Citing family and other commitments, Wiscasset Town Manager John O’Connell announced Tuesday night he is resigning, and offered, should the board wish, to stay on until the first week in June to help out until the annual town meeting.

O’Connell said in his letter, he had completed the first year of his contract and had decided not to accept the automatic second year term. “I have appreciated the strong support of the Board for the past twelve months and have found the job to be both interesting and challenging,” he wrote. “During that time I think it is safe to say that I have learned a lot about the town and its inhabitants.” He wished the town a prosperous future.

After a short executive session, selectmen accepted his resignation with regret.

During the open session, Susan Robson of the Waterfront Committee outlined changes to the pier policies and proposed application. The committee asked that the town not accept funds from potential pier businesses until they were approved by the committee and were following all procedures. A discussion about electrical metering arose, and selectmen tabled approval of the policies and the application for two weeks until an electrician could provide an estimate to have each building attached to its own electrical supply.

The Ordinance Review Committee submitted a memo saying the ORC is working on an ordinance for congregate living properties, to accommodate a multi-age proposal at the former primary school. The committee also told selectmen that to establish marijuana ordinances, the town would have to vote to opt in to the Medical Marijuana Act, the Recreational Marijuana Act, or both. Selectmen voted to place the matter on the June ballot.

Selectmen agreed to follow Federal Aviation Administration guidelines and terminate the lease of Don Falvey, see if anyone is interested in a lease, break the lease area into three  parcels, and use the fee structure the town set several years ago, clearing from the books other values or fees set years ago, legally or not. New lease agreements must assess the lease’s value based on the published, board-approved fees. New leases will have a clearly defined end date and stipulate that development of the property must begin within one year.

Five new business licenses were approved: Rebecca Fox, doing business as Creature Comforts Flowers, at 236 Bath Road; Suzanne Sukeforth, doing business as The Hair Garage, at 20 Sukie Lane; Lenny Santos and Tarah Diffin, doing business at The Hot Spot Diner, 277 Bath Road, at the former Ship’s Chow Hall; Dale Holman, doing business as Eagle ATM, LLC, at 49 Water St.; and Chandler Sowden and Zack Goodwin, doing business as In A Silent Way, at 65 Main St.

Selectmen approved allowing O’Connell to select the most qualified bid among three for the annual independent financial auditing services provider.

O’Connell mentioned a need to firm up rules about sidewalk clearing, citing the Bath city sidewalk ordinance as a model. That ordinance requires property owners to remove snow from sidewalks within four hours after a storm ends, or by 10 a.m. if the storm is overnight. He announced the town is again being sued for granting a firework license to Big Al’s; and announced a water leak in the municipal building that required removing some drywall. O’Connell said that during the work, floor replacement that was delayed will be completed.