TOPSHAM — The Board of Selectmen on unanimously decided to form a committee that will review, and likely update, the town’s Comprehensive Plan.

The board Aug. 4 also approved an engineering contract for the second phase of a bicycle and pedestrian path in town.

A nine-member Comprehensive Plan Committee should begin meeting this fall, Town Manager Rich Roedner said in an interview Aug. 5.

The town will hire a consultant to guide the committee, which will “either work from the existing comp plan and update it, write an amendment to the existing plan as an update, (or) they may decide they need to write a new comp plan,” Roedner said.

Residents who want to serve on the committee can call the Topsham Planning Office at 725-1724, or email Assistant Town Planner Carol Eyerman at ceyerman@topshammaine.com, or Planning Director Rod Melanson at rmelanson@topshammaine.com.

The 2005 Comprehensive Plan was last updated five years ago.

Topsham’s “Back to the Future” series of workshops, which ran from October 2015 through this March, paved the way for updating the town’s Comprehensive Plan. The gatherings were held to open up discussions on major subjects related to town planning purposes, such as community economics.

Having awarded a construction contract for the second phase of a bicycle and pedestrian path July 21, the Board of Selectmen Aug. 4 also awarded an engineering services contract for the project. The contract with the Wright-Pierce environmental engineering firm was for $35,000, Roedner said.

“They’ll be our eyes and ears, doing the inspections on our behalf,” as well as certifying the work of the contractor, Shaw Brothers Construction, the manager explained.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: