Alna selectmen said Wednesday night, Jan. 20, they would have the codes enforcement officer and possibly Maine Department of Environmental Protection see if anything added to the Head Tide Dam site should not have been and, if so, how to address it.

If the bench should not be at the shore, it can be moved to higher ground, said resident Chris Kenoyer, who served on a committee that helped plan the site’s 2019 makeover. Third Selectman Greg Shute noted the bench was a request from the town, not Atlantic Salmon Federation, which did the dam project. As for gravel added due to erosion, Second Selectman Doug Baston said the planning board might have erred in allowing it, but if so he was unsure how to “unscramble that egg.”

Midcoast Conservancy Executive Director Lissa Widoff said the project was approved  “at all levels,” due largely to its net benefit, and the planning board and others had “full information.” She said the use of cobble and gravel in the landing area was no accident: Gravel washing downstream enhances the habitat, she said. Kenoyer explained, fish seek gravel to lay their eggs in. Also, the material used helped make for safe portage, he said. Widoff said the site work is not a reason to weaken the shoreland zoning ordinance. Ralph Hilton has said his proposed zoning change addresses inconsistencies in the ordinance.

Also Jan. 20, selectmen forwent an open town meeting for the annual town meeting in March. Instead, it will be referendum style, with budget and other items decided by ballot the same day as elections, like First Selectman Melissa Spinney said Pittston is doing. Selectmen discussed possibly holding it all on a Saturday, and said they will see if absentee voting could be allowed. In public comment, residents Tom Aldrich and Ed Pentaleri spoke in favor of a referendum for the same reason selectmen went on to cite: The pandemic. Meeting participants said cases are high, gatherings still have limits and some residents, especially unvaccinated ones, would, for safety, avoid an open meeting.

On the topic of Jeff Spinney’s shoreland work, Baston took issue with opponents’ letters to the editor referring to the intent of the shoreland zoning ordinance, and criticizing selectmen’s signing of a deal with Spinney. Baston said he contacted past planning board chair John Green. In a letter and speaking to the Zoom meeting, Green recalled helping draft the ordinance nearly 30 years ago and, on a section barring structures below the high water line, intending to ban permanent docks only.

Responding to a resident’s question, Baston said others who worked on the ordinance could also be asked what they recall.