Heather’s return Singer and songwriter Heather Masse and fellow grad Ben Hammond to appear at PAC Page 1B
School opens
Inside News
SAD 61 students return to class on Wednesday, Aug. 31. Bus schedule appears on Page 7C
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Next Week: Meet some new faces
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www.bridgton.com Vol. 142, No. 34
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 36 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
August 25, 2011
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
Revamp or get out of business?
By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer The current fee structure and long-range plan for the town-owned Salmon Point Campground on Long Lake was the subject of a lengthy discussion, at Tuesday night’s selectmen’s meeting. As a result of that discussion on Aug. 23, three different sets of proposed fee schedules with increases are now being looked at — one formulated by the town manager, one drawn up by Selectman Paul Hoyt and presented by him as a private citizen, and a third from the Bridgton Community Development Committee asking that fees at Salmon Point be increased and the additional revenue go to organizations that had funds cut this year, like the Library and Community Center. A bigger question to answer down the road, other than what to do about the fee structure at Salmon Point, Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz said this week, is how the town wants to run the campground. “I think there’s a threshold question the board needs to
address right off,” said Berkowitz Aug. 23. “Do we want to continue to run it (Salmon Point Campground) as an enterprise fund…or do you continue operating it (using a specific) business model…or do we get out of the business altogether and look at maximizing the return by leasing it?” Some history… The Bridgton Board of Selectmen had discussed current fees at Salmon Point and the possibility of raising them at their previous meeting on Aug. 9, with the understanding that they would likely make a decision on any changes at their Aug. 23 meeting. Selectman Paul Hoyt, who rents a seasonal campsite at Salmon Point, spoke Aug. 9 of possibly expanding the campground and using the extra $10,000 in projected revenue he said would be generated by that to set up a reserve fund as suggested by Town Manager Berkowitz, to offset recreational fees. YES! WE DID IT — The Smiths — Garrett and Jeanine — Berkowitz said Aug. 9, “Dawn exchange a high five after they reached the midstation point Taft did all of the research online on Pleasant Mountain Saturday during the fourth annual POINT, Page A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Casco’s elected officials heard that the best approach to adjusting the tax rate for 2011-12 was to exercise prudence. Keep the mill rate as low as possible, while giving some budgetary breathing room when setting the overlay — since the town likely won’t collect every dollar of the property taxes owed. Speaking on behalf of the Town Assessor John O’Donnell, his brother Michael O’Donnell told the Casco Board of
Selectmen that the most feasible mill rate would be $12.25. “With the expenditures you have for this year, you will see a tax rate increase. We are recommending a $1.40 increase from last year,” he said. “This year, taxpayers are already looking at a big increase. The town budget went up, the school budget went up, and the county taxes went down — but not by much,” he said, adding, “Revenues are down.” A mill rate of $12.25 per $1,000 valuation was set for the Town of Casco; therefore, a resident with a home val-
ued at $200,000 will pay an annual property tax of $2,450, O’Donnell said. In Casco, the town assessor sets the rate, and selectmen can select the overlay, he said. Essentially, the mill rate was decided after town meeting and the passage of the school budget; and the assessor’s job is to find a tax rate number that will bring in enough revenue to cover those costs. “All the other numbers are predetermined. As assessors, we have to pick a rate that covers all your needs,” he said. “By law, you are allowed to
pick a rate that is five percent over that,” O’Donnell told the selectmen. That is the overlay. In this case, three cents was added to the bare minimum of $12.22. Typically, the town rounds its tax rate to the nearest nickel. So, the mill rate of $12.25 creates an overlay — or a monetary safety net — of $23,000, he said. “You are never going to collect 100 percent of your taxes. The overlay allows you to make up for that,” O’Donnell said. During the 2010-11 budget
year, which ended in June, the Mil rate was $10.85 per $1,000 of property valuation, he said. “Given the nature of the hike in the mill rate, it seems prudent to have it as low as possible,” Town Manager David Morton said. “We take our overlay and put it in our undesignated fund balance. If $23,000 isn’t enough, we have already prepared for that contingency at town meeting,” Morton said. “Going with the lowest, practical amount of overlay is prudent at this juncture,” he said.
The board gave a show of hands to indicate it agreed with the assessor’s recommended mill rate. Selectman Tracy Kimball said she would refrain from acknowledging the newly adjusted tax rate until she fully understood what the assessor was talking about. “I need to know more,” Kimball said. O’Donnell offered to swing by the town offices, and sit down with her at a convenient time in the future. (See related story on Page 7A.)
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer HARRISON — One of the first things Gary Pagel realized when he took on the job of Harrison’s Harbormaster a year ago, was that the town had a really good set of rules regulating moorings in the town’s two water bodies, Crystal and Long Lakes. The problem was, enforcement under his predecessor had been inconsistent, and mooring records at the town office were a mess. So Pagel was given a simple
charge: bring the moorings into compliance with the ordinance so it can do what it was designed to do: ensure the safety and maneuverability of boats at the shoreline, and protect the rights of shorefront property owners. It’s been a process of education, both for him and the public, and so far, he hasn’t had one case where he’s had to enforce the ordinance by seizing the mooring ball and hauling an errant boat to the town dock. “What I want to do is work with the people and be as courte-
ous as I can be, explaining what the ordinance states, in black and white,” said Pagel, who works for United Ambulance and divides his 20-22 hours as harbormaster between the three p’s — talking to people, patrolling and paperwork. “We don’t want to be a police town, Harrison is the Friendly Village.” His tasks in his first year on the job have been concentrated on identifying exactly where all of the moorings are located, improving the written mooring application to provide more
information and then personally contacting all 500 or so mooring owners, both residents and nonresidents. He reminds them that they have to fill out their applications each and every year in order to keep their moorings, or risk
having them considered abandoned by the town. Those who had moorings in 2009 or 2010 and did not apply in 2011 are especially targeted for courtesy calls by Pagel. “We’re talking probably
around 200 people. Some plead ignorance; they weren’t aware they had to apply every year,” he said. The application has been improved to identify multiple
Great Adventure Challenge triathlon. The event benefits Good Neighbors, Inc. Complete race coverage on Page 1C. (Rivet Photo)
Casco to adjust to new tax rate by being prudent
Harbormaster: A public servant, not a policeman HARRISON, Page A
Adults flee home
By Lisa Williams Ackley Staff Writer EAST FRYEBURG — Four adults fled a burning house off Route 302 here early Wednesday morning, but the five-year-old ranch-style house is a total loss, the fire chief said. The occupants were alerted to the fire by smoke detectors, Sheaff said. The homeowner is Maurice Baillargeon, according to Fryeburg Fire Chief Ozzie Sheaff, and the house sits up a long driveway on a hill, just a short distance from the fourway intersection with the blink- THE FRIENDLY WATERS — Harrison Harbormaster Gary Pagel stands in the town’s pontoon boat, used by him as well ing traffic signal. (Geraghty Photo) Fire Chief Sheaff said his as the fire and rescue departments. department was toned out at 3 a.m. and when they arrived the two-car attached garage and breezeway “were fully involved Established 1870 and the fire was moving into the P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. house.” The bottom floor with Bridgton, ME 04009 a walkout basement sustained 207-647-2851 EARLY MORNING BLAZE — A five-year-old ranch-style home off Route 302 in East smoke and water damage, he Fax: 207-647-5001 Fryeburg was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning. Four adults escaped with their said. “It was brought under bnews@roadrunner.com lives. (Ackley Photo) FIRE, Page A
The Bridgton News