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Select Board delays decision on Lab Rec Center ordinance amid governance, liability and budget questions
Summary
The board discussed a draft ordinance and budget arrangement for the Lab Rec Center (referred to in the packet as LRC/LAD) and debated whether the center should operate as a town department or under an operating agreement/independent entity. The board tabled the matter for further workgroup discussions and legal review; the LRC board said the draft reflects how it has operated for decades.
Select board members debated how the Lab Rec Center should be governed and funded after the Lab Rec Center board submitted a draft ordinance. The central disagreement was whether the center should be a town department under town control or operate under an operating agreement or as an independent nonprofit that contractually runs programs.
Several board members said making it a town department would impose town control and statutory requirements (including appointment processes and access requirements), while others said the center’s preference and historical practice is to remain self-governing and privately organized. The Lab Rec Center representative said the draft ordinance reflects how the board has operated for about 50 years and that the center is open to refinements in board composition and appointment processes.
Board members raised liability and budget accounting concerns: town payments for Lab Rec Center programs are written by the town but not consistently reflected in the town’s budget; legal advice from Maine Municipal Association (MMA) suggested the town should amend financial policy and not rely on special revenue funds that the select board cannot unilaterally create. The manager and town counsel were asked to clarify employment, liability and bookkeeping arrangements.
Several board members recommended a smaller workgroup or subgroup meeting with rec center representatives to reconcile different perspectives and produce a single redlined draft before sending it to town lawyers. With only three board members present the board agreed to table the ordinance discussion until a meeting with a full board.
