The Boothbay selectmen are wondering what to do with approximately 30 “paper streets.” The town owns right-of-ways to these paper streets which appear on maps, but may no longer be active, according to Town Manager Dan Bryer.

Many of these ways are located in East Boothbay.

“They’re all located on maps, but if you drive out there and look for them, you’re likely to find them no longer in use and located on somebody’s lawn,” he said.

But other “paper streets” still remain valuable resources to the town. Several are located near water and sewer lines. The selectmen want to review all the locations before considering which ones to relinquish ownership over.

“There seems to be two trains of thought,” said Selectman Steve Lewis. “Why keep a property you’re no longer doing anything with, and the other is, you may want to retain your rights for future use.”

The selectmen directed Bryer to make a list of the “paper streets” along with a map showing their locations. The selectmen plan on reviewing the usefulness of these streets with officials from the public works department, Boothbay Region Water and Boothbay Region Sewer districts during a future meeting.

“Before we do anything we need to get all the players together to assess our options,” said Selectman Dale Harmon.

In other action, the selectmen approved an amended contract with the Boothbay Region Water District. The agreement provides money for the code enforcement officer who is tasked with maintaining authority over the town’s ponds and watersheds.

“In the past, there has been a misunderstanding about what the contract entails,” Bryer said. “I had a fantastic discussion with Jon Ziegra and Sue Mello. The extension lays out clear expectations and establishes parameters for the agreement.”

The selectmen sent the proposed extension to the town’s attorney for review. The selectmen may adopt the amended version at a future meeting.

Selectmen made three municipal appointments. The board selected Dawn Gilbert to fill a vacancy on the Joint Economic Committee. They also appointed Steve Gottlieb to serve as the town’s representative on the Lincoln County Planning Commission.

The third appointment filled the recently vacated animal control officer’s position. The selectmen accepted Animal Control Officer Betsy Pratt’s resignation.  She was replaced by her husband, David Pratt. Bryer reported Betsy Pratt resigned due to a potential conflict of interest.

She is employed by the Lincoln County Animal Shelter in Edgecomb. Pratt told Bryer that LCAS officials believed her serving as a municipal animal control officer was a conflict of interest with her job as a lead kennel supervisor.

The selectmen accepted the resignation and appointed a replacement, but didn’t understand the LCAS rationale.

“I understand they (LCAS) view this is a conflict interest, but I can’t understand how?” said Selectman Steve Lewis. “This really has nothing to do with us. We’ve done it this way for 20 years so I’m interested in why they think it’s a conflict now?”

The selectmen also approved a $1,000 Ulmer Fund Scholarship for Boothbay Region High School sophomore Lillian Sherburne. She requested the scholarship as part of her Coastal Studies for Girls’ tuition. The program is a semester-long science and leadership program for 10th grade girls. The students experience life on the Maine coast while studying the ocean. The school is located in Freeport and costs $22,000 a semester, according to the Coastal Studies for Girls website.

After approving several scholarship requests for European trips last year, Lewis believed Sherburne’s request was closer to Madelyn E. Ulmer’s intent. In 1995,  Ulmer established the fund for enhancing residents’ high school education.

“I think this is great. This is truly higher education which is exactly what the scholarship was designed for,” he said.

The selectmen will meet next at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27 in the municipal room.