The town of Boothbay Harbor is on its way to a new and improved town website. At the June 23 Boothbay Harbor selectmen’s meeting, the board awarded the contract to build and maintain the new site to Firefly Digital.

Town Manager Tom Woodin had narrowed the choices for website providers down to two: Firefly Digital and GovOffice. Firefly's cost to create the website is $6,900 and $100 per year to maintain. GovOffice's bid was lower to create the website, at $6,670, but had a $650 yearly maintenance fee. Woodin requested the board accept Firefly's bid.

Board Chairman Denise Griffin said she had looked at several sites done by Firefly, and she was pleased by the work they did. She also said since the cost of yearly maintenance was lower, Firefly would end up being cheaper as early as the third year and was a better value.

The board agreed, and awarded the bid to Firefly. According to Woodin, the new website will have a dedicated mobile version, and has the capability of providing many online services to community members, though the town has not as yet decided what services they will offer.

During public forum, a few members of the public spoke about the project being planned for the former tennis courts area at the corner of Townsend Avenue and Emery Lane. The last time the subject came up with the selectmen, they decided to go with what most townspeople wanted, which was basketball courts and green space in the area. Palmer Payne, chair of the Boothbay Harbor budget committee, said he was not in favor of basketball courts.

“I agree with Jim Powers, who wrote the letter to the editor in the Boothbay Register,” Payne said. “The entire area should become a veteran's memorial. We already have three basketball courts, we don't need another. If people want another one it should go behind the elementary school.”

He also said that since he was the tallest kid at his school, he was pressured into playing basketball, though he wasn't especially good at it.

“With all due respect to Palmer and my fellow veterans, I vehemently disagree,” said resident Linc Sample. “The Boothbay region does not have three courts – two of those courts are in the Y, and are available to members only.

“Not matter how good kids are, they can get in trouble,” Sample said. “I should know, I have five of them. We need to have a place for kids to go.”

Woodin brought up the fact that when the area was originally given to the town, there was one stipulation, that the area must at all times be used for outdoor recreational purposes.

“Basketball courts are recreational,” Woodin said, “but you'd have problems saying the same about a memorial.”

Board member Bill Hamblen said when the discussion first came up, he received a flood of emails which almost all supported basketball courts.

“I am adamant about having these courts,” said vice-chairman Jay Warren. “We need to do something for our kids, and I did a lot of research and the vast majority of people I spoke to support having courts.”

Chairman Griffin and member Russ Hoffman said they hadn't completely made their minds up on the issue, and were reserving judgment until they see what Danielle Betts of the Knickerbocker Group came up with for the area (Betts is currently creating a design at Woodin's request).

Woodin assured the audience that the basketball courts would not be right on the street, and would be obscured by hedges, rather than a chain-link fence which Woodin described as “hideous.”