Alna masks up

Alna selectmen have decided, if someone, vaccinated or not, and not legally exempt from face coverings, enters a building the town owns, for now they must wear one. If they don’t, the person in charge may close the building; the meeting may adjourn temporarily and law enforcement may be asked to remove the person, according to the policy the board passed Aug. 19.

Selectmen plan to review it at least once a month for possible changes. The policy states it is due to “the rise of COVID-19 cases in Lincoln County and based on guidance from the Federal and Maine Centers for Disease Control.”

Third Selectman Charles Culbertson told the meeting’s in-person and Zoom attendees, people should be paying attention to the Delta variant’s rise, and the virus was “nothing to mess around with ... I think we’re doing the right thing.” Residents Cathy Johnson and Mark DesMeules concurred. “I think it’s very important and very responsible ... of you,” DesMeules said.

Also Aug. 19, the board said to expect a followup workshop on the ordinance issues discussed Aug. 12. Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission’s Emily Rabbe will work the feedback into possible amendments. After the second workshop, a draft will go to town counsel “to ensure the final result is legal, as well as consistent and enforceable,” Culbertson said. 

The board does not know when the town will vote on a proposal.

Based on former road commissioner Mike Trask’s and other attendees’ feedback on Cross Road’s needs and how to possibly address and fund them, selectmen said they would work further on a request for proposals. Trask said the extent of the project will depend on how much the town wants to spend, but one section needs rebuilding. “If you’re just going to grind the road and put new pavement down, it’s going to do the same thing,” he said.