Windham Town Council appoints volunteers to positions

BABB'S BRIDGE BEING REMOVED FROM HISTORIC PLACES LIST 

By Ed Pierce

Mahatma Gandhi believed that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others through volunteering.

The original Babb's Bridge from the 19th
century was destroyed by fire in 1973. A
replacement bridge was built in 1976. As
a result, the bridge is being removed from
the National Register of Historic Places.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

To that end, two Windham residents have been appointed by the Windham Town Council to fill existing vacancies on town boards and for a town position during a council meeting on Feb. 24.

All of the appointments are voluntary positions.

Judy Vance was appointed by the council to serve as the Windham Registrar of Voters for a two-year term.

Vance is Windham’s deputy town clerk and has volunteered as the town’s Registrar of Voters since Dec. 12, 2002.

Under state law, municipal officers are required to appoint a Registrar of Voters for two-year terms and Vance was recommended for the appointment by Windham Town Clerk Linda Morrell.

“Judy has years of experience and has always done a wonderful job in this position,” Morrell said.

Shonn Moulton was appointed by councilors to serve on the Windham Planning Board for a one-year term.

Moulton is a real estate professional and is a former town councilor in Gorham.

Members of the Windham Appointments Committee interviewed Moulton on Jan. 24 and forwarded to the council a recommendation for this appointment. The Windham Land Use Ordinance stipulates that when there is a vacancy, town municipal officers shall appoint a person to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

The Windham Planning Board has seven members, and one alternate member who serve three-year terms. The planning board is authorized to review and to take action regarding site plans for major developments in Windham; review subdivision plans and land use ordinances and zoning amendments; and review developments in shoreland zones.

During the Feb. 24 council meeting, Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts also informed councilors that Babb’s Bridge is being removed from the National Register of Historic Places.

Tibbetts said his office had received a letter from Kirk Mohney of the Maine State Historic Preservation Office indicating that information recommending that the covered bridge over the Presumpscot River be removed from the list was being sent to Washington, D.C.

The original Babb’s Bridge was thought to have been built in 1843 and was the oldest covered bridge in Maine. It was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was originally named for a family living nearby.

However, a fire set by vandals in 1973 destroyed the bridge and it was subsequently rebuilt on the same site in 1976 as part of a community effort using donated construction materials and labor and featuring bridge techniques thought to been used in construction of the original Babb’s Bridge in the 19th century. <