FREEPORT – The Freeport Town Council was in the unusual position this week of interviewing candidates for a position during open session.

The meeting Tuesday night at the Town Hall took place after the Tri-Town Weekly’s publication deadline.

Three of the four seats on the RSU Withdrawal Committee are filled, and required little deliberation from the Town Council because they were the only volunteers from their respective bodies – the council itself, the Regional School Unit 5 board and Moving Freeport Forward, which filed the petition that set the withdrawal process in motion.

But there are four candidates for the fourth seat, which goes to an at-large member of the Freeport community. Because it is a volunteer position, the Town Council has proceeded cautiously regarding freedom-of-access laws, and were scheduled to interview the four candidates Tuesday night with three written questions, including why each was interested in the position.

A newly formed Town Council Appointments Committee chose from among Jane Bradley, Dennis King, Frederick Palmer and John Paterson. Council Chairman James Hendricks, Vice Chairwoman Kristina Egan and Sarah Tracy make up the Appointments Committee.

Kate Werner, Rich DeGrandpre and Peter Murray will take their positions on the committee when it first meets later this month, at a date to be determined. Werner is the representative from Moving Freeport Forward, the group that gathered the signatures that led to the vote to explore withdrawal on Dec. 17. DeGrandpre is the Town Council representative, and Murray will represent RSU 5.

Each of the first three appointments has publicly supported Freeport’s withdrawal from the RSU.

DeGrandpre said he has opposed the RSU since its inception in 2009, when former Gov. John Baldacci mandated that the towns consolidate their school units.

“When we were asked to consolidate,” DeGrandpre said, “I was very, very vocal. I said, ‘No we can do better.’”

It’s not that Durham and Pownal are “bad neighbors,” DeGrandpre said.

“But the state had everything cast in concrete,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that are broken in this plan now, and they were destined to be broken. This is a good time to examine whether we are better off together or apart.”

RSU 5 Board Chairman Nelson Larkins will convene the first meeting of the Withdrawal Committee later this month.

Phil Saucier, a lawyer for the town, guided the council through its Jan. 7 meeting, advising councilors on matters of freedom of access and the interview process for the at-large candidate. Saucier said he specializes in the Freedom of Information Act.

“There aren’t a lot of ways that you can have these kinds of conversations outside of public meetings,” Saucier said.

Saucier added that the council could exchange emails in a “limited way, for non-substantive matters.”

Councilor Andy Wellen said that public transparency trumps the importance of council collaboration in this matter.

“I just don’t see where we can have both,” Wellen said.

Tracy outlined some general guidelines the council could use in choosing the committee member, including an “open-minded” candidate with “no entrenched position.” The candidate’s personal opinion should not dictate the outcome of the committee’s deliberations, Tracy added, and there should be no conflict of interest, “perceived or real.”

Tracy went on to say that she might recuse herself from the vote on the committee appointment. Her husband, Alan, spoke last year on behalf of Moving Freeport Forward.

“This is probably one of the most important appointments the council will make,” she said.

Later, Town Manager Peter Joseph emphasized the importance of the town helping the Withdrawal Committee in any way it can, including with resources. Joseph said he didn’t mind putting in a little extra time of his own, if the need arises. Hendricks said earlier that as the time approaches to develop budgets, Joseph’s time would be needed for that.

“This is one year of a capital budget,” Joseph said. “We are trying to make a decision as to what this town is going to do with education for many years to come.”

Once Larkins convenes the first withdrawal committee meeting, the committee will elect a chairman. The committee then will begin negotiating with RSU 5 on terms of a possible withdrawal. A second vote of Freeport residents is necessary for withdrawal to take place.