Democracy was alive in the Southport Town Hall on March 2 as more than 50 voters cast a secret ballot to determine the future services of Oliver’s restaurant in Cozy Harbor.

With more than 60 articles on this year’s town warrant, article 36, a measure to allow Oliver’s to extend its liquor license to include the sale of hard alcohol, drew the most discussion.

For two years Oliver’s has sold beer and wine on town property that’s located near the Southport Yacht Club, a busy sailing center during the summer.

“When the restaurant was first opened, we took into consideration the children down in the sailing classes,” said resident Evelyn Sherman. “Now we’re going to vote on hard liquor, and I think the children do matter.”

Oliver’s Executive Chef John Reed was present and told voters that he recognized their concerns.

“We do not want to become a bar,” Reed said. “We just want to offer a few selected drinks to offer our guests a better experience.”

By measure of a secret ballot, the article was overwhelmingly defeated: 48 no votes to 10 yes votes.

Oliver’s can continue selling wine and beer by renewing its license annually through the Southport selectmen and the state of Maine.

Many other articles passed with little to no opposition, however, there was an unexpected expenditure that was presented at the town meeting for the first time.

Instead of appropriating $3,000 for fire protection, Selectman Gerry Gamage motioned to amend an article to raise $35,000.

Gamage said the extra money was needed for water infrastructure being installed by the Boothbay Region Water District.

“As part of the Public Utilities Commission regulations, we will be assessed an annual fee for fire protection. And that fee will be more like $72,000 to $75,000,” Gamage said.

In previous years, the town needed to raise roughly $45,000 per year for its use of fire hydrants. But with the new infrastructure in place, the town will face higher annual fees in exchange for better fire protection year-round, Gamage said. The article passed, but not without a few groans from the audience.

Since Southport’s town meeting runs earlier in the year than other towns in the Boothbay region, the ambulance budget is only a guess, at best, as to what the island will pay for emergency services.

This year, the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service requested a subsidy of $39,560. That figure increased, being $3,454 more than last year’s appropriation, however it’s $5,440 less than what the budget committee originally allotted for this year.  

Both the school and town budgets passed, as well as the contentious flood plain management regulations imposed by the federal National Flood Insurance Program.

This year’s tax rate is .0038, or 3.80 per one thousand dollars of assessed value.

The rest of the articles passed, with the exception of article 64, to see if the town would vote to exceed the property tax cap imposed by the state. Since Southport’s tax cap had not been exceeded, the article was dismissed. 

During the daytime referendum, voters reelected Selectman Mary Lou Koskela, tax collector Donna Climo, school committee member Adam Harkins and Fire Chief Gerry Gamage for three-year terms, respectively.

Voters nominated and elected Gamage and Peter Kidder to the board of library trustees. During town meeting, Gail Richter and Rebecca Singer were nominated and elected for three-year terms to the cemetery board of trustees. Lastly, the townspeople elected Rob Hopkins, Guy Randlett and Karen Curtis to three-year terms on the budget committee.

While the annual Southport town meeting can often be characterized by its folksy hijinks and mandatory coffee and cake breaks, this year’s meeting was an exception for long-time resident, Evelyn Sherman

“It’s usually pretty cut and dry,” Sherman said. “But we had to get something interesting going on here.”