Searsport Select Board Approves Audit Pre-Work, Board of Appeals Appointments

The Searsport Select Board voted 3-0 to authorize up to $100,000 for Barry Dunn to do pre-audit work, after members said no other firms would take the town as a client. The board also appointed two new members to the Board of Appeals, approved up to $4,500 in cemetery trust funds for gravestone repairs, and agreed to reimburse the Mosman Park Association $1,808.02 from FEMA funds.

Key points

• The board voted 3-0 to engage Barry Dunn for pre-audit work at a not-to-exceed cost of $100,000, with members saying the town has roughly $400,000 in grants requiring audited results and that other firms are not accepting new clients.
• The board waived its usual two-meeting appointment schedule and voted 4-0 to appoint two applicants, including new resident Michael Hannon, to the Board of Appeals, bringing it to a full five members.
• The board approved up to $4,500 from cemetery trust funds to hire gravestone conservator Judson Starr for five days of repairs at Village Cemetery, prioritizing the oldest stones.
• The board voted 4-0 to reimburse the Mosman Park Association $1,808.02 from FEMA funds for earlier staircase repairs, and separately approved up to $3,500 from the sidewalk repair account to raise a sidewalk at 101 East Main Street to address flooding.
• During public comment, a resident who chairs the Planning Board and Budget Advisory Committee said phone voting lacks transparency and suggested video voting instead; the board had earlier postponed a vote on remote voting policy.
• Mosman Park Trustees treasurer Janine Lavely asked for a seat at the table and better communication on FEMA funds and future grants, and offered the Grounds Committee's help finding plants still owed under the FEMA award.

Next steps

• The board will take up the remote voting policy at a future meeting, with a public hearing to be announced.
• The town will include the final FEMA report in information provided to the Mosman Park Association, and will pursue a separate grant to continue work at Mosman Park.
• The Grounds Committee may research and suggest a rose variety for the Mosman Park bank plantings, which still need to be ordered and planted before winter.
• The board entered executive session at the end of the meeting.

Read the full transcript