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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 145, No. 14
24 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
April 3, 2014
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 7B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Fleck tabbed as deputy manager By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer With a new title comes new authority, but those who know her know that Georgiann Fleck won’t let the title of Deputy Town Manager go to her head. Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz made it official today, appointing Fleck to the position that was created recently by Bridgton Selectmen after Berkowitz announced his retirement effective this summer. Her selection resulted from an internal posting and interview process. Fleck had served under the title of Executive Assistant, and that position will be eliminated once her probationary period has passed. WHOLE LOTTA HOUSING — New Gloucester Civil Engineer and Project Manager Jon Whitten of Terradyn Consultants explains plans for the Community Apartments & Efficiency Way subdivision as proposed off Portland Road near Sandy Creek Road by Vista Investments, a partnership of local developers Mark Lopez and Justin McIver. The sketch plan shows, in the left shaded area, the layout for eight apartment buildings, each of which would house 12 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The complex also would have an office at the end of a new road called Community Way. The apartment complex would connect with Sustainable Way, a new access road leading to the Efficiency Way subdivision of 18 single-family homes. The Efficiency Way subdivision would lie behind eight-lot Eco-Estates subdivision (shown as the large white unshaded area) that was recently approved by the Bridgton Planning Board. The other white unshaded areas represent six commercial lots of the Ginn subdivision on Portland Road, approved in 2011.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — For those people who bemoan that there is not another Family Dollar between Bridgton and Raymond, soon your sorrows will be soothed. This summer, the national chain store will be built on Naples’ soil. The location is next to the Dunkin’ Donuts that was okayed late last year. The property for the future Family ily lots of around 10,000 square feet, Dollar is situated between the served by two common septic systems Aubuchon Hardware buildand a wet pond. Like the apartments, ing and the brick building the lots would be served by public water. Both projects would have underground electric and cable lines. With woodland buffers included, both projects take up just over 50 acres, leaving around 70 acres of the original Ginn property undeveloped. By Dawn De Busk “We really feel that even though Staff Writer we’re talking some big numbers, we CASCO – Instead of budfeel that it fits in,” Whitten said, noting the location of both projects back geting for the demolition of from Portland Road and the wooded another dangerous building, buffers that surround each. He said both Casco’s local elected officials projects have been laid out in a north- opted to sell the property. A minimum bid requiresouth configuration to allow a southern exposure and possible use of solar tech- ment would allow the town nology. The developers would like both to cover the back taxes on the new roads to be accepted by voters as property. “There continues to exist a public roads, Whitten added. Board Chairman Steve Collins said burnt-out dangerous building on the property, 614 Poland PLAN, Page 12A
Developers propose 96 apartments, 18 family homes off Portland Road that up this year with Eco Estates, an eight-lot energy-efficient condominium project designed for empty nesters. On Tuesday, Jon Whitten of Terradyn Consultants, New Gloucester, outlined the plans for the newest development. The apartment complex would be comprised of eight buildings of 12 units each, with nine two-bedroom and three one-bedroom units. Each building would have its own dedicated septic system and be served by public water. The 11-acre complex would also include an office, maintenance building, playground and 151 parking spaces, accessible from Portland Road via a new road called Commercial Way. Commercial Way, in turn, would connect up with Sustainable Way, the new access road serving Eco Estates and the proposed 18-lot Efficiency Way subdivision that would be built behind it. Efficiency Way would be built at the base of Mount Henry with single-fam-
A Search Committee has turned over to selectmen a list of six finalists from around 40 DEPUTY, Page 12A
Family Dollar has green light
Thinking real big
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Plans for the largest subdivision ever in Bridgton — 96 apartments and 18 single-family homes off Portland Road — were unveiled Tuesday by local business partners Justin McIver and Mark Lopez. The preliminary site plan and subdivision application for Vista Investments’ Community Apartments & Efficiency Way subdivision was accepted by the Bridgton Planning Board, which scheduled a formal public hearing on the plans for Tuesday, April 22, at 7 p.m., in the Bridgton Municipal Complex. The projects represent further development of several hundred acres of land across from New England Boat and Recreation that Lopez and McIver bought from Herbert Ginn in 2011 under their Vista Investments partnership. Initially they created a six-lot commercial subdivision, then followed
GEORGIANN FLECK is shown advising the Bridgton Planning Board.
that was formerly Sidney’s Restaurant. While Aubuchon will be doing business alongside the new Family Dollar, the restaurant structure will be demolished so that a new Dunkin’ Donuts store can be constructed. On Tuesday, the Naples Planning Board wrapped up the site review plan of the revised items, and cast its vote of approval, 4–1, with Kevin Rogers opposing. That evening Family Dollar representatives returned to the meeting room DOLLAR, Page A
Casco opts to sell, not demolish
Springs Road,” according to Town Manager Dave Morton. The house is located directly off Route 11 in the proximity of Coffee Pond. “It has been three or four months since the property was foreclosed on; and technically, it belongs to the town of Casco,” Morton said. He gave the Casco Board of Selectmen a couple of SELL, Page A
Local company builds boardwalk for a bog By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — One would think that building an 850foot boardwalk would require manhandling the materials, but the employees at Great Northern Docks handled each section, each weld, with kid gloves. This winter, an entire room was dedicated to displaying the blueprints of the boardwalk project. In December, the shop behind Great Northern Docks’ storefront was bustling with activity. The fabrication of 105 8x4-foot sections of boardwalk needed to be wrapped up and on the truck to Orono, Maine, before the New Year. The job was completed before Christmas. According to Shop Foreman Paul Hargreaves, every person who worked on the project assumed a sense of ownership. Individuals would point out to him when something was below standard and needed to be improved, he said. Nobody was dismayed that the boardwalk project would cut into their Christmas shopping time, he said. Instead,
times, crawled on my hands and knees and measured every inch of the walkway,” Steve Merriam said. The stakeholders at UM not only had before them the prospect of replacing aging sections of boardwalk in a timely manner, but also they hoped to get a product that resolved some issues with the current walkway. According to Merriam, he was faced with a couple of interesting challenges; and the majority of those were presented by the terrain. “When the thaw comes, the docks would thaw out on the sunny side first, and remain frozen on the other side,” he said. The uneven thawing of ELAINA MERRIAM, the daughter of Dawn and Sam Merriam, who own Great the bog caused the boardwalk to be off kilter. Northern Docks, enjoys some fresh air at the Orono Bog Boardwalk last year. “We made the entire walk (Photo courtesy of Great Northern Docks) they treated the task and the timeline like an exciting challenge, he said. After all, the client is University of Maine (UM); and, the cost of the completed product is $200,000. Through the bid process, the university had hired Great Northern Docks to fabricate
almost 1,000 feet of boardwalk built for a bog. It required a lot of hands on deck. Bob Topping and Hargreaves did much of the welding. On the assembly team were: Tom Lee, Tony Morrison, Ken Richardson, Dave Ring, Sue Smith, and
Rich Hodson. Steve Merriam assumed the role of project engineer and planner. He said UM contacted him about three years ago with the prospect of replacing sections of its onemile-long walkway through the Orono Bog. “I’ve been there several
way adjustable,” Merriam said, adding, “Some places have floats; other sections have solid footing, which is a composite material.” “The substrate is peat moss. There are a couple of different types of peat moss. There is a woody peat moss, which is more firm. There is softer peat moss — it does not have much tree growth, and doesn’t have wood in it,” he said. “It is a sponge — a very deep sponge. In some areas, it is firm and the boardwalk could be supported. In other areas, it had to be floating,” he said. A dock on a floating bog will handle differently than a dock that is floating in water. So, his plans took that into account. BOARDWALK, Page A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
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