The board had voted in December to support the timber company's request to rezone 426,000 acres in the Moosehead Lake region so it can develop 975 house lots, a campground and resorts. The vote came as an add-on and was not an item listed on the agenda.

The fact that a vote was made without public comment created flak and caused the board to reconsider their vote last month. The discussion to revisit the issue and the ensuing vote of 3-2 to rescind the earlier vote came at the close of a meeting and was not an agenda item.

"I think the board did absolutely the right thing; they corrected something they did in haste," Greenville resident Loren Ritchie said Wednesday, at a selectmen's meeting. "I think it opened up some good discussion."

Others agreed with Ritchie, saying that they felt "disenfranchised" by the board's vote to support the plan, especially when questions remain unanswered. The fact that the endorsement came with little forewarning gave a perception that the board might be "catering" more to Plum Creek than the people the board represents, Rockwood resident Suzanne AuClair said.

Local resident Scott Hersey said the board took the right action the first time around. "I think that we're not going to have a perfect plan ... but I think we should work with honey instead of vinegar," he said at the board meeting.

Also taking exception to the board's latest action was Selectman Burton Whitman, one of two selectmen who voted not to rescind the vote of support. He stressed that his disapproval was not for the issue, but for the board's action. "I feel as though when a board rescinds a vote, it has a tendency to weaken a board and that concerns me," he said.

The move to reconsider the vote came at the suggestion of Selectman Dan McLaughlin who said it was clear from the "scoping sessions" held on the proposed plan by the Land Use Regulatory Commission that residents still had unanswered questions, so he felt that the board's vote to support the plan might have been a bit premature.

The fact that the board did vote to revoke its support for the plan prompted one-on-one meetings in Greenville a few days later between Seattle representatives of Plum Creek and selectmen.

"There was no big conspiracy going on," Chairwoman Bonnie DuBien said Wednesday of the closed-door sessions.

While some board members said they received the answers to questions they had about the plan during these one-on-one meetings, others like Selectman Carroll Smith did not.

"They [Plum Creek] didn't want to get into specifics; they just wanted to talk generalities," he said on Wednesday.

Nor was McLaughlin satisfied. Many issues were raised during the session that Plum Creek had not thought of, he said. McLaughlin said he learned that the plan submitted to LURC is "modifiable," but noted he had no clear understanding about how the request will be handled by the agency. He suggested that forums should be held in Greenville to further discuss the plan before a vote is taken by LURC.

In a related matter Wednesday, the board voted 3-2 to support a resolution that states that town officials are working to foster growth in both tourism and industry. The vote was prompted by statements made by McLaughlin to a local newspaper regarding the direction the town is taking in economic development.

McLaughlin defended his media comments saying there is the perception in the community that Town Manager John Simko has focused more of his time on industrial park ventures and has let tourism slide. He said town officials must attract industry that "fits in" so it does not harm the quality of the region or detract from that wilderness feeling that tourists so desire.

Taking umbrage with McLaughlin's statements, Simko was quick to point out he had worked to improve both sectors, a fact that was confirmed by other town officials at the meeting. Simko said a major downtown revitalization project was completed. He also noted that he serves on tourism-related committees and volunteers and promotes several local events.

Code Enforcement Officer Richard Gould, who lives in Greenville, said Simko has brought more development into the community than anyone that he knew.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Friday, September 09, 2005 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."