Select Board renews lodging committee members as committee applicants urge stronger short-term rental rules

The Wells Select Board on July 1 approved term renewals for several members of the Lodging Facility Advisory Committee and heard multiple applicants describe the committee’s work and the need to update short-term rental and lodging rules.

Atana Wells, an applicant and member of the lodging industry who appeared before the board, told the Select Board the committee’s aims should include “maintain[ing] public safety, share[ing] infrastructure costs of police, fire, and public works between taxpayers and the industry, and maintain[ing] the economic environment created by lodging facilities in the town of Wells.” Wells said the committee can help update short-term rental rules but should avoid acting as “a trade association to the benefit of its members.”

Several other applicants and current committee members spoke in favor of stronger safety standards and clearer regulation. Sharon Myers, who said she is a short-term rental owner and certified safety inspector, told the board her primary concern is “health and safety” in older generational cottages that are rented out. David Quist and other committee members described technology and compliance improvements the committee has pursued, including monitoring tools and better license application processes.

Why it matters: The town is actively re-examining its short-term rental policies amid changes in lodging types and operations. Committee members and applicants uniformly emphasized safety, fairness and better data/technology for enforcement and education.

What the board did and next steps - The Select Board voted in executive session to renew multiple members’ terms: Katie Kelly, Sharon Myers, Carol Desjardins, David Quist (lodging committee renewals), and veterans-committee renewals that were also announced publicly later in the meeting (see Actions). The board announced and confirmed the renewals after the executive session. - Applicants and committee members asked the board for continued support to update definitions and code sections that do not reflect varied lodging types (hotels, cottage rentals, Airbnbs, campgrounds) and to plan practical enforcement and education given limited town inspection resources. - Several applicants requested clarity on conflicts of interest. The board explicitly asked industry members whether they could separate private interests from town‑facing duties; applicants stated they believe they can and stressed they want regulations to be fair and uniformly enforced.

Selected quotes “I’m actually one of the biggest outspoken proponents of regulating the short term rental industry because it needs to be fair. It needs to be safe,” applicant Atana Wells said. “We have a long history of short-term rentals in Wells,” Wells added, noting multi-generational rental properties and saying the town needs education and regulation calibrated to small-town enforcement capacity.

Speakers - Atana Wells — lodging industry applicant and committee member - Sharon Myers — lodging committee member and certified safety inspector - David Quist — lodging committee member - Katie Kelly, Carol Desjardins, Rhonda Cole, Bryce Waldrop, Carl Shoemaker, Kevin Campbell — applicants/committee members who appeared; their renewals were approved after executive session

Clarifying details - Committee work described: improvements to the lodging application, outreach to property owners on basic safety items (CO/smoke detectors), and preliminary code-definition work. - Enforcement work described: monitoring door activity for compliance, running reports for sign-ins at the Nautical Mile (example cited by David Quist).

Searchable tags: lodging, short-term-rentals, committee-renewals, safety, licensing