MACHIAS — The Machias Select Board voted Wednesday to move the annual town meeting from June 10 to June 23 to give staff members time to finalize the town report, Town Manager Sarah Craighead Dedmon said.
Elections are scheduled for June 9. Two Select Board members — Vice Chair Ben Edwards and Michael Hinerman II — are running unopposed for new three‑year terms.
The annual town meeting is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, at the Machias Memorial High School gymnasium.
Also during its April 22 meeting, the Select Board voted to grant “preeminent local historian” Valdine Atwood the Spirit of America Award for Volunteerism, to be presented at the annual town meeting, Craighead Dedmon said.
Atwood moved to Machias from out of state in the 1960s and founded the Washington County Courthouse Heritage Center Museum and Genealogy Research Room, located in the county courthouse.
“It’s a wonderful research facility as well as a museum with lots of artifacts,” Craighead Dedmon said. “The board agreed she was an ideal nominee, particularly in our 250th year, where honoring our history seems even more important.”
The board also renewed its annual fire protection agreement with the town of Whitneyville, which pays the Machias Fire Department $11,000 a year — a key source of revenue.
Machias provides fire protection for Whitneyville and nearby Northfield, meaning any fires in those towns are handled as if they occurred in Machias.
The budget for the upcoming annual town meeting is nearly finalized and is scheduled to be discussed at a joint Select Board and Budget Committee meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 5.
The Select Board’s next meeting is set for 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 13.
