Boothbay Harbor Fire Chief Nick Upham has resigned. The Boothbay Harbor Selectboard accepted his decision at their Dec. 8 meeting.  

“We accept the resignation and wish to thank Nick for his years of service,” said Chair Michael Tomko at the meeting. 

Upham had been employed by the town for over a decade and was appointed fire chief in 2012. Over the years, he has also served as a police officer, shellfish warden and harbor master. He resigned from his most current jobs as fire chief, public works foreman, and reserve police officer.  

Upham said he was resigning "due to personal reasons" Dec. 3 in a letter to Town Manager Julia Latter. "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you, and all employees throughout my career, and to have served the Town of Boothbay Harbor over the past many years. I wish you all the best of luck in all you do," he wrote. 

Nov. 26, Upham was placed on administrative leave with pay. Latter said she could not provide details or an explanation of the situation because it is a personnel matter. The Register reached out to Upham Dec. 1 for comment but has not received a reply.

Latter said the town has not named replacements for the positions and is operating under a status quo with existing staff. 

In other business, the board approved a wharves and weirs application for a project at 49 Atlantic Ave. The proposed project would rearrange floats at an existing pier to create a horseshoe shape. Consultant Lauren Stockwell, representing applicant PGC8 LLC, said the new floats will be 10 feet wide, two feet wider than previous floats, and supported by five pilings. She also said the property was commercial and will now be run as a private dock.  

Atlantic Avenue resident John Seitzer raised concerns about abutter notification and what he saw as inconsistencies in the plans and application. Seitzer said he is not an abutter, but spoke as a concerned citizen.   

Attorney Joanna Tourangeau, also representing the applicants, said only direct abutters have standing to object to the application and its impact on navigational rights. She added, many of Seitzer’s points appeared to relate to the Department of Environmental Protection’s approval, but its 30-day review period has passed.  

Tomko said the board can only decide based on three criteria: All the paperwork has been submitted, the project does not cause injury to the rights of others, and the project will not interfere with or obstruct navigation. “Anything else is not under our purview,” he said, adding that the town attorney and state agencies informed the board that the paperwork is accurate and complete.  

The board unanimously approved the project, agreeing it met the criteria.  

The board also approved 11 members to the newly formed comprehensive plan committee. They appointed Lisa Tholl, Kate Sullivan, Heidi McGee, Greg Laderer, Allison Evans, Lisa Matthews, Jax van der Veen, Tricia Campbell, Shannon Schmelzer, Cathy Fisher and Tomko. 

In addition, Harbor Theater Executive Director Lynn Thompson spoke to the board about the theater’s community programming. She thanked the town for its $1,000 yearly contribution, which helps provide free films. According to Thompson, thanks to local organizations and municipalities, the theater put on 29 free films this year, from family movies to documentaries. She said 2,540 people came to free films, 25% of the theater's total audience this year.  

The board also heard from Jay Lehrhaupt, a lighting professional, about potential upgrades to the footbridge lighting. According to Lehrhaupt, the controller for the footbridge lighting system is a bottleneck to its capabilities. He said upgrading the controller could allow for year-to-year scheduled light shows around timed intervals, holidays, or other events. Lehrhaupt said he could be hired to program the lights, but the town would have to purchase a new controller through a separate vendor. A cost estimate was not available.