A scheduled meeting between Edgecomb’s select and planning boards didn’t occur last week. The selectmen planned on sending a representative to the planning board’s Nov. 19 meeting, but canceled it earlier in the day.

Planning Board Chairman Jack French informed the planning board that he’d met earlier with his select board counterpart Jack Sarmanian. The two met for coffee. They had a lengthy discussion about the proposed new, municipal website and the recent illness of the code enforcement officer.

During the conversation, Sarmanian told French that the selectmen weren’t prepared to discuss the new municipal website.

“He (Sarmanian) asked me to tone it down and stop being so aggressive in pursuing the website issue,” French told the planning board during that night’s meeting.

Sarmanian confirmed Friday that he’d met with French. He explained the selectmen needed more information before meeting with the planning board. The selectmen want more details about the website’s form and content before asking voters for funding.

“He told me we’d talk more about it at a future selectmen’s meeting,” French said.

The planning board has proposed holding a special town meeting for several months to secure funding for a new website. The board has complained for several months about the current website’s limitations.

The selectmen also want a new, municipally owned website, but they believe it’s important to quantify all the details before asking for taxpayers’ approval.

“We’re just trying to slow things down until we know what we need for the website,” Sarmanian said.

According to planning board officials, one of the current website’s limiting factors is its ownership. The  website is owned by former selectman Stuart Smith. He initiated the website 15 years ago.

French believes the lack of a municipally owned website leaves the town at the owner’s mercy. Smith lost his bid for re-election in May. French said the website hasn’t been properly updated since the election.

“Since Stuart left, nothing has been up-to-date. He kept it updated for all those years, but since he lost the election, he’s stopped doing it,” French said.

Smith has operated the website without being compensated for the past four years. He pays all fees related to the domain name and hosting the site. On Monday, Smith reported the planning and select board’s secretaries are responsible for posting agendas, minutes and other information on the website.

The planning board also believes a new website with expanded offerings is important due to the limited municipal office hours. The office is open three days per week for 10 hours.

During their conversation, French explained to Sarmanian that the limited town office hours and lack of an updated website create a hardship for both residents and planning board members. Residents can’t find information online so they call planning board members.

French estimates he receives 6-10 calls a week.

“I get these calls with people asking simple little questions. They can’t go to the municipal office because it’s closed. And they can’t go to the website because the information is not there,” French said.

Sarmanian expects the selectmen to discuss the website on Monday, but not with the planning board or Website Committee.

“We’re still exploring several options and need to know what direction we’re going to take before discussing it with the planning board. Once we know more about its content then we’ll talk about paying for it,” Sarmanian said.

The planning board may not wait for a new, municipally owned website before putting updated information on a web page. The board discussed financing its own website  The planning board has received estimates between $802 to $2,820 to establish its own page. French said the board can self-fund the proposal. 

He estimated the board has $3,500 remaining from its annual $9,000 operating budget. The board wants to hire a firm which specializes in municipal website design and operation.

“Funding isn’t the problem,” said Planning Board Vice Chairman Barry Hathorne. “I’m not sure we can enter into a long-term agreement without voter approval.”

The planning board may choose another option. The board is considering using another donated website. Residents Jarryl Larson and Byron Johnson have offered the use of a domain name at no cost.  Larson has worked with the planning board for over a year in assembling information about a new website.

The couple has also offered to maintain the site at no charge.

The planning board will meet next at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 in the municipal building.