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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 146, No. 12
20 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
March 19, 2015
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 6B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Lawyers to pen contract zone renewal By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — After a bit of a back-and-forth spat, a little war of the words, the attorney representing Point Sebago Resort and members of the Casco Planning Board came to an almost amiable agreement regarding the crafting of a contract zone
amendment. Basically, the writing of the language — to convey the needs of both parties — will be the task of the attorneys of the Town of Casco and Point Sebago. As dictated by the planning board’s vote on March 9, the Casco Board of Selectmen can decide
what to do next. The vote included a request to use the assistance of the town attorney. That course of action is underway. On March 9, Point Sebago Resort submitted its request for a contract zone amendment with an open-ended date. This particular paperwork had been submitted to
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Occasionally, a new model of vehicle comes rolling onto the scene, and becomes “the talk of the town.” Lately, there have been a lot of questions circulating about the electric car charger located outside the Casco Community Center. A ribboncutting ceremony was held
for the green infrastructure earlier this winter. Now, as the snow has melted from the parking lot, more residents are noticing its existence. Residents around town seem to be wondering about similar details. How much does it cost to charge an electric car? Is there a way people can pay for use of the charger, to reimburse the town for elec-
tricity used? Citizen Ray Grant, who was attending the Casco Board of Selectmen meeting, posed those questions to the town manager. “How will the electricity bill be paid for?” Grant asked. Casco Town Manager Dave Morton said the town is not permitted to charge CHARGER, Page A
Car charger: The talk of the town
Concerns raised over unspent ‘carryovers’ By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton Selectmen are taking steps to keep better track of reserve accounts and other types of unspent funds after “red flags” were raised over the amount of money available in the Tax Increment Financing fund. Town Manager Bob Peabody said March 10 that around $127,000 in undesignated funds should have been transferred over the past several years into the TIF fund, but were not. He said the discrepancy came to light after Anne Krieg, Director of Planning, Economic and Community
Development, questioned why there wasn’t more TIF money available for the Town Hall project. “It did raise red flags for (Krieg),” Peabody said. “The last transfer was two years ago. Apparently those funds haven’t been flowing from the general fund to the TIF fund.” The question of whether extra TIF revenue is available is especially pressing now that cracks were found in the furnace at the Town Hall, forcing the board to revisit financing just as the renovation project was to go out to bid. The board is meeting today, March 19, with engi-
neers and Cumberland County Community Development Director Aaron Shapiro to come up with new specs that take into account the unexpected furnace replacement costs. At the March 10 meeting, Selectman Doug Taft expressed frustration that TIF revenues hadn’t been properly tracked. “This is not the first time we’ve had a fund falling through the cracks,” he said. He noted that former Selectman Earl Cash pointed out several years ago that revenues from the Tree Harvest Fund had disappeared. UNSPENT, Page A
the board earlier that day. The paperwork veered from the mutual verbal agreement at a previous planning board meeting that Point Sebago Resort would apply for a one-year extension, and then work with the planning board on an amendment with a 10-year lifespan. The board decided to
table the proposed amendment, saying there was not enough time to review it. After all, board members had just received the revised request that day. According to Town Planner Jim Seymour, “The Point Sebago Resort put forward a proposal late in the day Monday, request-
ing that the planning board execute the CZA (contract zone agreement) with none of the conditions as previously requested, and that there be no time limitation or termination of the CZA.” Additionally, Point Sebago refused to include in the contract zone agreement ZONE, Page A
IN OVER HIS HEAD — Dylan DiMartino of Denmark got a shock from the icy waters of Moose Pond at last year’s Denmark Plunge, but it’s all for a good cause — raising money for Heifer International’s program to send poor girls from developing countries to school.
Help support the Denmark Plunge
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer DENMARK — Some truly brave folks will jump through a hole in the ice into Moose Pond on Sunday, March 29. Why in the world would they do such a thing? Simple: to help women in developing countries, in other parts of the world.
It’s called the Denmark Plunge for Education, and it was begun last year by Chase Carus, a young woman from Brownfield, and John Patrick, pastor of the Denmark Congregational Church. With pledges raised by the jumpers, they raised $1,500 to donate to Heifer International’s program to
send girls to school. The jumpers will gather around noon March 29, after church services, at the Town Boat Landing on Moose Pond. There, volunteers from the Denmark Fire Department will have cut a square hole in the ice and be standing ready. They’ll tie ropes around PLUNGE, Page A
Harrison summer day camp ‘phenomenal’ program By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer HARRISON — A recent discussion about Harrison’s Summer Recreation Day Camp program at the Board
of Selectmen’s Feb. 26 meeting made one thing very clear — the parents who enroll their children in the eight-week camp at Crystal Lake Park are getting an
Selectmen set 2015 priorities As they do each year, Bridgton Selectmen have agreed upon a list of priorities and goals to be focused on in the coming year. The list is as follows: • Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan • Adoption of Land Use Regulations • Waste Water System Expansion • Downtown Streetscape Improvements • Kendall Ham Recreational Facility • Bridgton Memorial School Redevelopment • Analysis of Municipal Excess Property • Sewer Ordinance Revision • Salmon Point Business Plan • Fund Oversight At the board’s request, Anne Krieg, Director of Planning, Economic and Community Development, gave them a list of the projects in the Comprehensive Plan identified as short-term goals, to be completed within one to three years. However, the creation of a Land Use Plan, or zoning, is considered the most pressing need, and will take priority over all other projects. Selectmen have created a Land Use Plan Ad Hoc Committee for this purpose, and its members will begin meeting soon. Concerning downtown improvements, the specific areas that the board wants to pay attention to are redevelopment of Pondicherry Square, signage, parking and sidewalks. At Salmon Point Campground, areas of focus include dredging the lagoon, repairing or replacing the pedestrian bridge, campsite electric metering and billing, upgrading the water and sewer system and marketing.
incredibly great deal for their money. That’s because Harrison is one of the few towns in Maine, if not the only town, that still subsidizes its summer recreation program, through taxpayer dollars. Last year, $39,000 of the recreation department’s annual $179,000 budget was paid by taxpayers to subsidize the summer day camp. Parents paid fees of $195 per child for the eight weeks, $185 for each additional sibling. Around 115 children attended. “That’s, what, around $25 a week?” an amazed Selectman Richard Sykes told Rec Director Paula Holt. “Oh, that’s a pretty good deal. There’s people who pay $25 a night for a babysitter.” Added Selectman Matt Frank, “It’s a phenomenal program you have. It’s cheap at any price.” Financial benefits notwithstanding, the “Fun, Friends & Fitness” summer camp should not ever be likened to babysitting, said Holt. For that $25 a week, from June 22 to Aug. 13, children entering Grades 1 through 7 in the fall receive three weeks of swim lessons, canoe/kayak lessons, a summer reading program at the nearby library, nutrition workshops, crafts, games, gym sports and a tie dye T-shirt. An additional fee is charged for optional field trips to amusement parks and other attractions. Expanded
arts and crafts offerings, as well, are planned for this summer. Compare that with Naples’ KidVenture Summer Camp at the town hall gym, where a five-day week, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., including 2½ days of field trips but not swim lessons, costs $805 for seven weeks, according to Naples Rec Director Harvey Price. Lesser fees are paid for partial-week or partial-session options, but there is no taxpayer subsidy. And the parents must also pay $40 a week for beforeand-after child care. Price said last year there were 46 children enrolled, of which nine paid for the full weekly sessions. As far as other area towns go, many of them don’t even offer a summer day camp, but instead offer swim lessons and other individual summer-related programs. If Harrison’s summer camp program weren’t impressive enough on its own, consider that it works closely with the Harrison Kids School Age Child Care Enrichment Program, or HaKi SACC. This allows parents to drop off their kids at 6 a.m. at the fire station for creative play and snacks before being walked down to the park for the 9 a.m. start of summer camp. When camp ends at 3 p.m., the children return to HaKi SACC for another three hours until their parents pick them up at 6 p.m.
Model program The summer program has evolved greatly since Holt became Rec Director in 1996. Back then, the eight-week session cost only $35 a week, but it didn’t have nearly the variety and breadth of offerings the children now enjoy. In recent years, increases in the program fee have been modest, she said, around $5 or $10 a year. Holt said she’s listened closely to all the recent talk at the municipal level about proposed elimination of state revenue sharing, and the impact that would have on the town’s budget, which already takes a big hit trying to compensate for education costs that make up over 60% of the total tax burden. So this year she’s thinking about increasing the camp cost by around $25, to $225 for eight weeks, or another $3 per week. The extra revenue will go into the general rec budget. Holt wanted to know if selectmen would support an increase, and most of them agreed, especially after Holt explained that scholarship help is available, particularly
to parents wanting to enroll more than one child. The camp is for Harrison children only, but she does take in kids from other towns as space allows, at a fee of $100 a week, or $800 for the summer. Selectman Kathy Laplante, although in support of the program, didn’t like the idea of increasing the camp fee. “Our residents already pay taxes, and shouldn’t they get something for their taxes?” she asked. “That’s why they pay taxes. I don’t think it’s right to ask them for more money.” Holt said that without the $39,000 town subsidy, she would have to charge parents $150 a week to pay her staff. The camp has 18 paid, fulland part-time staff, which is a bare minimum, given rec guidelines of a 12-to-1 ratio of staff to kids for an outside environment. “I can’t cut that staff,” said Holt, saying she runs with a skeleton crew as it is, whose pay at $9 an hour is less than the $10–$11 an hour paid by many other towns. SUMMER, Page A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
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