Time for a cut The annual Denmark Sheepfest takes place this Saturday at the Arts Center Page 7A
Opening Night!
Inside News
LR Drama Club presents ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ starting tonight through Sunday
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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 149, No. 14
20 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
April 5, 2018
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 6B
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
Checks in mail
Towns to receive unexpected rebate in June from SAD 61
GETTING A JUMP ON EASTER FUN — Youngsters enjoyed themselves at the Bridgton Advancement Group (BRAG) Easter Celebration fundraiser at Lake Region High School Saturday. Over 60 craft people and vendors also took part in sale in the gym. (Rivet Photos)
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer SAD 61 towns will see a rebate check in the mail this June. Late in the 2017–18 budget process, the state added money to education. Since many districts (including SAD 61) did not have an article in the budget warrant to address how those funds would be used, the state is requiring those districts to return 50% of those additional funds to the towns/taxpayers. Finance Coordinator Sherrie Small said districts were encouraged to include an article on the budget meeting warrant so that school systems could access these funds if they, in fact, came to pass. “We chose not to add this article since we are a ‘minimum receiver’ (of state funding) and we don’t usually get any extra monies,” Small said. “To keep it clean and because
Sebago is not part of our budget next year, we decided to cut a check to each of the towns for their specific amounts. We will do this before the end of June.” Amounts are: Bridgton — $19,943.80 Casco — $13,761.94 Naples — $15,286.76 Sebago — $6,055.25 During Monday’s public hearing, Small opened the presentation (the Great Room at LRVC consisted mainly of school personnel and just two members of the general public) noting that the proposed 2018–19 budget is $29,044,708, which is a 3.2% reduction over the prior year. The budget also reflects Sebago’s withdrawal from SAD 61. Sebago Elementary School’s budget for 2017–18 was $1,004,351. SAD 61, Page 3A
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer On the right side of the room, many local residents concerned about the proposed threestory Hotel Bridgton eagerly awaited a presentation by Main Eco Home owner Justin McIver’s development team. Sitting on the left side of the lower level meeting space was McIver and his crew ready to unveil detailed plot plans and architectural drawings of the 68-room facility at the former Saunders Mill site, bordering Kennard and Bacon Streets. There would be no high drama Tuesday night. Bridgton Planning Board chairman Steve Collins quickly pulled the plug on what one expected to be a highly-charged meeting by saying the night would be “purely procedural.”
There was no presentation. There were no comments from the public. There was simply board housekeeping in the form of setting dates for a site walk and public hearing. Collins opened the discussion by noting that the board erred on opening night regarding whether the hotel application was complete. In fact, it was. Questions raised by planners would be addressed during the performance standard review process. Agreeing the application was “complete,” planners moved to the next step. Because of the “high level of public interest” in this project, planners called for a site walk — which is open to the public and official notes will be taken by planners. The site walk is scheduled for Saturday, April 21 at 10 a.m. SITE WALK, Page 2A
Planners schedule site walk, hearing on hotel
Public absent at Naples pot moratorium hearing By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — The public was mum on the marijuana moratorium. In fact, nobody spoke during the public hearing on the recreational-use marijuana moratorium that was on the agenda of the Naples Planning Board on Tuesday. After a few changes to the draft, the moratorium will become a warrant article at the annual town meeting on June 9. Essentially, in January, the Naples Board of Selectmen voted that the moratorium would be in effect retroactively pending passage at the town meeting. If passed by residents at that time, the moratorium will be valid for another 180 days from the town meeting date, according to Naples Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Renee Carter. This moratorium pertains to recreational-use pot only and does not have anything to do with the medical marijuana industry,
which is controlled by the state, Carter said. On Tuesday, the planning board made some changes to the language of the moratorium, which had been provided by the town’s legal counsel. One change is that the board specified that the most appropriate place for a growing operation is in the light manufacturing zone, which is located from Route 11 to the Village District, according to Carter. Chairman Larry Anton introduced a motion to “change this moratorium to include wholesale growing and processing as part of” what is forbidden by the moratorium. Also, as suggested by Planning Board member Jim Krainin, the language about marijuana causing serious public harm was stricken. The board voted in favor of the moratorium with Doug Bogdan opposing. Bogdan HEARING, Page 10A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — It was brought to the public’s attention by a local school board member that the future use of the Grange Hall is a medical marijuana growing facility. “How in the heck could we approve a marijuana growing operation right here in Casco Village,” Phil Shane asked during the Casco Board of Selectmen meeting on March 27. Yes, a medical marijuana growing operation will be the new use for the Casco Grange Hall.
But, no, the town did not approve it because the State of Maine controls the medical marijuana industry, according to Casco Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Alex Sirois, who confirmed the rumor about the Grange Hall. “It is very important to make a clear distinction between medical marijuana and recreational-use retail marijuana,” Siriois said. “Retails are not allowed,” he said. “To answer the gentleman’s question, ‘How can the town allow it?’ The town canGRANGE, Page 10A
Grange Hall restored for marijuana growing
NEW MUSEUM DIRECTOR NAMED — (Left) Martha Cummings, outgoing director/ curator of the Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, who is leaving to become the director of the N.H. Boat Museum in Wolfeboro, N.H., is pictured with Caroline Grimm of Bridgton, author and historian, who will assume the RPM director/curator position full-time on April 17, 2018.
Grimm to lead museum
The Rufus Porter Museum has hired Bridgton resident, Caroline Grimm, as its new director beginning on April 17, 2018. She will replace Martha Cummings, who will take a new position as director at the New Hampshire Boat Museum in Wolfeboro, N.H. Grimm is well known to area residents for her work as a historian. She is the author of a series of historical novels set in Bridgton and surrounding towns, and she has been an active member of the Bridgton Historical Society. “My interest in history began in the Bridgton schools,” Grimm says. “My fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Flint, did a series on Colonial history in which we carded, spun and wove wool. I
thought, ‘Wow, this is what really happened in those days.’ I was hooked for life.” In addition, Grimm has extensive experience in financial management for businesses and nonprofit organizations. She is the owner of QuickBooks Doctor, which provides consulting, accounting and training services. Grimm holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a master’s of science
degree in Business. She is also an accomplished teacher and has taught at Central Maine Community College, Southern Maine Community College, and Andover College. Grimm frequently lectures on local history at area libraries and other institutions. “Rufus Porter led a classic 19th-century American life,” she says. “He had the ability to do several things well, GRIMM, Page 10A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
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