Nomination papers are available from Oct. 20-29 to fill the vacancy created by former Edgecomb selectman Jack Sarmanian’s resignation. Sarmanian resigned Oct. 5 after serving 13 years.  On Oct. 9, Edgecomb’s two remaining selectmen Mike Smith and Ted Hugger met during an emergency meeting to set Saturday, Dec. 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. for the special election. 

Sarmanian, 84, was elected to a fifth term Aug. 29. He resigned this month due to health and age concerns. Sarmanian also recently sold his home and moved to York to be closer to family and friends in Massachusetts. Nomination papers are available at the town office beginning on Oct. 20 and are due by Oct. 29. 

This will be Edgecomb’s third town election in 98 days. COVID-19 resulted in postponing the annual May town meeting until August. The year’s second municipal election will be held from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. The special town meeting referendum warrant has 21 articles. The Edgecomb School Committee requested a special town meeting after four education spending articles were defeated on Aug. 29. 

The committee submitted 19 articles and selectmen proposed two others. The committee is seeking an overall $3,312,286 budget, the same figure voters rejected in August. But the committee made several concessions which earned selectmen’s support in calling for a special October referendum town meeting. The committee eliminated a $250,000 request for a non-lapsing capital improvement fund for repairing Edgecomb Eddy School’s roof. School officials replaced it with a request for up to $230,000 for remediating a mold problem discovered in August in the school’s lab. The new proposal doubles the amount of surplus funds from $100,000 to $200,000 to reduce taxpayer contributions for the 2020-21 budget. Another concession reduces the amount of exceeding the Essential Programs and Services request. In August, the committee sought to exceed the EPS formula by $875,000. On the special town meeting warrant, the proposal exceeds EPS spending by $775,114. 

The two selectmen-sponsored articles request authorization for moving the tax due date from Oct. 31 to Nov. 30, 2020 and correcting a clerical error in the Aug. 29 referendum town meeting warrant. An article mistakenly requested $97,000 for paving and repairing Cross Point Road, instead of requesting it for Mill Road.