Articles authorizing sale of a residential lot on George Wright Road and raising the mileage rate charged by the ambulance department passed at a special town meeting Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Woolwich. Voters also granted the selectboard permission to assist in administering Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds sought by the owner of OpBox. As with other special town meetings, this one drew few voters. Attorney Ted Hoch of Woolwich served as moderator.

David King Sr., selectboard chairman, told Wiscasset Newspaper the town office had already heard from people interested in buying the two-acre wooded lot on George Wright Road which has access to public water and about 200 feet of Route One frontage. Selectmen are asking $75,000 but could not sell the property until receiving town meeting authorization. The lot was purchased for $69,000 by the town in November 2020 with the intent of constructing a new access road to Route One, but the plan fell through. Selectman Jason Shaw said the selling price was increased to cover the town’s legal and other costs associated with the property. Monies from the sale will be added to the town’s undesignated fund balance.

The town office will help administer Maine CDBG funds should OpBox owner Ben Davis of Nobleboro be successful in obtaining them. Davis requested the town meeting article which was a condition of his application seeking up to $100,000 in funding. The grant monies are to be used as working capital for his Route One business selling EDURA construction products made from recycled plastics. Last August, the selectboard signed a letter of intent in support of Davis’s CDBG application.

Voters too, went along with a proposal to raise the mileage rate charged for ambulance transports from $17 to $20 per mile. EMS Director Danny Evarts recommended the increase to bring the ambulance department more in line with what other ambulance services charge for mileage. “Because of new regulations, as of Jan. 1 we won’t be able to raise any of our ambulance rates more than 5%,” said Evarts, explaining why the increase was needed.

Earlier in the evening, the selectboard met with Melissa Parr of Montsweag Road. Parr hopes to organize a food bank to serve the Woolwich community. Parr suggested food items and/or cash donations could be collected and distributed the last Saturday of the month. For households in need, she said, the winter months are particularly hard. “It’s deciding between buying food or fuel,” she commented.

The selectboard is willing to allow Parr to use the town office lobby as a drop-off point but the board was unsure where food items could be distributed. Selectman Allison Hepler offered to help Parr in her effort.

The meeting got under way with King asking for a moment of silence for Sherry Chadbourne, wife of selectman Dale Chadbourne. She died recently after a long illness.