Winter Carnival
Too deep a hole
This Saturday, some residents put themselves to the test by jumping in the lake
Inside News Calendar . . . . . . . 6A-8A
Fryeburg Academy has icy shooting night, lose prelim tourney game to Patriots
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Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 7B Country Living . . 7A-11A
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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 146, No. 7
24 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
February 12, 2015
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 7B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Officials fight guardrail plan
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton Board of Selectmen are fighting a plan by the Maine Department of Transportation to install a guardrail in front of the granite stone blocks that run along one side of the Moose Pond Causeway, as part of a planned paving project. On Tuesday, the board directed Town Manager Bob Peabody to send a stronglyworded letter of objection about the plans to MDOT administrators in Augusta. Peabody said it’s a toss-up as to whether the letter will change the agency’s mind. “In checking with the local (project) engineer, he doesn’t have a problem with the stones, but the higherups (at MDOT) look at these as deadly fixed objects,” Peabody said. The state plans to pave a stretch of Route
302 just north of Route 93 to the Stack ‘Em Inn Road, as a supplemental project to the highway reconstruction planned from Stack ‘Em Inn Road to beyond the Fryeburg
town line. Peabody said it is state transportation policy to look at safety needs whenever paving work is done. “This isn’t unusual,” he said. “If the
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — The numbers are in. The potential costs are a little higher than Casco town officials would like. Fortunately, the town is not married to those estimates and no one is setting a wedding date yet. The Casco Board of Selectmen recently received the cost estimates from one firm for two Town Hall options: Building new on the vacant property near the Casco Fire Station, and revamping the former TD Bank building in the Village. For both options, the space was downscaled as
much as possible. The Town Hall could expand later. Not starting with an excess of space (or debt) has been the approach of town officials. Chairman Grant Plummer commented on the latest engineer’s sketches. “Those estimated costs are scary: $900,000 plus for both options. It is important for us to get down to exact numbers and exact plans,” he said. “The basics are about the math — something in the $600,000 to $900,000 range. As a board, one of our initial next steps is to get a clear understanding of time ranges. Is this a twoyear plan? Is this a five-year plan? How is it going to
affect the everyday taxpayers in Casco,” he said. The board has been moving forward with Town Hall plans, and was given a couple different options for floor plans for the town-owned building in the Village, as well as a build-new option on the property where the Town Office is located. Earlier during the public participation portion of the meeting, two residents backed the idea of converting the Grange Hall into the Town Hall. Because it is a historical building, grants could be available to aid in paying for construction project, they said. Plummer disagreed that that space would offer a
PICTURESQUE OR DEADLY? — The granite stone blocks that line the Moose Pond Causeway, now hidden by snow, add to its picturesque quality, but administrators at the Maine Department of Transportation consider them as “deadly fixed objects,” and want to add a guardrail as an added safety precaution. Bridgton Selectmen are fighting the plans. (Geraghty Photo)
town disagrees, the board can send a letter in an attempt to change their minds.” Selectmen said the Causeway has historically been a safe stretch of highway, and the stones provide sufficient caution to motorists. A post guardrail system is not only unnecessary, it would destroy the picturesque quality. Board Chairman Bernie King said that if the state wants to install a guardrail, “I’d much rather see it in front of the Sportshaus building. Talk about deadly objects.” Board member Ken Murphy said another place on Route 302 where a guardrail is more of a need is in front of the land sloping down to Stevens Brook Elementary School, where children go sliding in the winter. “I’d rather see a guardrail where we really need it,” he said.
$900K: Too much for office?
Fund to pay for dam study By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — A hydrologic survey, which will dictate the options for repairing the Pleasant Lake-Parker Pond dam, could have cost the Town of Casco an extra $200 — if it was proposed to voters at a Special Town Meeting this winter. But, the Casco Board of Selectmen decided to take a cue from Otisfield and use money from the town’s existing Contingency Fund. On Tuesday, the board was unified in a vote to move $4,500 from that emergency fund set aside to cover things the town did not count on DAM, Page A
viable solution. “When you look at a tax map, the Grange building is not doable. There is no room for septic there. It is a neat old building? Yes. Does it need improvements? Yes,” he said, adding that location was not on the table. “One thing that is truly important: This is a building that the Town of Casco is going to own for a long time,” Plummer said. “We need to look at the energy efficiency. That will be money in the bank. Over time, it will be cost-effective,” Plummer said. Selectman Thomas Peaslee said that as the town OFFICE, Page A UNDER INVESTIGATION — A Tuesday afternoon fire engulfed the barn of this farmhouse at 495 South Bridgton Road, near the Ingalls Road. A State Fire Marshal was on the scene within hours to determine the cause. (Photo courtesy of Troy Morse)
Fire destroys S.B. farmhouse
LET THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN — Fryeburg Academy students sported their school colors and spirit Tuesday night as the Raider boys opened the hoop tournament season. The Raiders were upended by Gray-New Gloucester. Lake Region opens its tourney run this Saturday at the Portland Expo. For full tourney coverage, Page 1B. (Photo by Rachel Damon/FA)
Official reacts to LePage plan By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Casco residents have been asking Town Manager Dave Morton what kind of impacts Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed tax plan might have on their lives, particularly on their property taxes. Morton’s simple answer has been: He cannot completely predict the outcome of the proposed tax reform. Secondly, it is likely it will impact individuals differently, he said. “I cannot tell people for certain whether what the gov-
ernor is proposing will help them or not,” he said. During the Casco Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday, Morton offered his take on one simmering hot topic from LePage’s State of the State address this month. “The governor is proposing a radical change to taxes. For that I applaud him. The Maine tax structure has needed an overhaul,” Morton said. “The Maine Governor has taken the bull by the horns, or whichever end he grabbed,” he said. Although he did commend
The Maine governor has taken the bull by the horns, or whichever end he grabbed... — Town Manager Dave Morton LePage for his objectives, Morton said he did not agree with the methods being presented. “I am encouraging people to look at it very closely,” he said. He also suggested people listen to the governor’s
forums as he travels around the state, gathering support for his tax reform plan. “The proposals are going to increase property taxes. It is not a reduction in taxes, but a shift in the burden,” he said. PLAN, Page A
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Area fire departments were challenged by manpower and water shortages Tuesday afternoon when a large fire destroyed a South Bridgton farmhouse and melted some of the siding of a nearby apartment building. The 1:30 p.m. fire started in a barn at 495 South Bridgton Road, near the Ingalls Road, and had spread to the main farmhouse and addition when the first engine arrived 10 minutes later, said Bridgton Deputy Fire Chief Corin Meehan. “The connected farm complex was fully-involved,” with only four or five Bridgton firefighters initially on the scene, he said. Bridgton eventually responded with three engines, a tanker and a ladder truck, but needed to go to a third alarm in order to muster the required manpower to knock down the blaze, which took about 30 minutes. Nine area towns responded: Sebago, Standish, Baldwin, Denmark, Casco, Naples, Harrison, Fryeburg and Sweden. Meehan said the owner of the house, Timothy Blair, and two other family members, including a young child, were at home at the single-family farmhouse when the fire broke out. All of them escaped unhurt. There was no loss of animal life, as the barn was used for storage. Assessment records list the total value of the home, which had several additions, as $164,893. An investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office was on the scene within hours to begin searching for the cause, which is as yet undetermined. Firefighters were hampered by frozen ice at the nearest water source, a dry hydrant at Adams Pond, and a secondary water source had to be tapped from several miles away, across the town line in Sebago, Meehan said. Firefighting efforts were also delayed until power could be cut from power lines that surrounded the building on two sides. The South Bridgton Road south of Burnham Road was closed for several hours, as Bridgton Police assisted with rerouting drivers and providing traffic control.
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