Edgecomb selectmen on Aug. 28 approved the sale of one of two tax-acquired properties and agreed to a process for selling the other.

The properties have been in public hands for months. The first, on Cross Point Road, was disposed of on Aug. 28 to Stephen and Christine Rubicam, and the couple will split the property with George Chase, who had also expressed an interest in the property. The deed was signed and is expected to be filed in the Lincoln County Registry office this week. The Rubicams agreed to pay the back taxes for five years, totaling $6,440, as well as other fees, and they will split the costs and the land with Chase when the sale finalizes.

The second property is on Route 1. Two of four neighbors have expressed an interest in bidding. Selectmen set a deadline of Sept. 25 for sealed bids, greater than $4,200. If no bids are forthcoming, or the bids are rejected, selectmen can open up the bidding to anyone interested.

The board voted to impose mooring fees on Jan. 1, , as part of the process of boat registration for boat owners who rent moorings in Edgecomb. According to Town Clerk Claudia Coffin, that will not solve the problem of unpaid mooring fees entirely, because some boat owners do not live in Edgecomb, and some boat owners who live in Edgecomb do not rent moorings in the harbor, but it will bring in most of the mooring rentals due.

Maggie Connelly of West Boothbay Harbor expressed her concerns about truck traffic on Eddy Road. She said that on Aug. 15, she and her mother nearly had an accident near the cove, when a large tractor trailer, occupying both lanes of traffic, came around a curve and nearly hit her vehicle head on. She wanted to know if truck traffic could be limited on the road. Selectman Ted Hugger said that because the road is a state aid road, Maine Department of Transportation would have to be involved. Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz suggested that a weight limit could be imposed, which would eliminate much of the truck traffic. The selectmen agreed to ask MDOT for a traffic study as a preliminary effort to change the traffic rules on Eddy Road.

Selectman Jack Sarmanian said that he had heard from a citizen on Fort Road whose well has run dry. For now, the citizen is being helped with water, but Sarmanian said that bringing water to Fort Road from the Wiscasset Water District may be a long process, and very expensive.

The Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission informed the selectmen that the deadline for MDOT requests is approaching, and the selectmen agreed to sit down and hear about citizens’ concerns about small road projects that need to be done in town. Selectman Mike Smith said that the kind of work that could be done would be repairing curve warning signs and other small repairs.

Waltz discussed the gorilla on Route 1 at the Pyro City fireworks store. At first, he did not think it was a sign, but when he looked at it, he said, the gorilla is wearing a t-shirt with the name of one of the firework lines sold there, which makes it a sign, Waltz said. Because of its size, it is out of compliance, Waltz said. So the owner will be asked to come to the Sept. 11 selectmen’s meeting to discuss the matter.

Reached Tuesday, owner Steve Marson said, "I don't think the gorilla is out of compliance. Somebody finds it offensive, that's the bottom line. The rationale that people use for things like this is troubling to me as a business owner. I went to the town when we opened the business five years ago. Even if the rules have changed, I should be grandfathered, because under the ordinances five years ago, and even under the current ordinances there is no violation. My gorilla is staying. He has the right to free speech, too. This is America."

Marson said he would be taking the gorilla down and storing it for the winter after Labor Day, but expected to put it back up next summer.