Dear Editor:

The Alna Selectboard has scheduled a referendum for early December in response to a petition to make a change in the Town’s Shoreland Zone Ordinance, which was adopted in 1993. This ordinance has worked well for the past 27 years, so why the urgency? This early date for a referendum during the handicap of “Life in The Time of COVID-19” or even without COVID-19, is simply not enough time for residents of Alna to fully discuss the impact on the river this proposed change would make.

It further mystifies us that a decision must be made now at the onset of winter. A better path would be to allow more time for residents to discuss the potential change, consider the impact, and whether any change is needed. According to the law, the Selectmen can hold the vote on this petition at the same time as the Annual Town Meeting in March. Perhaps the better choice would be for the Select board to postpone the meeting on this issue until life takes on a “new normal” and we can hold open public meetings once again.

Elizabeth Davis

Gordon Davis

Alna