The changes being eyed to aid fish passage at Head Tide Dam may be within Alna’s legal rights as the dam’s owner, selectmen said March 9. Third Selectman Doug Baston said he spoke with the town’s attorney, David Soule.

Soule needs to see the plans before he can advise the board, members said; but so far, it appears that, because the dam would still function and the project would do little to change the dam’s look, it may adhere to the deed’s covenant, they said.

The covenant bars the dam’s destruction.

Officials have recently discussed a set of ideas including replacing the spillway’s west abutment and altering nearby ledge; the work could improve fish passage by 50 percent, officials have said.

Also March 9, the board met with a member of the Head Tide Dam Committee that selectmen recently replaced with a smaller panel. Jon Luoma had sent out a March 5 email critical of selectmen’s actions.

Luoma emailed selectmen, Atlantic Salmon Federation’s vice president of U.S. programs Andy Goode, Luoma’s fellow members of the prior committee, and members of the new one he is not on. The email followed one from Goode explaining he went ahead with proposing next steps after selectmen stated “their concern with it being a divisive topic in the community and the need for ASF to help make a recommendation.”

Luoma’s email states, “(There) was no divisiveness on the committee until the selectmen stepped in. Till then, it seemed an entirely reasonable and civil process.

“Hurrying the public process into an ad hoc, improvised ‘solution’ — which seems to be what’s being attempted — is not a good answer ...,” Luoma’s email continues. “I object to our selectmen using ‘divisiveness’ as an excuse to kayo a perfectly fine town committee process.”

Selectmen respond in a March 7 email inviting Luoma to the March 9 meeting. “(You) have raised a number of allegations that speculate about our thinking and intentions ...,” the board writes. “While we may not end up in agreement, at least we hope we can address what we believe are misconceptions, and then we can all move on towards a positive solution.”

March 9 at the fire station, Luoma told selectmen they had interrupted the larger committee’s work. “All of a sudden that whole process ended, I didn’t fully understand what happened.” The committee was not told about the latest option being considered for the dam, he said.

The committee was told, selectmen responded. And the board went with the smaller committee on Goode’s recommendation, board members said.

Luoma asked the board to keep the members of the first committee informed; he said it was a bunch of town citizens who did not all have the same opinions as one another on the dam, and who became interested in what they were learned about the site’s history and about fish passage.

“Any time you feel left out of the process, email me,” or either of the other selectmen, First Selectman David Abbott told Luoma.

“There’s no bad people here, just differences of opinion, and we all care about the river,” Baston said.

Code enforcement talks

The board continued looking at how to get a code enforcement officer following Stan Waltz’ resignation that took effect March 7. The town got an email from Michelle Peele, asking when applications would be taken, and an email from South Bristol’s planning board chairman, Amy-Jo Rice, stating that she is training to be certified as a code enforcement officer.

Selectmen said they have checked with Lincoln County staff and learned that the county may start offering code enforcement services; Alna and several other towns have animal control deals with the county.

The board planned to ask Whitefield’s code enforcement officer Arthur Strout if he would consider being a short-term one for Alna.