North Yarmouth approves articles at town meeting, moves to join trail board

 North Yarmouth residents vote on an article at the annual town meeting in Wescustogo Hall on June 15. (Sophie Burchell/Staff Writer) NORTH YARMOUTH — Seated in Wescustogo Hall, 156 North Yarmouth residents raised pink voting cards to decide on [28 municipal articles](https://www.northyarmouth.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif1006/f/pages/fy27_atm_warrant_approved_05.19.2026.pdf) at the annual town meeting on Monday night.  The articles included amendments to the town’s solid waste and recycling ordinance and floodplain management ordinance, raising and appropriating $1.67 million for municipal administration, and authorizing the collection of taxes in fiscal year 2027.  Voters approved all articles except for the third, an ordinance enacting the 2026 recodification of North Yarmouth’s land use ordinance, which they decided to pass over. Article 3 was tabled following a motion from Select Board member Paul Whitmarsh, who said the amendments made in the subsequent Article 4 to the land use ordinance would not count if Article 3 was approved.  Participants approved or passed over the first 27 articles with almost no discussion and in about an hour and a half — a surprisingly short time for the town meeting, attendees said. Last year’s meeting [lasted three hours](https://www.pressherald.com/2025/06/17/north-yarmouth-voters-shoot-down-two-of-30-articles-proposed-at-town-meeting/).  “We may be setting some sort of record,” said moderator Michael Traister.  The final article slowed the roll and inspired discussion and debate. It authorized the Select Board to sign onto the Casco Bay Trail Board of Supervisors Interlocal Agreement, which allows North Yarmouth to participate as a voting member on a board that will provide regional cooperation for the planning, construction and maintenance of the proposed Casco Bay Trail.  Advertisement The Casco Bay Trail is a multi-use trail set to be built between Portland and Auburn by the Maine Department of Transportation on the unused Berlin Subdivision Rail Line, which is owned by the state. Of the 26 miles of planned trail, 5.1 miles would run through North Yarmouth. Related [North Yarmouth elects 2 to Select Board](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/10/north-yarmouth-elects-2-to-select-board/) Some residents raised concerns that signing onto the agreement would obligate the town to financially contribute to the project, or ensure that the town’s miles of rail line would be assessed for the trail’s construction, which some attendees were not in favor of being built through the town at all. Other residents countered that the trail, already owned and authorized by the state, is bound to happen, so it is in the town’s best interest to have a seat at the table. Members of the Select Board said any funds raised for the project from North Yarmouth would have to be separately authorized by the town. Voters ultimately approved the article. Six other towns invited to participate in the supervisory board, including Portland, Yarmouth and Falmouth, have already signed on.  Prior to voting, the crowd honored two retiring town employees. Rep. Anne Graham, D-North Yarmouth, read the legislative sentiment she presented this spring in honor of Diane Barnes, who has served Maine municipalities for 40 years and will retire from her position as North Yarmouth’s town manager in September after four years.  “I believe serving town government is one of the toughest jobs there is. Balancing budgets and trying to meet the needs of all the diverse constituencies in a community is daunting. Job well done, Diane,” said Graham. Assistant Town Manager Debbie Allen Grover spoke about Clark Baston, who is retiring this year after 31 years in the North Yarmouth Public Works Department and 50 total years in service of the town, including with North Yarmouth Fire Rescue. Behind her, a slideshow of photos of Baston over the past five decades played.  “After decades of service, Clark leaves behind roads that are safer, a fire department that is stronger, a community that is better connected,” said Grover.  Copy the Story Link Tagged: [town meeting 2026](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/town-meeting-2026/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/sophie-burchell) [Sophie BurchellStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/sophie-burchell) Sophie is a community reporter for Cumberland, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth and Falmouth and previously reported for the Forecaster. Her memories of briefly living on Mount Desert Island as a child drew her. [More by Sophie Burchell](https://www.pressherald.com/author/sophie-burchell)