Wiscasset selectmen on Tuesday received the summary of the audit, now complete, for fiscal year 2017. The audit for FY 2018 will begin this week.

The auditors, of the William Brewer III firm, said they provided the audit to the Maine Department of Education to keep the schools’ funding coming. The audit added the school funds to the unallocated fund balance, giving the town more funds to begin the fiscal year. Since the funds belong to the schools, the town will have to provide them when the schools need them; that would likely be after tax funds begin to come in.

The board heard an update on the ship, Minesweeper, which sank in a storm in early January in the Sheepscot River. Harbormaster Levon Travis said he spoke to many state and federal agencies, and believes the final responsibility lies with owner Chris Morrison, who said he is financially unable to raise the vessel. Travis has received bids for buoys to warn pleasure vessels, but Town Manager Marian Anderson said the town can’t afford the $1,000 for the markers. The town’s harbor ordinance would allow the town to sue Morrison, and hold him criminally accountable for having a derelict vessel untended underwater – a Class E crime that could result in a year in jail. Police Chief Jeff Lange said he could issue a citation, but he said it is more likely Morrison would be fined.

A local lien could be used to pressure Morrison to raise the vessel, Anderson said. The estimated cost to remove the ship is about $16,000. Since the town does not own the ship, it cannot undertake the project without Morrison’s cooperation. In the meantime, the vessel does not pose a grave threat to navigation, as it is not in the shipping channel. Unless it drifts into the shipping lane, the Coast Guard will not take responsibility for it.

The Bureau of Parks and Public Lands may be contacted  if selectmen deem the vessel abandoned. The Bureau could then order that the ship be salvaged, with five percent of the value going to the Bureau and 95 percent going to the third party that raises the ship. Lange and Travis said they are looking into all options.

The board learned the second bridge to White’s Island has collapsed. Anderson said  the Conservation Commission is working with the Maine Heritage Trust to obtain a grant to rebuild or repair the bridge.

Leslie Roberts has been named to the Historic Preservation Commission. The town has agreed to work with the Coastal Humane Society in Lincoln County for animal shelter services. The town also approved the business license of Peter Eaton and Joan Brownstein, doing business as Antiques and Art at 8 Federal St.

Lange announced the resignation of newly hired police officer Allen Tarrance, who has taken a new job with the Maine National Guard. Tarrance had planned to take a military leave of absence, but decided instead to resign. He will continue to serve Wiscasset as a reserve officer.

The Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its kayak regatta June 30. The race will run along the Sheepscot River from Newcastle to the Recreational Pier. The event will have music and several food trucks. The town will provide 220 electricity for a small fee.

The town is asking residents with overgrown shrubs and trees encroaching on sidewalks to trim their plants back or have public works do it.

The meeting was Jeff Slack’s on the board. He received its thanks. The board will meet at 6 p.m. June 14 to elect officers and get acquainted with the new member or members.