On Earth Day, the Boothbay Harbor selectboard supported community initiatives that bolster the region’s resiliency to the impacts of climate change. The board unanimously signed a letter of commitment April 22, expressing their “strong support” for a $125,000 Community Action Grant application, jointly filed with Boothbay.  

The grant is part of the Community Resilience Partnership, from the Governor’s Office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future. The Partnership can help fund projects across the state. The move follows a February municipal resolution that expresses commitment for efforts to increase climate resiliency and access funds to support them.

April’s letter raises concerns about sea level rise, ocean warming, and more frequent and intense weather events that lead to power outages, flooding, coastal erosion and infrastructure damage.  

“The Boothbay region is not immune to these changes,” the letter says, mentioning the two January storms that heavily damaged the coast. “These events not only threaten the safety and livelihoods of Boothbay Harbor Residents but also have far-reaching impacts on neighboring communities like Boothbay.” 

The letter proposes enhancing preparedness and identifying strategies to mitigate risks. It says the grant would go toward initiatives to conduct a vulnerability assessment and a climate resilience plan and to community education and outreach programs.  

Shri Verrill, who has been the Boothbay Region Climate Action Team (BRCAT) service provider, presented to the board about the grant. Verrill said she came to the board as a concerned neighbor but, if the grant succeeds, would continue the role under the oversight of BRCAT co-chairs in Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor. 

“The idea is that this is going to be driven by the community,” she said. “I’m going to be engaging with the climate action team that is going to really focus on building coalitions, finding common ground and then identifying priorities and a plan to move forward with them.”

The selectmen also authorized Town Manager Julia Latter to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for collaborating with Boothbay, the primary applicant for the grant, and the citizen-run BRCAT. The MOU outlines roles, responsibilities and procedures to administer and distribute the grant if it is awarded. Awards will be announced in July, according to Verrill.   

In other business, Public Works Foreman Nick Upham gave a winter operations overview to the board. Overall, he reported operations went well despite downed trees, ice damage and moderate damage to Whale Park, the footbridge and Samoset Road. He added, the town used more road salt than last year and exceeded the salt and sand budget. However, Latter said the department is still under budget overall.   

When asked how the notable number of downed trees could impact fire risk in drier weather, Upham said the town looks prepared in terms of brush and fire protection. He said Sprucewold is most at risk, but they are doing well with their fire watch program. He said the seven members of the public works department are also in the fire department, so they play a double role when they assess conditions.  

Latter announced the town has hired Thomas Quincy Browne as finance officer after the job was left open in February; Browne was set to start April 29.