ROCKPORT — The newest addition to the Rockport Select Board resigned abruptly today, April 12, saying it would be in the best interest of the community to step down.

In his letter to Board Chairman Bill Chapman, Select Board member Brendan Riordan said he tendered his resignation, and apologized for the inconvenience it might cause.

“I am writing to tender my resignation as a member of the Rockport Select Board” wrote Riordan. “As you are likely aware I am unable to endorse many of the decisions the board has arrived at over the course of the last year both relating to the library and otherwise. As I no longer believe I have the ability to be an agent of the type of change that I feel is in the best interest of our community, I am determined to step aside rather than undermine and obstruct future deliberations.

“I thank the citizens of Rockport for the opportunity to serve as their representative on the Board and thank the other members of the board for the opportunity to participate. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and any disruption caused by my decision to step down.  I take the duties and responsibilities that I was charged with very seriously. I consider it a point of honor to see commitments through and I regret that I am unable to do so in this case.”

Riordan was elected in June 2016, upseating incumbent Tracy Murphy.

In a phone conversation, Riordan said he decided to step aside to avoid being an obstruction.

“I still believe there are significant changes [to be made in Rockport] in the interest of citizens,” he said. “I thought I could and I have done my best along the way. I feel I can’t.”

He said the pivotal issue was not specifically the library construction project — “I think we’ve got a lot of stuff to deal with,” he said — but, his resignation followed the April 11 workshop with library architect Dick Reed, which can be viewed at livestream.com/rockportme

At that meeting, Reed suggested the town would benefit from mediation services. The defeat of a proposal before voters last November, by just nine votes, indicated the conflicted opinions that Rockport citizens had about building a new library, its costs, design and location.

The Select Board chose not to survey the citizens to help understand more fully why the defeat was so narrow. Now, they are working their way through deciding whether to continue with Reed as the architect.

The board is tentatively scheduled to discuss the matter Thursday evening, March 13. That meeting’s agenda was circulated April 12. It follows:

For Riordan, he is sorry to step down now. He said he wanted to serve on the Select Board, establish a strategy and execute a strategy.

“I tried and I failed,” he said.

He declined to talk further about his specific Rockport governmental concerns.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657