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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870 Vol. 149, No. 42
24 PAGES - 2 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
October 17, 2019
www.bridgton.com
(USPS 065-020)
95¢
Peabody finalist for Boothbay Harbor job By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer Bob Peabody could be on the move. Bridgton’s town manager is a finalist for the same job in Boothbay Harbor. “I’m not just throwing out resumes…this was a selective decision,” said Peabody when contacted by The News Tuesday morning. “It is a community that I’m familiar with, having grown up in Bath…It seems like the right opportunity at the right time.” Peabody informed town
office personnel and selectboard members last Friday that he had been named a finalist to replace Boothbay Harbor Town Manager Tom Woodin, who resigned in early July. Woodin had been the manager there since 2006. Boothbay Harbor conducted a national search, drawing 25 applicants (the application deadline was Sept. 25). In July, the town hired Eaton Peabody Associates’ Don Gerrish to conduct the search. Gerrish asked local residents what
characteristics they felt the next town manager should possess. The finalists are Peabody, who is entering his sixth year as Bridgton’s manager, along with Julia Latter, who grew up in Boothbay Harbor and has worked for the town for the past 22 years, currently as the acting town manager and finance officer/human resources manager. According to a report in the Boothbay Register, Latter and Peabody will take part in a public
“meet and greet” gathering on Monday, Oct. 28, at the Boothbay Harbor Municipal Building, and then on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the candidates will meet with town employees, take part in interviews with department heads and interview with the selectboard. Peabody anticipates a decision the following week. If Peabody fails to land the job, he has every intention to return to Bridgton. “You’ll get 110% from me,” he said.
Peabody signed his second three-year contract with the town this past June. Prior to his arrival in Bridgton, Peabody was the town manager in Rockport until 2013; was a part-time administrator in Hope; and served three terms as a city councilor and as mayor of Rockland. In May 2018, Peabody applied for the town administrator position in Dartmouth, Mass., for which he was one of three candidates publicly interviewed. He failed to land that position.
Robert Peabody
on the Nov. 5 ballot
Q. 3, Opt-in or the stay course?
Editor’s note: Bridgton has three referendum ballot questions on the Nov. 5 warrant. Question 3 is by citizen petition, “Shall the Town adopt the Town of Bridgton Adult Use Marijuana Ordinance?” By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer As Maine nears the opening of adult use marijuana storefronts, a local cultivation operation wants to be able to open its doors once those rules take effect. Currently, Canuvo is a state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary, which employs 15 people and is growing marijuana in the former Bridgton Knitting Mill on Portland Road. It is one of three cultivation sites in Bridgton. Owner Glenn Peterson collected 470 signatures (410 were validated, 263 were needed) to place a citizen’s petition on the Nov. 5 ballot to ask voters if the town wants to “opt-in” to the Adult Marijuana Program — guided by regulations developed by the state. “If the town had brought an ordinance before voters in June, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here right now (talking about Question 3),” said Josh Quint of Canuvo, who is Peterson’s son-in-law and a resident of Bridgton (see his Letter to the Editor in Section D). Quint dispelled a previous criticism that the matter should be settled at a town meeting, noting a citizen’s petition is also a tool in the democratic process. Development of marijuana standards to be included in the town’s Land Use and Site Plan Ordinances has been a slow process. In June 2018, Bridgton selectmen charged the Planning Board to develop ordinances for medical and adult use marijuana (amendments to the Site Plan Review Ordinance). Several workshops with the public (including prospective medical marijuana businesses), invited experts and civic officials were held. Eight months of work included two public hearings and 11 workshops. In November 2018, with news that the state likely would not issue licenses for adult use until 2020, planners shifted their attention to crafting medical marijuana standards. Amendments to town ordinances to address medical marijuana were forwarded to selectmen for placement on the June 2019 warrant. QUESTION 3, Page 4A
MORE FISH-FRIENDLY — The remaining sections of the Edes Falls Dam might be picturesque but it hampers salmon from swimming upriver to spawn. (De Busk Photo)
State recommends dam removal By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — Fish face many challenges in the natural world when it comes to returning to their breeding grounds to start the next generation. Then, there are the manmade obstacles. The remaining granite slabs of the old Edes Falls Dam have been tough on fish trying to swim upriver to spawn in the Crooked River. The Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife — along with a few members of the Sebago Chapter of Trout Unlimited (SCTU) — hope to remove the center of the base of the old dam,
allowing the salmon to continue their journey unimpeded. The group is seeking permission from the Naples Board of Selectmen to remove the remnants of the dam. The good news is twofold: 1.) Nobody is asking the town for money; and 2.) Time is on the town’s side. The dam-removal project will not cost the town anything. Funding will be raised by the Trout Unlimited chapter. Also, the project is scheduled for autumn 2020. “A town-owned structure impedes the flow of the river. The dam was removed some years ago. There is a
section of it that impedes the flow of the water. At low flow like we have right now, the salmon trying to spawn cannot get up the river to spawn,” according to SCTU member Jim Wescott, of Windham. “There is one layer of granite slab on the bottom. There may be two layers of granite slab. The river at low flow barely flows over it — it’s nice and smooth,” he said. “But, salmon cannot pass it. They stack up until the water gets higher,” Wescott said. In addition to the environmental issue, there is a public safety issue, which could be resolved by remov-
al of the left-behind dam sections, he said. “There is one section of it that is cracked. It is an archway. Big pieces of granite eventually will drop into the water,” Wescott said. Naples Town Manager John Hawley said that sooner or later the town would have been liable for removing some of the bigger pieces of granite. So the state’s proposal works in the town’s favor, he said. This occurred during the Oct. 7 meeting of the board of selectmen. At first, the Naples selectmen voted to allow the removal to take place. Then, after listening to an DAM, Page 2A
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer HARRISON — If the town decides to build a new Public Works Department garage, one way to save some money would be to locate the facility on tax-owned property. The existing site at the corner of Edes Falls and Carsley Roads (built sometime in the 1970s) is limited, and would be costly to retrofit. Eric Labelle of Main-Land Development Consultants looked at the town’s gravel pit off Edes Falls. To create a flat area to house a new multi-bay facility would require cuts into the embankment — another costly proposition. Option 3, selectmen agreed, seems like the course to pursue — develop a portion of the property off Route 117, which includes the RADR athletic complex. It checks off RECOGNIZED FOR JOB WELL DONE — Harrison several boxes — the land is Town Manager Tim Pellerin presents former local quite level, it has been pardeputy Dan Hastings with a letter of commendation. tially-logged, there is enough
of a tree buffer between the proposed five-bay facility site and nearby residences, and the PWD building would be 1,420 feet from RADR. While it is about four miles away from the current Public Works garage, Town Manager Tim Pellerin pointed out that there are 100 miles of roadway to plow in the winter, regardless of where the loop begins for trucks. The site would be accessed by a 600-foot road off Route 117. Preliminary plans call for a metal building, which would provide cover and maintenance work space for vehicles, as well as a wash bay, storage, an office and changing/lunch room quarters for personnel. The bay doors on both sides of the structure would allow for trucks to pull in and exit. The key, Pellerin pointed out, is getting trucks — a substantial investment — out of the elements and increase the
vehicles’ lifespan. The site, as well as the building design, allows for future expansion. Pellerin noted that the town could consider private property that could be for sale, but purchasing the land would add to the overall project costs, as well as taking it off the tax rolls. Selectmen liked the idea that Option 3 is off a major route. “It’s a no frills building. It’s no Taj Mahal,” Pellerin added. Labelle pointed out the Town of Greene has a similar facility, and has extended an invite to Harrison officials to
tour the building. With a site in mind, the process moves to Phase 3, which calls for in-depth design and cost estimates. In other board news, Setting the Standard. For the year Dan Hastings served as the town’s local deputy, he made a big impression. He was diligent, highly-visible, a good communicator and skilled. He is now a member of the Paris Police Department, but Harrison officials haven’t forgotten what he meant to the town. Saying Hastings “set the HARRISON, Page 5A
Rte. 117 site best PWD option?
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