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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 149, No. 9
24 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
March 1, 2018
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . 11B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
SAD 61 rolls out budget By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer With SAD 61 facing “unchartered” waters as administrators and school board members pieced together the next budget, the waves proved not as choppy as expected. One element was to develop a budget without Sebago, which will leave SAD 61 in June. What is lost? • State funding will be reduced by an estimated $225,000. • Sebago’s assessment that will be lost is about $3 million. However, Sebago will likely pay SAD 61 about $1,050,000 in the form of tuition for students attending the middle and high schools, ENJOYING THE BALMY WEATHER last Wednesday, Todd Morton decided to spend some time lounging on a swim as well as special education float on Woods Pond. The top three inches of snow melted over Woods Pond and created a visual effect, as if all the ice costs and debt service. • SAD 61, however, had melted (and gone out). Todd thought it would be fun to make it look as if he was walking on water and doing some will not be responsible for winter lake lounging. “Just thought I would share some fun here in Bridgton,” he said. Sebago Elementary School,
which carried a $1,004,926 budget in 2017-18. • SAD 61 could be in line for a state subsidy increase of about $1.6 million if the Legislature approves a new funding model for vocational regions/centers. • With a bump in state funding from $1.9 million to $4.3 million, SAD 61 was able to whittle some expenses and produced a proposed $28,990,000 budget, which is $1,022,620 lower than a year ago. • Increases for salaries ($630,000) and health insurance ($170,000). Officials had to estimate salary figures for two bargaining units — non-teaching (bus drivers, custodial, and food service workers) and administrators — which do not have a current contract for 2018-19. SAD 61, Page 12A
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Like good students, Bridgton selectmen completed their assignment nearly a month ahead of schedule. The assignment was to make decisions on how to use Community Development Block Grant money from Cumberland County. The estimated grant is $180,000 — of which $125,000 is earmarked for bricks and mortar projects, $30,000 for administration and $25,000 for social services. Selectmen approved: • $6,340 for the Navigator program, run out
Selectmen stay ahead of curve, approve projects of the Bridgton Community Center which assists residents in seeking social services, etc. It is a resource and referral hub that services Bridgton’s elderly, mid to low-income, disabled and veterans. • $5,000 for the backpack program for Stevens Brook Elementary School, which provides non-perishable, nutritious food to children in need that they can take home and eat when school meal programs are unavailable. The program serves about 30 families each week. • $6,000 for Family Crisis Center. Initially, the figure was $4,000 with Family Crisis seeking an additional
$2,000 from Bridgton’s regular budget. Since they were under the estimated $25,000 figure, selectmen decided to fund the entire Family Crisis request with CDBG money rather than ask for taxpayers to pay. • Selectmen had little discussion regarding $45,000 for the Lower Main Street road project or $35,000 to improve the town rink, located behind the Town Hall on North High Street. Public Works Director Jim Kidder said the current “warming room” that juts off the main structure needs to be torn down and rebuilt. The plan also calls for installing exhaust
fan equipment to pump out warm air inside the structure, thus enabling to ability to retain ice. Board Chairman Greg Watkins questioned the Junior Harmon Field project, ticketed at $45,000. He wondered if the money could be better spent elsewhere since the snack shack and dugouts are made of concrete and not falling apart. Town Manager Bob Peabody relied on the recommendation of Rec Director Gary Colello as to best use of CDBG money. Colello cited problems with the existing snack shack, which is limited in terms of storage space (and it had trouble keeping rodents out, which caused damage to items kept in the building) and bathroom facilities. Colello noted the facility is in constant use, both from a recreation program standpoint as well as a place where neighborhood kids play. If work is done there (construction of a new snack
shack and moving of the dugouts back, creating better sight lines for fans sitting in the stands), Watkins wondered if a PVC pipe, which shields a water line, could be addressed. At the moment, the pipe is above ground. Selectmen voted 4-1 to approve the Harmon Field project, Watkins opposed. Peabody will now submit the town’s proposed CDBG fund usage to the county for review. The submission deadline is March 28. In other business: Giving grass another try. Rather than filling Depot Street walkway area with artificial grass or hardscape options like pebbles with an epoxy finish or stamped concrete, town officials appear willing to give natural grass another try. Lucia Terry of Perennial Point of View unveiled a plan to address areas utilized by the Bridgton Farmers’ Market. Loam would be brought in and
a “hardy” grass seed used. Water has been an issue in the past, but a fire hydrant could be tapped to provide the water (twice a day at eight minutes each, Terry said) needed during the growing cycle. By trying to grow grass, the attempt would be done in two phases. Some Farmers’ Market space would be closed down until the grass matures and is ready for foot traffic. Once grass takes hold there, then Terry would replant in the other area, moving the Market to the new turf. Terry suspects it will be a two-year process. Public Works Director Jim Kidder will take a look at the proposal and let selectmen know if his crew has time available this spring to assist in removal of current soil and haul new loam to the site. Lock down. Before the tragic shooting in Florida, police and Stevens Brook Elementary School officials SELECTMEN, Page 3A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES – How is it possible to subdivide a nine-hole golf course for residential use? This upcoming Tuesday, the Shareholders of Naples Golf & Country Club will appear before the Naples Planning Board to discuss the possibilities of subdividing and selling portions of the
land prior to the submission of a formal site plan. No site plan has been filed with the Town of Naples. Instead, “the meeting will have a preliminary sketch plan regarding subdividing what is currently the golf course,” according to Naples Town Secretary Kate Matthews. “This is not a formal meeting, bit a meeting between the applicant and the board to discuss different options before formally submitting an application.” This step is occurring a few months after the majority of the Naples Country Club’s shareholders voted to sell part of the business to stay afloat. That private business meeting took place in early December. “After a period of thought and review, the board recom-
mended the closing of the golf course,” according to a press release generated by Naples Golf. “The only way the business has been able to operate is to sell off lots and use those funds for operations and improving the course,” the press release stated. Naples Code Enforcement Officer Renee Carter could not discuss the details but could talk about the process at the planning board level. “The process — we are going to have a sketch plan. A sketch plan is basically whatever is on a piece of paper. It is so informal,” she said. Shareholder Allen Faraday could not be reached for comment before press time. The planning board meeting will take place Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the meeting room at the Naples Town Hall.
Rough idea: Naples Golf turns into subdivisions
TOTAL LOSS — When firefighters arrived on the scene of a fire at 63 Sam Ingalls Road in Bridgton last Thursday at 4:27 p.m., a 20-by-40 barn was fully engulfed. The fire’s cause remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal. Bridgton Fire Chief Steve Fay said initial reports indicated people were trapped inside the house, but that proved incorrectg. Smoke could be seen from North High Street and Bruce Warren Lane. Fryeburg firefighters drafted water from Moose Pond, supplying Tank #4 from Bridgton and tankers from Denmark and Fryeburg. A “blitz attack” using Bridgton Engine #1’s board deck gun knocked down the bulk of the fire threatening the home, Chief Fay reported. The last fire company cleared the scene at about 7 p.m. (Photo by S. Peter Lewis)
Naples has ‘banner’ meeting By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — A couple of ‘firsts’ kicked off the Naples Board of Selectmen’s last meeting of February. It was the first time in years that the meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and it was the first day on the job for Naples Town Manager John Hawley. Hawley sat in on the Naples Budget Committee meeting in January but this was the first municipal board meeting that he had attended as the acting town manager. With Hawley in this impor-
tant town management position, the selectmen are hoping for a banner year, according to Chairman Jim Grattelo. “I’d like to officially welcome him,” Grattelo said. To make that welcome more comfortable, Grattelo joked that Hawley was “off the hook” from presenting his town manager comments — given that it was his first day serving in that capacity. Additionally, the selectmen’s cell phones won’t be ringing off the hook now that residents have a town manager to call with comments, questions, and complaints.
The Town of Naples went without a fulltime town manager for almost six months, after former Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak resigned from the post in September to start his new job as the town manager in Gorham. In late November, the selectmen sought some relief by hiring Mitch Berkowitz as the part-time interim town manager. Berkowitz’ hiring did not overlap with the time that Hawley was able to officially start the position. Now — as February comes to a close, the selectmen have an eye on the future of Naples
as well as an expectation that Hawley’s past job experiences will prove invaluable. “In a couple weeks, we will be holding a workshop session to identify the town’s goals for the next year,” Grattelo said. “We are excited he is on board. John is bringing a tremendous amount of experience to the Town of Naples.” That experience includes being a fire chief and a code enforcement officer; 11 years as the town manager for Mechanic Falls; and, most recently, as the director of operations for Regional BANNER, Page 3A
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