During the March 9 Boothbay Harbor board of selectmen's meeting, a delegation from the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor expressed disappointment in the municipal process regarding the church’s construction plans.

The Boothbay Harbor Board of Appeals unanimously agreed Feb. 24 to approve the appeal brought by the Perkins family of Boothbay Harbor, sending the Congregational Church's plan back to the planning board for further review.

With two members of the planning board being active in the church, and one out of town until May, that leaves only two members available without obvious conflicts of interest. A minimum of three members is required for a decision to be made, and currently both the alternate positions are vacant on the board.

The town and planning board consulted with town attorney Rob Crawford of the law firm Bernstein Shur on how to proceed with the application in a fair and balanced way. His recommendation, according to Town Manager Tom Woodin, was that if the town did not feel it could put together a fair board that would have no bias either way, the issue would be best settled in Superior Court.

The town also sought advice from the Maine Municipal Association and Bob Faunce, the Lincoln County Planner. The recommendations were the same, that in fairness to both parties, the issue should be decided in court.

“Court is never the best option,” Woodin said. “But under the circumstances, with so many people in town affiliated with the church, it is the only viable option left.”

Four members spoke, including The Rev. Sarah Foulger, senior church trustee Peggy Pinkham, Building Committee Chairman Bob Hilscher, and Mary Neal.

Neal spoke about the economic impact of a delay on town businesses such as EM Wood and Hammond Lumber, and Foulger spoke about the impact a delay would cause for the organizations that use the church.

Hilscher accused planning board members, specifically Chairman Mike Tomko, of “shirking” duties by recusing themselves from the process. Pinkham implored the board to fill the vacancies on the planning board immediately to prevent the matter from going to court.

Board Chairman Denise Griffin explained to the delegation that the situation is not that simple. In order to appoint members to any board, volunteers who wish to serve must first come forward.

“We, as selectmen, do our best to reach out to people, but we can't do it alone,” Griffin said.

“Every one of us has twisted arms, but we don't have the ability to draft people,” Vice Chairman Bill Hamblen said.

“We have conflicts of interests on the planning board,” Griffin said. “And one of the things that Mike (Tomko) takes very seriously and I take very seriously is the conflicts of interest part ... it's the right thing to do even though it can make the situation more difficult.”

When asked by Hilscher if the selectmen could ask the board of appeals to reconsider, Hamblen replied that: “We do not have the authority to ask the appeals board to reconsider their decision, we do not have the authority to ask the planning board to take any specific action, those things are actually very distinct under state law.”

“This is a simple building permit being obstructed by a squeaky abutting neighbor that is jumping up and down and getting everyone's attention,” Hilscher said. “But at this point even if we do come to an agreement with the Perkinses, we will still have to go to court (due to the building permit).”

“The process works,” Woodin said the next day. “It's just the circumstances in this situation where so many people have an affiliation with the church and can't be impartial. We have made every effort to be fair and unbiased to both parties, and we would be remiss in doing our jobs if we said we could provide an unbiased board at this point.”

“I don't know what could have been done differently,” Tomko said. “Geoff Smith has communicated back and forth to protect both the process and the individuals in this matter.”

“Mike's desire to preserve both the board's integrity and protect both sides has been misconstrued,” Smith said. “In some situations court is the best option; it would expedite the process.”

Woodin expressed a hope that more members of the public would come forward to serve on the many different boards that have vacancies, including not only the planning board but also the selectmen, board of appeals, budget committee and comprehensive plan committee, to name a few.

Even the port committee has vacancies, according to the town website, with two alternate positions being open.

“A great way to start is to become an alternate member,” Tomko said. “You can learn the process and become more involved without having to be there all the time.”

There is a form on the town website, www.boothbayharbor.org, to volunteer for committees. Interested parties can also drop by the town office to fill out an application. Appointments are made on a regular basis at the twice-monthly board of selectman’s meeting.