success.”

This is the second time Splaine has resigned from the board this year. He briefly resigned on January 29 due to issues with the St. Andrews Task Force. He retracted that resignation on February 1.