Comments Wiscasset selectmen and Town Manager Dennis Simmons had received ran 11-3 in favor of a letter of support for a bill naming the downtown railroad crossing for James Weldon Johnson. Wanting to ensure people knew about the proposal and had a chance to comment, the board on Feb. 18 put off considering the letter and planned a 6 p.m. March 5 public hearing at the town office.

That is one day after a state public hearing on the bill. But a March 5 local hearing and any board vote would likely still come before a state work session on it, the bill's submitter, Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, told the board via Zoom. She said the work sessions tend to be a couple weeks after the hearing. 

She could not promise it would be, but would ask, and she said she appreciated the town's effort to accommodate the bill's timeline. Ross noted this year is the 125th anniversary of the famous hymn Johnson wrote and brother J. Rosamond Johnson put to music, "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing." "We would like to be able to pass this bill in the same year as that historic anniversary," Ross said. James Weldon Johnson had been on a Maine visit when he died in a car-train crash at the crossing in 1938. 

The board and Simmons eyed holding the local hearing March 18, and Simmons commented it could be canceled if the legislature has by then moved ahead without the town's outcome.

To that, Ross cautioned, "When the legislature renames (something), it typically wants to hear from the town. And if the town is either not supportive or not weighing in, you will help contribute to killing this bill ... We certainly all want to honor your process, but again that could contribute to just outright killing the bill. I'm hoping that matters to you all as well."

Chair Sarah Whitfield said she was not comfortable with "killing it by default," but was also not comfortable voting without enough chance for public input. 

"I just kind of wanted a full (news)paper cycle, so that folks who aren't online and (aren't) on the selectboard (agenda) email list or they're not getting the email from the Wiscasset Newspaper, are aware."

"I'd just like to see that there are more people here to talk about it," Selectman Pam Dunning agreed.

Selectman Terry Heller said a wait on a board vote until after the state hearing could suggest to the legislature there is hesitation from the town. "It doesn't speak well for the bill. I'm a little distressed that ... there are so many peopke who actually know about this ... they read the article ... and we have what, 11 people in favor and ... three opposed. To me, that speaks. There's many hearings we've had where nobody comes."

The board and Simmons looked for an earlier date, one that would meet newspaper advertising deadlines for the local hearing notice. They settled on March 5, a date they were already planning to meet for budget talks. 

Residents' statements favoring naming the crossing for the poet-diplomat-civil rights advocate noted Johnson's and the site's historic significance. Statements opposing included a desire to honor locals of historic significance, including veterans, and not to have more sites honoring one noble man now that the common has a bench in his honor. 

Whitfield read aloud all the comments received via email. Fourth generation Wiscasset resident Nancy Roby wrote she wholeheartedly agrees with naming the railroad crossing for Johnson. "This is part of history and should be recognized. It will help more people to learn about him, and could also bring people to town to see the location of his death. If I'd known about this years ago, I could have asked my grandparents about it. I'm sure they were right there working on Water Street when it happened."

Simmons relayed two of the no's. He said Michelle Wentworth said she and husband Sky "are against this (only) because we already have a memorial bench (for Johnson) and they feel that these memorials ... can partly be getting out of hand, because of the number of requests that we have had in the last couple years."

Also Feb. 18, the board named Frederick Quivey and Alissa Eason to the ​economic development advisory committee; Simmons said the new town website at wiscasset.gov goes live March 4; Police Chief Lawrence Hesseltine recognized Officer Jonathan Barnes' work on a shooting case from last summer, finding the suspect and building other cases that led to several arrests; Hesseltine recognized Officer Nathan Willhoite for getting trained to instruct officers in-house about firearms and tasers and, when other officers are away at academy, stepping up to make sure the town still has 24/7 police coverage; and Hesseltine recognized Administrative Assistant Calliope Fairservice as "probably the single most important person at the PD. She keeps everything running smoothly" and supports other departments, he added.  

Simmons praised Wiscasset Emergency Medical Services Chief Erin Bean's months' long participation in a LeaderGov (leadergov.com) leadership program. "Erin has invested a lot of time in herself so (that) she can invest a lot of her time in others ... This is an up and coming person right here ...," Simmons, a fellow responder and past Wiscasset EMS chief, said in handing Bean a plaque from the Georgia company.