When the towns of Newcastle and Damariscotta put together a committee to look over the shared harbor, they did so with the intent of listening to said committee, Newcastle Selectman Pat Hudson said.

That was her problem with the revised harbor ordinance that came before the board during its Monday, March 9 meeting in Newcastle.

“The ordinance we're looking at is not the same one the harbor committee approved,” she said. “Damariscotta's town manager made amendments (to the ordinance).”

The board agreed unanimously to table the hearing on the changes to the ordinance until it has time to review the original copy. According to Hudson, Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus amended the ordinance in regards to who is classified as an employee of the town.

The two towns have an interlocal agreement in place where it concerns the harbor currently, but are seeking to adjust each town's responsibilities.

Previously, Damariscotta and Newcastle had a board comprising residents of both towns on the harbor committee, and a lot of the functions, such as mooring registration, were split between the two towns. Should the ordinances pass, Newcastle would take over harbor dealings, while Damariscotta would assume shellfish ordinance responsibilities.

The issue surrounds who would be listed as a town employee while doing harbor work. The original ordinance would label the workers as town employees, with all that that entails.

Newcastle town attorney Peter Drum said removing that part of the ordinance undermines the board.

“It's my understanding that a town manager cannot unilaterally overrule a committee — there's no legal precedent,” he said. “It would seem to me, you have a committee to weigh-in (on issues such as this).”

In regards to whether or not those who work in some capacity in the harbor are employees, Drum said that it was hard to not call them employees, unless they were volunteering their time.

The issue will be brought back before the board at its next meeting, once the board has had an opportunity to review the original ordinance. The Damariscotta board of selectmen approved both the harbor and the shellfish ordinances.

In other ordinance news, the town will likely add to its adult-themed business ordinance when it revamps its land use ordinance. Drum said the planning board was watching the situation with a person who reportedly wanted to open an adult-themed business in the Midcoast but was arrested.