AUGUSTA, Maine — Members of the $51 million KV Federal Credit Union estimated that about 100 fellow members attended a meeting the CU called to discuss its proposal to change its charter and merge with a local mutual bank.

Members who attended the more than two hour meeting characterized its tone as civil and professional and said the CU's leadership had been open about taking questions about the merger. One added that KV leaders had also been explicit about the merger not going forward without the CU members' consent.

One member who attended the meeting and spoke with the Times afterward considered many of the attendees skeptical to negative about the merger, with several standing up and saying that if the CU completed the merger they would take their money and leave the institution. But another member said the attitude of the members was more of "fact finding" than necessarily negative.