CAMDEN — Attorney Paul Gibbons, representing the Save the Dam Falls Committee, is asking the Camden Select Board and Camden’s attorney, William Kelly, to place an article before voters in November that proposes saving the Montgomery Dam.

Should the town refuse the request, the Save the Dam Falls Committee will hold a special town meeting Sept. 27, which they have a right to do, said Gibbons. 

State Statute Title 30, Section 2521, stipulates: “4.  Petition by voters, if select board refuses.  If the select board unreasonably refuses to call a town meeting, a notary public may call the meeting on the written petition of a number of voters equal to at least 10% of the number of votes cast in the town at the last gubernatorial election, but in no case less than 10.” 

Additionally, Camden’s Town Charter (Section 1.03) says: “Any qualified voter may request that the Select Board place an article on the warrant and shall present the substance of the article in written form. If the request is denied by the Select Board, on the written petition of a number of voters equal to at least ten percent of the number of votes cast in the town at the gubernatorial election, the Select Board shall insert that particular article in the next warrant issued or shall call a special town meeting for its consideration.

“..... If the Select Board unreasonably refuses to call a town meeting, a notary public may call the meeting on the written petition of a number of voters equal t at least ten percent of the number of votes cast. in the town at the last gubernatorial election, but in no case less than ten voters.”

The petition question the Save the Dam Falls Committee asks: “To see if the Town of Camden shall enact the following: Shall the Town of Camden protect, preserve, maintain and repair the existing Montgomery Falls near Harbor Park in Camden?”

In his June 13 letter, Gibbons wrote that the group is asking for inclusion on the November ballot in order to provide Camden voters the opportunity to vote on whether or not to preserve the Montgomery Dam.

“Since the voters are likely to be denied the right to vote on this single issue, my clients are pursuing a special town meeting in accordance with the law,” wrote Gibbons.

What follows is the complete June 13 letter sent to the Camden Select Board and Attorney Kelly.

Dear Board and Bill:

I represent the Save the Dam Falls Committee. My clients are going to hold a special town meeting on September 27 on their petitioned article, a copy of which is attached here. I write to you in an effort to see if we can avoid having a special town meeting in a way that will resolve my clients’ issues. We request the Selectmen to place my clients’ petitioned article before the voters at this November election.

The goal of my clients is to have the voters have an opportunity to vote on whether or not to preserve Montgomery Dam. The actions that you have taken are done to prevent that ever from happening. It is inevitable that you will be asking the voters to approve a restoration project on Megunticook River which would include the removal of the Montgomery Dam. Even your own engineers advise that it is possible to restore the Megunticook River without the removal of Montgomery Dam. You are going to deny the voters the opportunity to vote on whether to preserve Montgomery Dam.

Since the voters are likely to be denied the right to vote on this single issue, my clients are pursuing a special town meeting in accordance with the law. Please let me hear from you within the next two weeks so I can advise my clients to keep pursuing this special town meeting.

It is time to cooperate and to not deny the voters an opportunity to vote on whether or not to preserve Montgomery Dam.