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Old Place Dam Management District faces board vacancies; council advised on limited intervention options
Summary
Board members told the council that the Old Place Dam Management District will be short-staffed after several officers resign, and council legal staff advised that the town’s ability to step in is limited without an ordinance change.
Board members of the Old Place Dam Management District told the council they expect to lose the assessor, collector and the chairperson after the upcoming annual meeting, leaving few or no officials to manage the dam and collect assessment fees.
The district representative said members had explored hiring an outside agency to handle administration and collections but that the board needed to determine next steps. Town counsel and staff explained the district’s ordinance (section cited in discussion) gives the board authority — including the ability to hire a collector — provided the board votes unanimously; the council itself has limited power to act without amending the district ordinance.
Council legal staff noted that the district can still function with a small number of members (no broad quorum requirement beyond unanimous consents for some actions), and that a unanimous vote of the remaining members could authorize hiring an outside collector to process fees. Council members encouraged the board to investigate interim management options and to return with proposed steps; no takeover or ordinance change was adopted at the meeting.
