"I want to be very, very clear ...," Wiscasset Selectmen's Chair Sarah Whitfield said Nov. 5. The timber harvesting contract the board was nodding that night for Herman-based Gary M. Pomeroy Logging Inc. is not for clear-cutting, Whitfield said. She said she was making the point, "just because I don't want this rumor out there."

"This is maintenance only," Town Manager Dennis Simmons said.

"And also for the good of the property (for) its stewardship ...," Selectman Terry Heller added.

In June, the board agreed to have Pomeroy take steps toward a harvest at the town’s Old Ferry Road property. Simmons said then, the goal was to preserve the property’s value and maybe make some money off the harvest. According to that June 4 discussion, due to wetlands and other features, the harvest could include about 198 of the 297 acres and, of that 198, about 40% of the trees might be harvested, with which ones are cut being based on improving the forest’s health.

The unsigned contract released ahead of the Nov. 5 meeting had no total dollar estimate on what the town will get; the document noted the rates could change based on market conditions. The document listed rates ranging from $140 per thousand board feet for pine logs and $100 per thousand board feet for spruce and fir logs, to firewood at $25 per cord.

On a question from Selectman James Andretta, Simmons said work will not start until the ground is frozen, "definitely not until at least the end of December/into January."

Also Nov. 5, selectmen once more nodded the town's tax deal reached with Maine Yankee last month. "Any further discussion? Let's not," Whitfield said smiling and shaking her head at the prospect.

"Please no," Selectman Pam Dunning and then Simmons each said as laughs broke out. The vote to execute the deal ran 5-0, with Whitfield and Heller each raising both their hands.

The tentative deal announced Oct. 8 valued the Maine Yankee Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation and its Bailey Point land at $80 million; a prior, 20-year agreement had a final valuation of $30 million.

Simmons said now that the Old Ferry Road culvert replacement project is done, that span meets the federal definition of a bridge, so he will ask the state to take responsibility for it "from here on out."

The board nodded a document relating to the town's request to Lincoln County for $240,000 in American Rescue Plan Act, affordable housing funds for a planning consultant for the town's Old Ferry Road acreage that once was Maine Yankee's.

Wawenock LLC reported the windows were almost done being installed in its Main Street building, and then custom-milled window trim will be added. "Starting to look nice," Dunning said. "Yeah. It's getting there," Whitfield said. 

In public comment, resident Marie Reinhardt urged people to consider wildlife and the environment before clear-cutting on their properties, or "cluttering" the village with political and other signs. On the environmental concerns, Whitfield suggested Reinhardt could speak with Climate Action Committee Chair Cassaundra Rose. Education is one of the committee's goals, Whitfield explained.

As for signs, Simmons said he was already going to refer that ordinance back to the ordinance review committee for an update. "There are a couple parts of it that are no longer constitutional that we need to deal with. So that would be a good time for some input ...," he told Reinhardt.