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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 151, No. 9
16 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
March 4, 2021
www.bridgton.com
(USPS 065-020)
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Letter to outline wastewater’s next steps By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer With spring just around the corner, it won’t be long before construction equipment starts to show up in Bridgton. When excavation begins as the town enters the next phase of infrastructure improvement — expansion of the wastewater system — residents will likely have questions. When will they be digging up my street? How much will it cost to hook up to the sewer? What do I need to do?
All legitimate questions, that selectmen feel deserve answers. Working with the engineer, the town plans to craft a letter to be sent to property owners who will be eligible to hook up to the sewer system. It will include “known” information such as some of the already established costs and processes, while also touching on other issues that will become clearer as time progresses. The expected start date is April with a completion target of spring 2022.
Town Manager Robert Peabody noted: • What are the current costs associated with residents hooking up to the new wastewater system? Peabody: There will be a connection (estimated at $600/EDU). This will be waived if the property owner connects within the first operational year of the facility. The cost to the homeowner to physical connect to the stub is dependent on the property itself (distance, topo, etc). • Are selectmen looking at maybe some type of town
subsidy to help low income folks hook to the system? Peabody: The Select Board will be discussing offering help on connection costs to qualifying lowincome residents owning a single-family dwelling. When new lines are installed, property owners will be asked where they would like the “stub” (where the residential line meets the town line) to be positioned, regardless if they plan to hook immediately into the system or could do so in the future. Officials expect to send
letters out to about 400 property owners. On another construction front, residents saw the new lamp posts down past Food City illuminated recently. One resident asked The News whether the lamp posts would continue from the Kansas Road intersection down toward Cross Street? Peabody said there was consideration running lamp posts down Lower Main to Cross Street, but officials, in trying to hold costs down, did not include them in this phase. “It could be considered as a future
project,” Peabody said. “The area is still lit by the existing streetlights.” In other notes: Return to street dining? While the Covid front continues to improve, Christian Cuff expects customers to be selective about dining indoors. So, the owner of Vivo’s asked selectmen if he could once again close off part of Depot Street to use for outside dining. A year ago, Cuff looked at the opportunity both as a Covid-relief measure but also a chance to develop BRIDGTON, Page 3A
Riders see the sites
SAD 61 return to full-time?
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer As the number of Covid19 cases stabilize and more vaccine is becoming available to fight the virus, will local schools be in position to return to full-time, inperson instruction soon? Several directors last Thursday night suggested SAD 61 officials start looking into the possibility, maybe as early as when students return from April vacation. Al on reopening As we discussed the possibility of returning to fullin-person learning we will need to follow the current CDC/DOE guidelines. Prior to any decisions in this area communication with parents and staff will need to take place. “The week after April vacation, kids should be in school five days a week,” Casco Director Phil Shane said. “We are destroying these kids. They need to be back. People are getting vaccinations, and I would hope we would start working on it (the return) and make it possible.” Bridgton Director Lee Martel-Bearse concurred with Shane, but added, “we
FUN IN SNOW — Taking part in Naples Rec winter fun activities at Kent’s Landing are: Jolee Morton gets a push from dad Guy Morton in her custom sled (top right) Jaxon Redman with a snow volcano. (De Busk photos)
SAD 61, Page 3A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Returning from the top of Hacker’s Hill on a clear sunny day, Gary Drew slowed down his snowmobile for an oncoming machine. Drew put his left hand in the air, showing that three (3) was the number of sleds traveling behind him. Hacker’s Hill, with its 360-degree views of snowkissed mountains and frozen lakes this time of year, proved to be a popular place for snowmobilers to stop that weekend. On Sunday, Drew who is the current president of the Crooked River Snowmobile Club (CCRS) in Casco, took a ride with his wife Carol Drew. By pure coincidence, the club’s Trail master Bob Symonds and his wife Kristine were also on Hacker’s Hill. They joked if a few more people were present, they could hold a club meeting. Earlier that morning, Carol Drew had ridden her snowmobile to a spot close to her home that offers a view of Mount Washington, where she snapped a quick RIDERS, Page 2A
Casco signs 3-year contract with new manager By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — One of the people sitting in the audience at the selectmen’s meeting will soon be sitting at the selectmen’s table during the meetings, will soon have an office in the Casco Town Hall. The Casco Board of Selectmen on Tuesday signed a three-year employment contract with the future Casco Town Manager Brenda Fox-Howard.
Fox-Howard attended the selectmen’s meeting. She was invited to step to the microphone and say a few words. “I am happy to have accepted your offer of employment,” she said. “I am looking forward to working for and with everyone in the town. I am excited. There are a lot of things going on,” she said. She commented on one of the topics that had been discussed — whether to
hold the upcoming annual town meeting as a secret ballot election or in-person voting. “New Gloucester finally decided to do the ballot as well. That is better. It’s just safer, especially if you have a system down,” she said. Fox-Howard is currently the town manager of New Gloucester. Chairman Thomas Peaslee said that the board hired Fox-Howard. He said the employment
contract is for three years: Beginning April 5, 2021, and expiring April 4, 2024. Her salary will be $97,000 a year, Peaslee said. There will be a six-month evaluation, during which time if the board determines her performance to be satisfactory, the salary will increase to $100,000 a year, he said. The board voted, 4-0 to approve the contract. Selectman Robert MacDonald was absent.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — There’s a brighter road ahead. Literally, there will be new and improved roads in the future. The Casco Board of Selectmen signed a contract with Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers, Inc., to be in charge of an ambitious and methodical roads improvement plan. On Tuesday, the Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish talked about the $600,000 PUTTING PEN to paper: Chairman Thomas Peaslee plan upon which the board signs the three-year employment contract for Casco’s new had decided. The plan is town manager Brenda Fox-Howard. (De Busk Photo) referred to as the 2021
CIP Paving and Street Rehabilitation project. The board’s vote follows on the heels of a roads workshop that the board held in late February. At that time the selectmen reviewed in detail the pavement conditions study that GorrillPalmer had prepared for the town. The plan is to spend $600,000 on roads upgrades and paving. Most of that money already exists in an account. Essentially, $400,000 will be carry-forward, and $200,000 will be budgeted for the ’21-22 fiscal year.
One important factor in making this project successful is that the Town of Casco will put the road jobs out to bid this month, in March instead of waiting until after town meeting. According to GorrillPalmer’s proposal, there is
a breakdown of what the firm would charge for its services. Gorrill-Palmer proposed to assist the town with the job by drafting the bid documents for $6,240; by taking care of the bidding process ROADS, Page 3A
$600K slated for road work
The Bridgton News Established 1870
P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com