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Select Board presses for workshop, legal steps as Bath boundary dispute looms
Summary
Select Board members urged a workshop and legal action to resolve a decades-old boundary dispute with Bath. Staff were asked to notify representatives and prepare Superior Court paperwork under statute 2852 to pause contested filings.
The West Bath Select Board returned repeatedly to a long-running boundary dispute with neighboring Bath, with members saying the town should not quietly wait while legal or political moves reshape the line.
A board member noted the town has received no recent update from attorneys and urged a workshop to review facts on the ground and a fuller record. That speaker said an uncontested filing could let the other town effectively change a boundary and recommended notifying state representatives immediately to register West Bath’s objection.
The board discussed several pathways: asking the legislature to take up a boundary adjustment, pursuing arbitration, and triggering the procedure under statute 2852 to notify the Superior Court that a dispute exists and thereby pause related actions. One member asked staff to have Kristen, the town’s legal representative, prepare 2852 paperwork and to email representatives to place the dispute on the record.
Select Board members also asked for the survey work to be completed and for GPS coordinates to be added to the town’s files so the physical line can be shown to legislators and mediators. A volunteer who had served on the planning and appeals boards urged the board to gather subdivision records and prior approvals before any workshop so the board can evaluate costs, legal work and historical documents during deliberations.
No final decision to pursue arbitration or an emergency legislative bill was recorded; board members settled on preparing necessary paperwork, notifying representatives, and scheduling a workshop on the issue after the town meeting so elected officials and residents can review the facts and next steps.
