On March 5 the bleachers of the Island Community Center were pulled away from the walls and into the middle of the basketball court to seat more than 60 people at Stonington’s annual town meeting,
the first for new Town Manager Howard Willinghan. On the warrant were 73 articles requesting support to meet municipal needs and community organizations.
There was discussion over the possibility of the town providing insurance for the selectmen. Several community members said that if the town provided such insurance, it should also cover the benefits of each committee and its members. It was suggested that in the future if the Selectmen’s stipend was raised, then they would be able to buy into their own insurance programs. This article was the only one dropped from the warrant.
Funding for the Colwell Ramp, a piece of property jointly owned by the Towns of Stonington and Isle au Haut, also generated considerable debate. A committee has been in a stalemate for months over how to deal with the dilapidated wharf and superstructure in Stonington Harbor.
Earlier in the day, voters went to the polls to vote for selectmen, school board, and the Stonington Sanitary District. Incumbent selectman John Robbins ran unopposed for his three-year term while Steven Robbins III won in the race for a unique one-year position left vacant when former selectman John Steed moved to Deer Isle. In the election for Stonington Sanitary District, Henry Jost ran unopposed and was elected to a three-year term for trustee. There was a tie for write-in candidates Christina Shipps and Heather Mathews for a second position. Shipps, who had previously chaired the committee, said she was not interested and Matthews was willing to serve and was declared the elected trustee.
The community voted to raise and appropriate $1,136,314, and the meeting ended shortly after 7 p.m., making for one of the shortest and smoothest annual meetings in recent memory.
Annie Tselikis is an Island Institute Fellow on Deer Isle.