Woolwich officials haven’t reached a consensus on a recreational marijuana ordinance. The select board discussed several ideas with the planning board at a workshop Tuesday evening. To be determined is whether the town will support the future licensing and sale of recreational marijuana, or propose a six-month moratorium in hopes the state will furnish additional oversight.

“I’ve never seen the state handle anything as poorly as they have this,” commented Chair David King Sr. “This whole recreational marijuana issue just continues to go around and around.”

Two months ago, the two boards discussed conducting a town-wide survey to get an idea on where the community stood. But Greg Buczkowski, chair of the planning board, said surveys in Edgecomb seemed to contradict one another. He suggested another way of getting input might be to hold informational sessions and take a straw vote possibly at the annual town meeting.

The select board agreed community input was needed before moving ahead with any proposed zoning or ordinance changes.

“The June election might be a better time to put the question out there,” Selectman Jason Shaw suggested. If the select board ops to stick with a survey, it will likely be mailed out with property tax bills. Only residents with a Woolwich zip code would get the survey.

By deciding to “opt in” the state has promised towns and cities will have greater regulatory authority over businesses engaged in the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes, registered dispensaries and manufacturing facilities. State law prevents municipalities from prohibiting or limiting the number of medical marijuana caregivers.

Before the meeting broke up, King floated the idea of proposing a six-month moratorium for voters to consider at the May annual town meeting. He said it could be written by the town attorney to allow the select board to extend it after six months.

“It’s entirely up to the townspeople which way they want to go on this,” he added.

The future of Woolwich’s ambulance service will be discussed at an informational meeting tentatively scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5 in the Woolwich Central School cafeteria.

EMS Director Brian Carlton and Fire Chief Mike Demers will explain three different options for providing ambulance coverage along with financial information.

For many years, the town has relied on community volunteers and North East Mobile Health for providing 24/7 ambulance coverage. The town’s contract with North East Mobile Health of Topsham expires in June and won’t be renewed. One option involves expanding the town’s EMS department to provide all of the town’s ambulance coverage needs.

Town Clerk Chelsea Lane said dogs’ licenses are coming due. Dogs registered after Jan. 31 will be subject to a $25 late fee, in addition to the registration fee ($6 for altered dogs, $11 for unaltered).

To register your dog, please bring proof of current rabies vaccination (and altered status, if applicable) to the Town Office during business hours. You can also register dogs online through the State of Maine at https://www1.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/dog_license/index.p.