HARPSWELL

Here we go again.

Harpswell selectmen will have a special meeting today at 4 p.m. at the town office to discuss a petition to overturn the decision of residents at town meeting to demolish the Mitchell Field water tower.

At the March town meeting, residents were given two choices: Demolish the water tower, or allow a private entity to undertake the repair, upkeep and possible repurposing of the water tower. At that meeting, residents decided that the best course of action was to have the tower removed.

The petition, submitted to the town on April 20 and 26, effectively calls for a redo of that vote. It asks the town to repeal the March 30 vote to demolish the water tower and instead enter into a multi-year agreement with the newly formed Friends of Mitchell Field, the group that organized the petition efforts, to oversee the repairs of the tower and look into using it for cellphone services.

According to the town clerk, 435 signatures were submitted as part of the petition. A total of 351 were deemed valid, 44 more than the required 307.

The selectmen will be meeting today to discuss the petition and to go over their options with the town’s attorney.

“We have legal counsel coming,” said Town Administrator Kristi Eiane on Tuesday, “and I think part of that discussion will be for the selectmen to get a full understanding of what the next steps might be and what they need to consider.”

That petition drive was the cause of a contentious conversation at the last selectmen’s meeting, where Selectmen Kevin Johnson and Richard Daniel confronted Selectman David Chipman about his involvement with Friends of Mitchell Field and the petition. Chipman has been actively attempting to preserve the tower for years and has led multiple petition drives to stop its demolition.

Chipman noted that he had no official ties to the group, though he admitted he was active in its founding. Robert McIntyre, a member of the group’s board of directors, said in an email that while Chipman was a supporter of their efforts, he was not a founding member.

Chipman has insisted that there is no conflict of interest between his support of the group and his role on the board of selectmen. He has not recused himself from votes on the water tower.

nstrout@timesrecord.com