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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870 Vol. 149, No. 40
Time to build for the future?
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer HARRISON —Building projects could be on Harrison’s horizon. One — a new Parks & Recreation building — is a little more pressing, while the other — construction of a new Public Works facility — is likely a longer-term goal. Town Manager Tim Pellerin informed selectmen at their September meeting that an insurance inspection of the municipal offices resulted in a red flag regarding how storage space is being used to house Parks & Recreation. Pellerin noted that the former garage space is used to store rec department equipment and serves as a work station for Rec Director Kayla Laird. Park maintenance items are also kept there. With no fireproof materials, the space fails to comply with insurance standards. So, Pellerin proposed BUILDING, Page 7A
28 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
October 3, 2019
www.bridgton.com
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Town agrees to revamp plan By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer While a plan may not necessarily be carved in stone, last minute changes can create logistical problems and add costs. Bridgton selectmen wrestled with the idea of altering the streetscape blueprint after being approached by the Oberg family regarding saving a parking space in front of their Main Street office. The Obergs informed officials that they were under the impression last winter as the project was being designed that at least one parking space would be retained. But when work commenced, they found that both spaces were removed in favor of a bumpout that included a tree and a bench. While project engineer Colin Dinsmore of HEB Engineers reached out to businesses and individuals regarding concerns and comments about the project during the design phase, some miscommunication apparently occurred. The Obergs noted they were CUT ABOVE THE BEST? — Wood chips were flying Monday in springboard never asked about removal competition as participants took part in Woodsmen’s Day at Fryeburg Fair. The of a tree that is located to fair continues through this Sunday, Oct. 6. (Photo by Edward Kinney) the Nulty Street side of their insurance office —
a move they gladly supported. Bridgton Town Manager Bob Peabody pointed out that some meetings were held without his knowledge and thus he was “out of the loop” and should have been “in the loop.” “I hadn’t been kept informed,” he said. Dinsmore said a “change order” could be pursued, but normally such action when construction is in full swing often carries a cost. For example, he pointed out that the company that was hired to do tree work has since moved on. To bring the company back to cut down the Oberg tree could cost $3,000 — noting that the price was likely lower when the group was in town. He added that additional engineering fees (estimated 33 billable hours) could be in the $4,950 range. Immediately, selectmen questioned how Dinsmore arrived at those costs. Selectman Bear Zaidman wondered if there were some cost savings that could be had to address the unexpected expenses. Selectwoman Carmen Lone wondered if the PLAN, Page 8A
Officer (CEO) Alex Sirois spoke as part of department reports during the Casco Board of Selectmen’s meeting. “I have a list of notice[s] of violations that need to be sent out that is about 25 long,” Sirois said, adding “It is definitely a long list.” “That is something that Courtney and I have talked about — ways to shift the tasks so I have more time for enforcement,” he said. Selectman Grant Plummer asked what the town is doing on the enforce-
June. “Where we are at now is average for the number of permits issued,” he said. “The Zoning Board of Appeals was pretty busy. They have a couple ongoing things, where people appealed it to the next level. They have an appeal from two years ago that has continued on,” he said. “The planning board was quiet. Not a whole lot going on. The planning board tabled a couple applications,” he said.
CEO reports 25 violations expected on tap By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — It didn’t take the code enforcement officer’s quarterly report for town officials to admit that there aren’t enough hours and staff to keep on top of ordinance violations. In fact, Casco Town Manager Courtney O’Donnell said it was on the top of her list to find a way to provide more time so the CEO could address enforcement issues. Casco Code Enforcement
ment end of the code department. He asked whether hiring someone part-time was the answer. O’Donnell did not specify what the solution might be, but she said, “that it is definitely high on my priority list. I am on it.” Sirois was reviewing the quarterly report for April through June 2019. “Violations — there are a couple of situations that have been updated. There are a few new ones that weren’t done prior to the end
of this quarter but will be on the next report,” he said. For this quarter, the number of permits issued decreased from the same quarter in 2018. However, that trend ended in July, he said. “The permits that were issued this year compared to 2018 — they were significantly lower,” Sirois said. “Looking back, it didn’t seem slower.” “The inspections and site meetings were a lot higher than average,” he said.
Looking at it, a lot of permits were issued in July. [It was] more than normal,” Sirois said. “What happened here is [Administrative Assistant] Bob [Tooker] and I started a process to send out postcards for permits that had expired. We started doing that this winter and it made for a pretty busy spring for inspections,” he said. Sirois explained that the workload seemed brisk while on paper the permits were down by the end of
Lake group asks town to help with dam repair
PAINTING WINDOW FRAMES — From atop a ladder, area resident Larry King poses for photo in 2017 while doing repair work on the building used by the Maine Heritage Foundation. This Sunday, the public is welcome to an open house from 2 to 6 p.m. (Photo courtesy of Maine Blues Heritage Foundation)
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — The nonprofit group that protects the water quality of Thompson Lake requested that Casco use its voice to help the Town of Oxford put into place a maintenance plan for the dam. Thompson Lake Environmental Association (TLEA) co-presidents spoke to the Casco Board of Selectmen, providing the board with an update of milfoil removal campaigns, runoff prevention and concern about the worsening
Leaf peepers might add blues By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Some leaf peepers might want to add the blues to their Sunday drive. When someone moves into a new place, it’s typical to have a house warming. It’s taken a few years of making improvements; and now the Maine Blues Heritage Foundation is ready to show off its Hall of Fame to the public. The open house is happening from 2 to 6 p.m. this
Sunday. The free event will include live acoustic music. There will be knowledgeable volunteers on hand to answer any questions. Still, people can tour the Hall of Fame on their own. Light refreshments such as beer, wine and soft drinks will be available. There is a cost for the alcohol. The Hall of Fame is located in the brick building on the Naples Village Green property. The name of the access road is Village
Green Lane — that’s the same driveway people take to get to the post office and the town hall. The building can be seen from Route 302. “We’re your neighbors. Come visit us,” said Kevin Kimball, of the Maine Blues Heritage Foundation. He said he is excited to unveil the hall of fame to the public. “We just felt that given the Naples community has been so welcoming to Maine blues artists, that Naples is the logical place to have a
hall of fame,” Kimball said. “It’s a perfect location,” he said. “Little by little, we’ve been doing upgrades. We did more painting this year. It’s coming along. It’s all volunteers so people get to it when they can.” “The Hall of fame will feature displays of vintage musical equipment, posters, artifacts and biographies of Maine blues artists,” he said. The Maine Blues Festival and the Maine Blues Heritage Foundation BLUES, Page 3A
condition of the Thompson Lake Dam. The dam is entirely owned and controlled by the Town of Oxford. The Town of Casco has representatives on the Thompson Lake Advisory Committee. TLEA’s two co-presidents, Marcia Matuska and Kathy Cain, provided the selectmen with a slideshow and a 5- to 10-minute overview of the association’s work and most pressing concerns. Matuska did most of the speaking, starting with water clarity and ending with piecemeal repairs on the Thompson Lake Dam. “In 2018, an engineer rated the dam from poor to fair condition,” she said. “Whoever is on the dam committee, we hope you’ll put in a maintenance plan,” Matuska said. Although the east end of the dam is slated to be replaced, there are
other items that cannot go much longer without being repaired, she said. She listed holes in the concrete that are leaking water and could simply be sealed up as well as a large leak that has left a puddle several feet deep and could cause underground erosion. “There are trees and plants growing in the concrete—that is concerning to us,” she said. “We don’t have a voice,” she said. “We we know the dam committee is a committee that suggests. We’d like to see a maintenance plan put in place. The east dam is going to be replaced. We would like to see other issues addressed rather than it be done piecemeal,” Matuska said. The board has in the past discussed a better approach to the maintenance on the dam, which borders the REPAIR, Page 3A
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P.O. Box 244, 118 Main St. Bridgton, ME 04009 207-647-2851 Fax: 207-647-5001 bnews@roadrunner.com