Boothbay selectmen are prepared to take the next step in their joint economic development venture with the town of Boothbay Harbor. The board voted 5-0 on Nov. 12 to allow Selectmen’s Chairman Steven Lewis to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Boothbay Harbor selectmen and make any reasonable adjustments to the document.

Both towns’ boards have been reviewing the memorandum, which defines the purpose, scope and responsibilities of each party in the partnership.

The two towns are scheduled to hold their fourth joint meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17 in the Boothbay Harbor municipal building.

The Boothbay selectmen wanted to give Lewis the authority to approve the agreement if the Boothbay Harbor selectmen were also ready to proceed. The purpose of the MOA is to clarify the roles and responsibilities relative to enhancing economic growth within the community. The agreement is intended to establish a mechanism and process for expanding the parties’ long history of cooperation to include economic development.

The two towns are also in the process of forming a joint economic development committee. The 10-person committee would include a selectman from each town. The remaining eight would be from the business community and nonprofit organizations.

The Boothbay selectmen envision a role for the two town managers in the committee’s operation.

However they aren’t sure whether Boothbay Town Manager James Chaousis and Boothbay Harbor Town Manager Tom Woodin should serve as ex-officio members or as staff. The two towns also have to decide how the committee would be funded. They are also contemplating whether the committee should hire a consultant or executive director.

“Remembering some of the comments of the last meeting that hiring an executive director wasn’t very popular,” Selectman Charles Cunningham said. “As you know, I’m not for creating a new position.”

Chaousis advised the committee that hiring a consultant or firm to guide the committee would be helpful. However, that hiring an adviser may not happen until the next fiscal year.

“It’s a  good idea to hire someone to map out where the committee needs to go,” Chaousis said. “But I don’t see that happening for a while. The town hasn’t any money budgeted for that.”

In other action, the selectmen re-arranged their meeting schedule. The selectmen changed their Nov. 26 board meeting to a public hearing. The board will hold a public hearing on a wharves and weirs application. The hearing will start at 7 p.m. in the municipal building.

The selectmen will meet with the town assessor at 5 p.m. on Wednesday Dec. 3 to review the new tax maps during a workshop. The selectmen will also sign any municipal warrants at that time.