Boothbay Harbor selectmen Mark Osborn and Alyssa Allen are creating a committee to help affordable housing in the region. Osborn made the announcement at the June 26 selectboard meeting, but the new group will not be part of town government.

“We all have tremendous interest in affordable housing in the Boothbay region and are trying to figure out the best way we could contribute to that,” Obsorn said. “What I would like to do is form a housing committee made up of a number of people in the area to think about options and opportunities we have in the area for affordable housing.”  

According to Allen and Osborn, the efforts are in the early stages and the two have not yet committed to participants. The two hope the committee will incorporate perspectives including regional planning and selectboards; members of the public; and housing groups such as Boothbay Regional Development Corporation and Boothbay Region Housing Trust. Only two Boothbay Harbor selectmen may be part of any non-governmental group; otherwise it would have a quorum. 

Osborn said the committee will be similar to an advisory board, gathering public opinion from around the region and passing it on to towns.  

“We cannot make any decisions or enact anything,” Osborn said. “But it is a way for us to come up with some other ideas to speak to the planning board and other selectboard members about.”  

During his campaign, Osborn, elected this year, said “affordable housing is the foundation to a year-round community and needs to be a top priority.” Allen, elected in 2022 after a one-year seat, also named housing as a priority in her campaign. She hopes the new group can help towns find ways to promote long-term rentals but not at the expense of property owners who rent short term. 

“It’s time for us to focus on what we can do,” Allen said. “I'm not a proponent of necessarily telling people what they can and cannot do with their private property in terms of limiting how they use it, but I do think that there must be ways (of incentivizing) year-round rentals and long-term rentals.”  

In other action, Boothbay Region Water District General Manager Jonathan Ziegra gave an update on the Ocean Point Road water main installation project to start late July. Ziegra said the project will create, for all intents and purposes, an inexhaustible water supply for Boothbay Harbor, East Boothbay, or Southport in the event of a major fire like the 2008 Washburn and Doughty fire.  

"Our number one reason for existence is fire protection and that's what we're doing here," he said.   

Ziegra said the project costs about $4.5 million, about half of which is covered by grants. Sargent Corporation will work mostly on Route 96 with some construction on Montgomery Road and Back Narrows Road. According to Ziegra, the project should be completed by early autumn.   

In other action, Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative gave an update on the last year and a half. Leslie Volpe, the Boothbay Harbor representative for the organization, said 2022 was its first year in the community with several educational and outreach events as well as media products.   

Hal Moorefield, another member, said the organization has received $215,000 in total grant funding – enough to fund the organization for at least three years to help protect the region's only source of drinking water, from Knickerbocker Lake and Adams Pond. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that the health of our community and the economic vitality of the region depends on that one water source ... Simply by protecting the forested land we have in the watershed now, we can ensure good water quality far into the future ...”  

According to Moorefield, water quality can be preserved through environmental filtration and other natural processes, which is more cost effective than a water treatment facility. Moorfield said recent studies from an environmental engineering firm showed 75%, or 1,300 acres, of forested land around the water would have to be conserved to meet their goals. He added they have already protected 392 acres.  

Moorefield said the organization is now looking to local landowners and businesses to be a part of land protection, support their efforts and help develop a pro-growth conservation plan that benefits both business and the environment.   

In public comment, Tom Perkins of Boothbay Harbor spoke to the selectboard about the cost of education. According to Perkins, residents in Boothbay Harbor are overpaying per student compared with Edgecomb and Southport, especially on capital projects. “I would like to ask for a simple favor,” he said. “Reach out this week and simply contact the other towns in AOS and Wiscasset and see if you can begin a dialogue. There is no municipality that has more to gain than Boothbay Harbor in this process."     

Responding, Selectman Kenneth Rayle expressed concern about the board being involved in school issues. He said under the system, voters select school committees responsible for education decisions.