From left, Planning Board Secretary Jamie McKechnie, Town Clerk Michelle Beedy, and Selectmen Jeffrey Allen and Seth Webber meet on Monday, Sept. 9, for the Board of Selectmen meeting at the Town Office in New Vineyard. Leo Goddard/Franklin Journal

NEW VINEYARD – During the Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday, Sept. 9, Planning Board Secretary Jamie McKechnie approached selectmen with concerns about the processes being used by the Planning Board.

“Things are just a big old mess,” McKechnie said. She claimed that there were multiple instances where things were being pushed through without the formality of votes and ordinances were not being followed. McKechnie presented the selectmen with a packet of information on the issues she was seeing and some examples.

One example McKechnie shared with the board was a permit draft that had been voted on and approved by the Planning Board but afterward, had been slightly changed without approval. She said that the changes were sent in a casual email when they should have been voted upon.

Selectman Jeffrey Allen said that he wasn’t concerned with the changes, as it was just adding information to the permit, but that he understood McKechnie’s concern.

“This is a minor example of a major issue,” McKechnie said.

Allen said that as long as the Planning Board was following state guidelines, there was nothing that the Select Board could do about it. McKechnie argued that the Planning Board was not following those guidelines. Allen still held the stance that the Select Board had no jurisdiction over the matter.

After reviewing all of the documents, there was a discussion over the requirements for building permits. Town Clerk Michelle Beedy had to search through records to compare the documents. There was mutual confusion over which version of the ordinance was the correct one and Allen thought it possible that one of the versions may have been written and used without going through the proper channels. This brought McKechnie back to her initial claim that ordinances were not being followed.

This conversation lasted for about an hour and a half with Allen reiterating the same message, that the Select Board had no authority over the Planning Board. “We’re staying out of it,” he said.

McKechnie asked who she could talk to about this issue if not the Select Board. There was no clear answer. Unsatisfied with this, she passed out copies of her resignation letter, wished them all a good night, and walked out of the building.

Afterward, the board reflected on the conversation. Selectman Seth Webber brought up a hypothetical situation in which a Planning Board member was acting insubordinate. He asked whether the Select Board would still keep their distance. Allen’s response was that if a member of the Planning Board were doing something illegal, then the police should be called, but that otherwise, there was “no one to complain to.”

“They [the Planning Board] have to be governed by someone,” Beedy argued. She is currently waiting to hear from the Maine Municipal Association to figure out who should address these issues.

The Planning Board is now left with only four members, where five are required. The selectmen said that they are not sure what they will do if they cannot find alternates.