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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 149, No. 37
28 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
September 12, 2019
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www.bridgton.com
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Slow start on Hotel appeal By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer For over a year, a “seasoned” Planning Board asked pointed questions, reviewed a stack of data and considered a wide range of testimony before approving the Hotel Bridgton project. So when veteran chairman John Schuettinger was unavailable due to a medical issue, a relatively rookie Board of Appeals decided to put the brakes on temporarily on their review of the Hotel Bridgton decision. Following a huddle between attorneys, the decision was made last Thursday night to hear public comment only, and then postpone the administrative appeal until Thursday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. when only attorneys representing the Save Kennard Street group and the town will make presentations. “My concern is you are looking at a new Appeals Board. I’m the only one here that’s seen appeal,” veteran Appeals Board member Sharon Abbott said. “John, the principal chair, has a number of years and is very knowledgeable. This is an important case and we want to do it right.” All sides agreed that Schuettinger’s experience would prove beneficial, and felt he should be in the room when the attorneys begin their arguments. Attorney James Katsiaficas of Perkins & Thompson law firm in Portland will serve as the neutral advisor overseeing the administrative appeal, since the town’s attorney, Agnieszka Dixon of Drummond & Woodsum will continue to represent the Bridgton Planning Board in these proceedings. In a letter to the town, Katsiaficas noted, “The potential for prejudice caused by the appearance of the Town Attorney before a Board of Appeals in a role other than as advisor to the Board has been raised before as a potential due process violation, and was rejected by the Law Court where the Town Attorney was careful to state several times on the record that he was representing the CEO (code enforcement officer) and not advising the Board,” he wrote. “I suggest that if the Town Attorney will speak to the Board of Appeals as the representative of the Planning Board, then it would be prudent for her to state that although she is the Town Attorney, she is representing the Planning Board as a party, and is not representing or advising the Board of Appeals as its legal counsel at this hearing.” Katsiaficas welcomed public comment, but pointed out that “we are not here to do this all over again” and the Appeals Board would not be accepting no new testimony, no new evidence and
no new documentation. The Appeals Board’s focus will be whether there was an error of law in regards to the Planning Board’s decision to approve the 68-room hotel project. The Appeals Board can either affirm planners’ decision, reverse it or remand the project back to the Planning Board for additional findings. Appeals Board vice chairman Mark Harmon set a fiveminute limit for each speaker, and called for the meeting to close by 9 p.m., citing many people “have to work in the morning.” The first speaker was Sigvard Von Sicard, one of the individuals named in the appeal, who inherited property that abuts the proposed hotel site on Highland Road some 30 years ago. ”It was an incredible experience in our lives (to inherit the property),” he said. “We prefer to be in Bridgton than anywhere else. We come from a city that nearly strangled itself when the industrial revolution took place. Development took away human personality of people. We discussed for many years since the mill closed what potentials the site had. What we’ve heard and read and seen, we are wondering very seriously if Bridgton is losing sight of vision of what it could be, is and should be.” Sicard feels the hotel project would “affect us very seriously because of the nature of the plans for the property.” Local resident and restaurateur Jimmy Burke had one point to make — the Planning Board spent numerous hours considering the project and did a “phenomenal job.” He felt if the decision was overturned, “it would be a slap in face of the Planning Board, and it would be a shame.” Cathy DiPietro, an engineer registered in Maine and New Jersey, who assisted the Save Kennard Street group, addressed points concerning adding fill to the site and the placement of a storm drain in an area which is prohibited by town ordinance. Doug Oakley, who pointed out that he had been recused during Planning Board deliberation, was presenting as a “resident” and having “no official capacity” as a member of the Planning Board. “I share the concerns of folks most directly impacted by this project on Kennard and Bacon Streets and many members of our community that believe this project, as proposed, would have a detrimental effect on its sensitive water shed and the character of our town,” he said. “I believe the points of appeal presented to you accurately reflect the unanswered problems or questions concerning this project and the conditional approval granted by the Planning Board.” Oakley focused on two HOTEL, Page 4A
ALL DRIVERS MUST STOP — In the near future, probably by mid-October, Pike Corner in Casco will become a four-way stop. (De Busk Photo)
Intersection change
Four-way stop coming in October
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — The wheels are in motion to turn a dangerous intersection in Casco into a four-way stop. The intersection of Route 121 and Route 11, also known as Pike Corner, will change from a two-way stop to a four-way stop by mid-October, according to Casco Town Manager Courtney O’Donnell. The four-way stop is the solution that was put forward by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) on more than one occasion. “I just heard from DOT that they have ordered the message boards to let drivers know about the upcoming changes,” O’Donnell said, adding those signs should be up sometime this month. “The actual changes will be made by mid-October. So the state is moving very quickly and soon that intersection
will be altered,” she said. O’Donnell provided the most recent update to the Casco Board of Selectmen during the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday. Since town officials met with MDOT representatives on Aug. 12, “the state is meeting its promises. They met with landowners” and trimmed back bushes that were in the line-ofsight, she said. In addition to the creation of a fourway stop, the speed limit on Route 11 will be reduced from 40 to 35 miles per hour well ahead of the intersection. MDOT representative Robert Skehan was at the August meeting and stated that although MDOT sought the town’s support and approval, the intersection has been such a safety issue that the state could proceed without town approval. A day after that meeting, on Aug. 13, the selectmen did vote to sup-
port the four-way stop, and O’Donnell wrote a letter informing Skehan of the vote and the town’s stance. “As you are aware, this has been a topic of concern for the town and its residents for some time. While everyone may not agree that a four-way stop is the answer, we can certainly agree that we must do something. We look forward to the immediate action steps outlined at the meeting, and to the eventual plan concept for the longterm solution,” O’Donnell wrote. There is a summary of the meeting that took place last month on the Town of Casco website. These are the statistics obtained by radar equipment placed at the intersection between July 15 and July 30: 45,667 vehicles during two-week period Average of 2,927 vehicles per day 2,994 vehicles on weekends Average speed of 43 mph
Casco postpones pot opt-in
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Casco is putting pot on the back burner. That’s because there is a lot of prep work to be done first. The Town of Casco’s management and elected officials agreed that more research is needed before putting a recreational mari-
juana opt-in clause before voters. In fact, the opt-in ordinance is likely to not be developed until the town meeting in 2021. The item was on the agenda of the Casco Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday night, but the discussion was rather brief. The discussion included the
idea of inviting guest speakers, attorneys, etc., to learn as much as possible about the ramifications of opting in to have recreational marijuana businesses in the town’s borders. Also, the board wanted to get a better idea of how residents felt about the issue. Mary Fernandes reported to her fellow selectmen
about the conference that she had attended, which covered the recreational marijuana law and was sponsored by Maine Municipal Association (MMA). Basically, she had some conversations with attorneys. “The rules and regulations are ever ongoing. It is OPT-IN, Page 5A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer After five years of raising and releasing monarch butterflies in the Bridgton area, there has been some feedback to indicate that the local population of monarchs is on the rebound. “People are saying that since we started doing this, they are seeing more monarchs in their yards, at the golf courses,” said Ron Arzilli, the operations manager at Mark’s Lawn and Garden. “This is our fifth season of doing this,” he said. “People think that because
we are releasing butterflies and those butterflies are flying to Mexico to overwinter and flying back to Maine to reproduce where they started out, there are more monarchs here.” “We are trying to bring more butterflies to Maine. It seems to be working,” Arzilli said. Owner Mark Cartonio couldn’t agree more. “When we started this five years ago, there were almost no monarchs This year, I’ve seen more butterflies than I have in ten years,” he said. BUTTERFLY, Page 3A
Bringing back the butterflies
The Bridgton News Established 1870
ANOTHER LOOK at the proposed Hotel Bridgton, which would be located at the former Saunders dowel mill bordering Kennard and Bacon Streets.
BUTTERFLIES TO STAY — These butterflies are among the ones that will stay in Maine after the butterfly release. The third generation of monarchs born this summer are the ones that will migrate to Mexico. (De Busk Photo)
P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com