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North Berwick selectmen approve minutes, supplemental tax certificates and warrants
Summary
At a regular meeting, the Town of North Berwick Board of Selectmen approved minutes and warrants, authorized supplemental tax certificates for a previously unassigned parcel, and granted an employee vacation exception; several planning and budget items were discussed but no binding action taken.
The Town of North Berwick Board of Selectmen approved routine business and several staff requests at its May meeting while taking up a string of planning and budget topics for future action.
The board voted to approve the April 21, 2026 meeting minutes as amended after a motion and second; the transcript records the minutes approval as "Passes 4 0." The board then considered a supplemental tax certificate for a parcel on Diamond Hill Road that had not previously been assigned to an owner. Town Manager Dwayne Moore said staff located the owner as Sunshine Goodwin and recommended sending supplemental tax notices to collect unpaid taxes for three years. Moore read the year-by-year amounts into the record: 2024 — $139.75; 2025 — $130.00; 2026 — $148.67. A motion to send a supplemental for account 2862 was made, seconded and recorded in the transcript as passing (the recorded line reads "Pass 5 0 40," which is ambiguous in text; the board approved the supplemental certificate in that same meeting).
The board approved a personnel request from recycling attendant Richard Anderson to carry forward an additional week of vacation beyond the policy‑permitted one-week roll‑forward; that motion was seconded and recorded as passing unanimously. Members also nominated and confirmed the town manager as the town representative to the regional Legislative Policy Committee for 2026–2028, and approved two warrants — $35,888.08 dated 04/28/2026 and $137,680.34 dated 05/05/2026 — by motion and second.
Several substantive topics were discussed without final action. Staff described a proposed amendment to the land‑use portion of the comprehensive plan to align zoning with recent state housing legislation; the manager said the draft will go to the planning board, be published for a 30‑day comment period and then scheduled for a public hearing and a possible November local option vote. The board also heard an extended discussion of proposed AI data centers and a nearby biochar/sludge facility, and reviewed preliminary school budget impacts tied to changes in the state EPS (Essential Programs and Services) funding formula.
The meeting concluded after the warrants were approved and a motion to adjourn was carried. The board indicated several of the discussed items — the comprehensive plan amendment, AI/data‑center zoning and school budget impacts — will return to future agendas for follow‑up.
