Trek success The 13th annual Loon Echo Land Trust Trek raised $77,000 Page 1B
50 Years later
Inside News
Fryeburg Academy to honor 1963 state championship football team Saturday
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 4B Classifieds . . . . . . 4D-5D Country Living 3B, 5B-8B
Page 3A
Directory . . . . . . . . . . 3D Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 6D Opinions . 1D-3D, 7D-8D Police/Court . . . . . . . . 5A Sports . . . . . . . . . 1C-7C Student News . . . . . . 8C Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 5C
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 144, No. 39
32 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
September 26, 2013
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
What to do with Memorial School?
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton town officials are edging closer to the day of decision on a master plan for redevelopment of the former Memorial School property. A public brainstorming session, or public charette similar to one held around five years ago, has been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 9, to receive ideas on how the 4.6-acre site on Depot Street could be redeveloped to best serve the community. The session will begin with a site walk of the property at 4 p.m., followed by the charette at 5 p.m. at Stevens Brook Elementary School. Leading the visioning session will be Anne Krieg, Bridgton’s director of planning, economic and community development, along with representatives from the Greater Portland Council of Governments and consultants Ransom Consulting and Richardson & Associates. “The options are limitless but we need a plan to get things moving,” Krieg said. “It’s important for the residents and business owners to participate in the planning process.” A second meeting has been tentatively scheduled
for Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m., during which Krieg hopes to see a master plan finally taking shape, in preparation for a town-wide vote next June. “To make this project work, we need your two cents on how the proper-
ty should be developed!” Krieg stated on the town’s website. Many in town consider the site, located near to the Bridgton Community Center and Stevens Brook Elementary School, an ideal location for some sort of community-use facility, eas-
ily accessible to downtown residents. Others have envisioned the property as quite suitable, in terms of walkability, for a senior or affordable housing complex. Still others see it as a great location for a light manufacturing or high-tech industrial development. The charette will include exercises designed to help residents think about what kinds of development are appropriate. “And yes, there will be food,” Krieg said. Krieg hopes residents in town can come to a clear consensus on a redevelopment plan over the next few months, in order to take advantage of available funding through several state and federal programs. Consultants from the Greater Portland Council of Governments gave a re-use report to Bridgton Selectmen recently that listed total conceptual costs of $548,000 to cleanup all identified sources of contamination on the site, which served as the depot terminal for the Narrow Gauge Railroad prior to the school’s construction in 1949. Interestingly, a Phase II environmental site analysis conducted in 2011 through the state’s Brownfields proSCHOOL, Page A
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Bridgton Selectmen are not interested in buying the Bridgton Water District’s old pump station lot on Highland Lake. The board voted Tuesday not to bid on the small .12acre parcel, but thanked the District for notifying the town of the sale. The lot is located off North High Street, on M&M Circle, off Clearview Drive. It has an old pump station building and abuts cottages that are part of the Taylor Town development. “We no longer use this as a source of water for our customers,” and thus have
decided to sell the property, the Bridgton Water District’s Board of Trustees wrote in a letter to the town. “We felt it would be fair to notify you first.” Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz said the land should generate “a decent revenue” for the district, but “We already have a beach.” He noted that the lot is only around 100 feet deep from the shoreline, and whoever purchased it would likely need to negotiate with an abutting property owner for land to site a septic system. Town tax records show the lot having 50 feet of shore frontage, with the land assessed at $95,290 and the
building at $13,570. The District is accepting sealed bids with a deadline of Oct. 8 at 5 p.m., allowing 60 days to complete the purchase. The District is reserving the right to reject any bids it does not deem appropriate. Selectman Chairman Doug Taft said he recalled that the land had a “huge boulder” in the center of the property. Selectman Ken Murphy said, “I think it would be a good taxable piece of property to sell.” Seasonal signage dispute In other action, selectmen agreed to follow up with Bridgton Arts & Crafts on their request to have their Main Street seasonal signs
reinstalled. The off-premises signs, which directed the public to its nonprofit store located on Depot Street, were removed by the town in July. Code Enforcement Officer Robbie Baker ruled that the sign was in violation of the sign ordinance, which does not allow off-premises signs. Berkowitz said he understands that Bridgton Arts & Crafts was granted a waiver for the sign by a previous Board of Selectmen on grounds that the sign was in place prior to adoption of the ordinance and thus was grandfathered. “They had the grandfathering in the past of what I DISTRICT, Page A
SCRUTINIZED AT DEPTH — Now that an environmental site analysis has identified where contamination is located at the 4.6-acre former Memorial School site, it’s time for residents to take the next step, and envision how the property could be redeveloped to best meet the needs of the community. To that end, a public charette will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 5 p.m. at Stevens Brook Elementary School. A site walk will be held that day on the Memorial School property at 4 p.m.
District selling waterfront lot
Casco tax bills on the horizon By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — For those people who dread opening that property tax bill — and, that includes just about everyone – it’s not in the mailbox yet. Casco’s property tax bills will be sent out, but, that mass mailing has been delayed by about four to six weeks, according to Town Manager Dave Morton. The reason for the tax bill postponement: The procedures necessary to complete Casco’s property revaluation are still being done, Morton
said. “We have another seven to ten days to go through (the property revaluation) hearings, and do the investigative work, and make changes or not” to any property values, he said. Vision Government Solutions, Inc. is the company that has been working on the one-year revaluation project. After valid adjustments are made to the latest property values list, Vision will wrap up by transferring the data to the town’s computer. Then, the tax bills will be passed TAX BILLS, Page A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Today and tomorrow, the United States Post Office will participate in a task considered by citizens to be less joyous than the Christmas card blitz. The local post office staff will be sorting and distributing the property tax bills of Naples residents. People should receive their property tax statements in the mail over the weekend
and through early October, according to Naples Town Clerk Judy Whynot. Property taxes are split into two payments — with the first payment due Oct. 20, she said. The tax rate has been set at $13 for the 2013–14 budget year. In other words, for every $10,000 worth of property value, the owner would pay $130. Prior to the tax bills being
Naples bills to arrive very soon
ROAD WORK SIGNS PACKED UP — Two employees from general contractor Wyman and Simpson, Inc., remove a sign warning motorists of construction along Route 302. On Tuesday morning, the warning signs were removed, signaling that the $9.5-million Bay of Naples Bridge and Causeway renovation job has come to a close. Subcontractors who worked on this project include: R.J. Grondin and Sons, Dragon Cement and Concrete, Coastal Paving, and Sabra Property Care Inc. (De Busk Photo) sent to the printers, which is During a Special Town where the tax bills were on Meeting on Sept. 19, citizens Monday, first the town had to approved transferring $45,519 NAPLES, Page A readjust its budget.
VOICE OF REASON — Mike Tarantino, who is stepping away from 16 years of active committee work on Bridgton economic issues, delivered a detailed report to selectmen Tuesday after researching the town’s taxacquired properties. (Geraghty Photo)
Tarantino resigns as CDC chairman By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer When tempers flare and reason flies out the window, Mike Tarantino can be counted on to cool things down. Bridgton Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz said Tuesday he has watched Tarantino be “placed in a vice” between opposing factions of local politics many times, and each time Tarantino has responded with the voice of reason. “He always approaches issues with the good of the community in mind, and what is the most judicious action to be taken,” Berkowitz said, as Tarantino’s letter of resignation from the Community Development Committee was read into the record. Tarantino, who chairs the CDC and has been actively involved in Bridgton’s economic and community development issues for 16 years, will ask for a new chairman to be elected at the next CDC meeting. He said he will stay on the committee until Jan. 1, 2014 for purposes of transition, but after that, he’ll be done. “The only reason for this decision is that it is time,” Tarantino said in his letter, read by Selectman Chairman Doug Taft. “Someone once told me that if you give of your time, you also give part of your life. If this is true then I had given about 16 years of my life,” Taft read from the letter. Tarantino, sitting as usual in the audience, listened appreciatively as selectmen, in turn, expressed their gratitude and appreciation for all of the work he’s done for the town over the years. “I’ve had the pleasure of working on two boards with this extremely talented man,” said Selectman Ken Murphy of Tarantino. Murphy said Bridgton has been TARANTINO RESIGNS, Page A
Casco Rescue acquires ATV By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — A trio of friends leave on two all-terrain vehicles with plans to take the trail system that winds through JugTown. They have a destination in mind, and are expected to be there in a few hours. They are all experienced drivers, having been raised around ATVs, and armed with the knowledge of how to operate the machines safely. Despite that, what was planned as a fun afternoon veers off track, and an accident happens. The crash transpires in a few blinks of an eye. Suddenly, one person is lying motionless in the low-lying brush and another person is pinned beneath the four-wheeler. Luckily the third person is carrying a cell phone, and the 9-1-1 call goes out. According to Casco Fire Chief Jason Moen, such inci-
dents happen six to eight times a year, and involve ATVs and snowmobiles as well as people riding horses or hiking. On the backcountry trails, emergency response time is longer because of the difficulty in getting to the injured person. “Usually, anywhere from 12 to 15 people would respond. They would either hike in or borrow someone’s ATV or snowmobile,” Moen said. Once the rescue team overcomes the challenge of getting to the scene of an accident, the next hurdle is getting the person or people out safely, and possibly to a waiting ambulance. Now, the Casco Fire and Rescue Department has an ally. Another ATV is the perfect tool to aid in those emergencies involving recreational vehicles or hikers. RESCUE, Page A
The Bridgton News Established 1870
P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com