Due to restrictions imposed on all of us by the COVID pandemic, Poland’s April 2 annual town meeting will be held by referendum.

All residents were mailed a list of the 30 articles to be on the referendum ballot. Most of these articles were explained briefly, except for Article 29.

That article is to authorize the town to sell a 10-acre woodlot, with the proceeds going to the Poland Conservation Commission Account. At the 2019 town meeting we voted to use the proceeds from the sale of this land to fund this account, but did not authorize the sale of the property as is required by Maine law.

The commission currently maintains three conservation projects, which provide scenic hiking trails, wildlife habitat and open space to all residents. Our quite limited budget costs the town very little. Most of the cost of establishing and maintaining these projects has come from volunteer labor and citizen donations.

Without a reserved fund it is difficult or impossible to purchase other lands for conservation when they become available.

The town has owned the Sadie Jackson lot since 1962 and received no income from the land, until a small timber sale last year to improve the value of the property. The sale of this property will provide a fund for conservation as well as creating a taxable property for the future.

Fred Huntress Jr., Poland Spring