Edgecomb selectmen met with Jack Sarmanian’s likely successor Dec. 1. Sarmanian resigned Oct. 15 after 13 years. The town scheduled Saturday, Dec. 5 as a special election to fill the vacancy. Edgecomb School Committee member Dawn Murray is the only candidate on the ballot.

The two remaining selectmen met with her via Zoom conference. Murray moved from Texas to Maine after serving 35 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and Coast Guard. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a law degree while in the military. She left the Marines for a judge advocate’s position in the Coast Guard.

After retirement, she and her husband, Ray Murray, a Boothbay native, moved with their two sons to Maine. “(Edgecomb Eddy School) has a stellar reputation and that’s one reason why we moved (to Edgecomb). The other is location. Edgecomb is like ‘the pathway too adventure.’ You have to come through here to get to Boothbay and Rockland. And as a selectman, I’d like to capitalize on that,” she said.

Murray’s other priorities include publicizing local businesses on the municipal Facebook page and reducing the acreage requirement for building new homes. “I think two acres is a lot to ask for people. I’d like to see it reduced to an acre, or maybe to a half or three-quarters. We need affordable homes to attract young families here.”

In other action, Chairman Mike Smith reported test results for a municipal employee who had contact with a COVID-19 positive person last month came back negative. The municipal building was closed following notification. Selectmen will take a cautious approach toward reopening the town office. The building will remain locked during office hours, but employees will allow residents in after they knock on the door. The building will remain closed for all municipal meetings. Selectmen will continue their meetings via Zoom conference as will the planning board and Schmid Advisory Committee.  

In two weeks, selectmen will discuss state issues with newly elected state Senator-elect Chloe Maxmin, D-Nobleboro, who defeated incumbent Dana Dow last month. Selectman Ted Hugger planned on contacting Maxmin and state Rep. Holly Stover, D-Boothbay, to meet with the board prior to the 2021 legislative session, but Maxmin made the first move. “She really impressed me by reaching out to us first, so I invited her to the next selectmen’s meeting,” Hugger said. 

Emergency Management Agency Director Bill Witzell reported the town would not be receiving expected federal COVID-19 reimbursement funding. So far, the fire department submitted $3,400 in COVID-19 related spending and the municipal office submitted $1,800 for a laptop computer. “They’ve gone back on their word. They changed rules saying only emergency-related expenses are covered,” he said.  Hugger recommended contacting the state’s congressional delegation. “We made those purchases in good faith that they would be reimbursed, and I think we should contact Susan Collins’ office for help,” he said. 

Town officials are hoping to avoid a double fault on the ongoing municipal tennis court issue. Since 2014, municipal leaders have searched for an alternative recreational use for the abandoned tennis courts on Cross Point Road. They were built on town-owned property in 1976 through a federal Land Water Fund Conservation grant. The town abandoned the courts in 2002. The former school site was sold after the town built the new school at 157 Boothbay Road.

Smith has reviewed state paperwork on a possible replacement use, but he does not believe the town can fulfill the requirements. “It looks like we’re in it for a long haul,” he said. “After reviewing the documents, I don’t think we’re going to be able to satisfy their requirements. We need to forward these on to (town attorney) Jon Pottle to ask him to enlighten us on any clear cut direction which best serves us,” Smith said. 

Selectmen meet next at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14.