Selectpersons vote 3–2 to retain Cemetery Road after public hearing; abandonment motion fails
June 25, 2026 | Hancock, Hancock County, Maine
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At a June 3 public hearing, the Selectpersons considered competing evidence about the status of Cemetery Road and voted 3–2 to retain and maintain the road to the water.
The hearing opened at 6:16 p.m. and included testimony and documentary evidence from parties on both sides. Selectperson Robin Stratton addressed the board about a potential conflict: the property at issue belongs to her father, and she said she had recused herself in the past but “felt she has no financial ties to the property” and could remain neutral. Bill Birdsall moved that Stratton remain at the table; the motion carried on a 3–1 vote with one abstention. Attorney Patrick Lyons, representing the Smith Family Trust, opposed Stratton staying and had requested a continuance citing the absence of a site visit.
Board members reviewed evidence noting that the town had not spent money on the disputed section of Cemetery Road and that no automobile had used that section to gain shore access since 1993; town records for the road from 1993 to the present were not located. The board voted 5–0 to accept the findings as presented.
Following that vote, Selectperson Bill Birdsall moved to declare that, based on the evidence, the road had been discontinued or abandoned by the town; that motion failed on a 2–3 vote. Carol Lowrie then moved to retain and maintain the entire length of Cemetery Road to the water; Adam Foster seconded and the motion passed 3–2. The public hearing was closed at 7:20 p.m.
The outcome directs the town to retain the road rather than treat it as discontinued or abandoned. The record as made at the hearing notes both the lack of town expenditures on the road and the long gap in vehicular use since 1993; parties in opposition to Stratton’s participation raised procedural objections tied to the absence of a prior site visit. The board did not adopt any ordinance change or detailed maintenance plan at this meeting; those operational details were not specified.
The hearing opened at 6:16 p.m. and included testimony and documentary evidence from parties on both sides. Selectperson Robin Stratton addressed the board about a potential conflict: the property at issue belongs to her father, and she said she had recused herself in the past but “felt she has no financial ties to the property” and could remain neutral. Bill Birdsall moved that Stratton remain at the table; the motion carried on a 3–1 vote with one abstention. Attorney Patrick Lyons, representing the Smith Family Trust, opposed Stratton staying and had requested a continuance citing the absence of a site visit.
Board members reviewed evidence noting that the town had not spent money on the disputed section of Cemetery Road and that no automobile had used that section to gain shore access since 1993; town records for the road from 1993 to the present were not located. The board voted 5–0 to accept the findings as presented.
Following that vote, Selectperson Bill Birdsall moved to declare that, based on the evidence, the road had been discontinued or abandoned by the town; that motion failed on a 2–3 vote. Carol Lowrie then moved to retain and maintain the entire length of Cemetery Road to the water; Adam Foster seconded and the motion passed 3–2. The public hearing was closed at 7:20 p.m.
The outcome directs the town to retain the road rather than treat it as discontinued or abandoned. The record as made at the hearing notes both the lack of town expenditures on the road and the long gap in vehicular use since 1993; parties in opposition to Stratton’s participation raised procedural objections tied to the absence of a prior site visit. The board did not adopt any ordinance change or detailed maintenance plan at this meeting; those operational details were not specified.
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