CAMDEN, Maine — A divided Select Board voted Tuesday night to retain authority over who can and can’t use the Village Green for gatherings and activities.
The board voted 3-2 to retain that authority, rejecting a change in the policy that would have requests for using the Village Green going to the town manager or her designee.
“We were elected to represent the citizens, [Town Manager Patricia Finnigan] wasn’t. That’s the rub,” said Select Board member James Heard.
The proposed change in authority was part of an amended policy that had been recommended by the town’s Historic Resources Committee. The board approved the remaining policy recommendations.
Board member Leonard Lookner said the board should not relinquish its authority lightly.
“Requests are vetted by the community when they come before the Select Board. This allows the community to weigh in on the requests,” Lookner said.
Board member Donald White Jr., however, voiced support for the change. He said delegating the decisions to the town manager or other town administrators would take out the political debate and would avoid the town infringing on free speech rights of people who want to use the roughly half-acre public park located downtown along Route 1.
The town gets several requests per year, mainly in the summer time. The Chamber of Commerce, for example, has been allowed to set up a table to greet tourists when a cruise ship visits. Pop Tech and the International Film Festival have had displays on the Village Green during their events in Camden. The Children’s House Montessori School also has used the public park as have some couples for receiving lines after their weddings.
White said what prompted his interest in changing the policy was when the board rejected a couple years ago a request by a church to use the green, even though it was not for a religious service. He voiced concern that rejecting the public area’s use for political reasons could result in a legal challenge.
There is no charge for using the property. Any group using it, however, cannot accept or solicit money in the park.
The town has owned the property since 1926 with the only restriction being that it cannot be used for commercial purposes. White said the minor changes that were approved make the policy more user friendly and should help people better understand what will be required of them to use the Village Green. Requests must be made 15 days in advance and cannot restrict the public’s use of the green or benches located there.
In other action, the board agreed to create a committee at its Feb. 17 meeting to work with a facilitator to gather public input on what should be done with the town-owned former tannery property.
The town has been trying to sell the nearly 3-acre lot along the Megunticook River for nearly seven years. Last year, Northeast Mobile Health Services sought to acquire the land to build its regional operations center, but opposition from neighbors prompted the company to withdraw its offer.
A nonbinding referendum was held in November asking residents whether they supported continuing to promote the land for commercial use or whether it should be retained for a park or open space. The vote was 1,429 for commercial use versus 1,360 for open space.
Because of the closeness of the vote, town officials decided to begin a process to update a package of recommendations for use of the old tannery property that was developed and approved by voters in 2008.
The Apollo Tannery Redevelopment Work Group recommended that the town sell the site to attract a business that would create good-paying, year-round jobs in an industry deemed acceptable to the neighborhood and the town. Those recommendations were approved by voters that year.