The Damariscotta Board of Selectmen on March 15 approved hiring Jason Warlick as interim police chief. The board held off on a formal search for a new permanent chief. Selectmen gave no reason for that decision, which followed a brief executive session.

Warlick has been supervising the day-to-day activities at the department. After Chief Ron Young resigned, Warlick was named to be interim chief, pending approval by the selectmen.

Warlick will get $3 more per hour more than he was earning as a sergeant; the pay will be retroactive to when he took over day-to-day duties after Young was placed on administrative leave in January.

Selectmen heard from Austin Turner of Bohler Engineering. He is planning a small business development containing a Dollar General and a Sherman Williams store at the corner of Biscay Road and Business Route One. Regarding sidewalks, Turner said he was authorized to offer the town or the state land to construct a sidewalk on Biscay Road and on Business Route One, and would pay for the construction. This was one of the major sticking points in the deliberations between the Planning Board, which was in attendance, and the developer. Both the planning and select boards were receptive. “The plan seems logical, common sense, and even elegant,” Selectman James Cosgrove said.

Selectmen agreed to complete the portion of the sidewalk from Biscay Road to Great Salt Bay School, along Route 1B; the project could be aided by a grant to help children get to school safely.

The board delayed the Belevedere Extension paving project near Route One until the Maine Department of Transportation safety audit is complete; approved the application for a grant for improvements to Biscay Beach to separate swimmers from boats; accepted funds for safety barricades for public events such as Pumpkinfest; and discussed a business development conference planned by the Rotary Club. No date was announced.