Curtain goes up
Tough decisison
Tonight! as the Lake Region Drama Club presents ‘Lend Me a Tenor’
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Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. Vol. 145, No. 46
28 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
November 13, 2014
(USPS 065-020)
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 5D
www.bridgton.com
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
‘Club’ sales mired by market By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — A representative from Point Sebago Enterprises, Inc. came before the Casco Planning Board for a renewal of the company’s contract zone with the town. So did some of the homeowners in Point Sebago’s development. So did some of the abutters to the ongoing residential project. The complaints from area homeowners were varied and included comments that Point Sebago was in violation of clauses of the current contract zone agreement including allowing people to live
in seasonal homes for longer than the allotted time, and expanding basements beyond the footage originally agreed upon when the first contract zone was approved 20-plus years ago. Other concerns were: Ten more years of construction, impacts to the environment from septic and gray water, and over-crowding of docks and impacts to swimming area from constant boating activity. Essentially, there are some specific items that the Planning Board can address, while other issues do not sit within the planning board’s control. On Monday, Point Sebago
Enterprises’ representative asked the planning board for a 10-year extension to the contract zone agreement. Cliff Bartlett is the assistant general manager for Point Sebago Enterprises, which operates the acreage known as Club Sebago Association. Aside from Point Sebago’s campground, there are many permanent homes that are sold for ownership and seasonal use. Bartlett cited the still sluggish real estate market as a major factor in hoping to extend the agreement for another decade. “Until things start to speed up, we are not building a lot
of model homes to show. We are being conservative, seeing what the market is going to do,” he said. “If we sell five homes a year, I will be delighted,” he said. Additionally, Bartlett requested that the board lower the number of homes that were approved for construction. That would take approved residential structures from 520 to about 400 homes. He also asked the board to okay a larger square footage — going from 900 square feet to 1,200 square feet. The larger homes would CLUB, Page A
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer FRYEBURG — Family and friends are rallying behind the three families left homeless after the devastating fire on Bull Ring Road in Denmark. To that end, they are asking everyone to support a benefit dinner and Chinese Auction set for Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds
Expo Building. Six children — five of which are age six or younger — and five adults were able to safely escape the 5 Bull Ring Road building before windwhipped flames engulfed the old structure at around 6 p.m. The family’s pets — a dog and two parrots — were also rescued. Displaced in the fire were Raquel Scolaro and her sons
Shane, 12, and Seth, 6, who lived on the second floor. Ground floor renovations had just been completed for the opening for a new business, the Italian Moose Restaurant, when the fire occurred. Living in one of the two apartments on the third floor were Justin and Glenda West, along with their sons Justin Jr., 2, and Jasper, 1. Glenda’s sister Tammy Sewell, with
her daughters Annabelle, 4, and Emma, 1, occupied the other third-floor apartment. Benefit organizer and family friend Sonya Harding said the Scolaros are still living in a motel. No decision has been made on when, or if, a new building will be built on the site. Harding said the West and Sewell families are staying with Justin’s mother BENEFIT, Page A
Benefit set to help fire victims
PATRIOTIC MISSION — Pauline and Bernard Willey, of Casco, stand in front of an American Flag on Veterans Day. The Vietnam War veteran and his wife plan to take part in “Wreaths across America” in early December. (De Busk Photo)
Couple to help honor ‘fallen’
“Our mission is to remember the fallen who gave up their tomorrows with family and loved ones, so that we can enjoy ours.” — Wreaths Across America website By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Three weeks after Bernard and Pauline were married, he left Maine to fight in the Vietnam War. Forty-nine years after Pauline and Bernard Willey took their wedding vows, they are planning a cross-country trip. They signed up for “Wreaths across America,” a week-long event to honor fallen soldiers by placing wreaths on their graves. Long before they started their married life, Bernard had already enlisted. That was in 1959. Then, in 1965 — less than a month after the wedding, Bernard traveled to Fort Belvoir in Virginia for military WREATHS, Page A
Whose dollars get rid of bridge?
TUMBLING DOWN — The front side of the former Sportshaus building on Main Street in Bridgton is pulled back during demolition Tuesday afternoon. Several spectators snapped photographs as Ward Excavation tore down the former retail shop. (Rivet Photo)
Out with old, in with new By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Tuesday’s demolition of the Sportshaus building at 103 Main Street in downtown Bridgton will pave the way for construction of a new two-story commercial building by Bridgton’s own man
with a mission, Main Eco Homes owner Justin McIver. “My goal is to build something that will blend in nicely with other buildings on Main Street, with oldfashioned shutters and other older architectural features,” McIver said Monday. The
look will be similar to the professional office building he completed over a year ago on Depot Street. The reason he decided to take the building down now is because “It’s a lot easier to market it as a vacant lot,” and he plans to begin marketing it
right away. McIver foresees no problem finding tenants to lease the planned two-story building, which will have 4,000 square feet on each floor. “It’s a great location, and I’m confident it will lease fairly quickly. I’ve had a lot of people asking me for Main Street space,” and it doesn’t get much better than the corner of Cottage and Main Streets, in the center of the downtown. The interior space will be custom-built, with the potential for retail and/or offices on the ground floor, as well as several office spaces on the second floor. There will be 16 parking spaces in the rear of the building accessible on Cottage Street. “The demand is there, for high-quality new construction, I’ve proven it again and again,” said McIver, pointing to another of his projects, a professional office building on Portland Road that is now almost fully leased on A PROFESSIONAL LOOK — The roofline and entrance may change, but this archi- both floors. The reason many tect’s rendering shows what Main Eco Homes developer Justin McIver has planned for storefronts are vacant on Main BUILDING, Page A the former Sporthaus building at 103 Main Street in downtown Bridgton.
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer CASCO — Most commuters whiz right past the aging infrastructure without even noticing it. But, prior to 1958, it was the bridge that people drove over while traveling along Roosevelt Trail. Fifty-five years after the Old Crooked River Bridge was given an inactive status, it is actively falling apart. In fact, that status of disrepair has been the case for a while as noted in a bridge inspection report from the state transportation department. The easy answer would be to demolish the bridge. Two factors make that solution less viable. One: There is no money budgeted for the demolition. Two: It is unclear which level of government is responsible for the bridge, and most likely more than one government entity would have to foot the demolition bill. This month, Attorney Sally Daggett directed an official letter to the Maine State Department of Transportation (MDOT) on behalf of the towns of Casco and Naples. Daggett is a municipal attorney with the law offices of Jensen Baird Garner and Henry. “The question being asked of MDOT is whether the towns have a legal responsibility for the bridge,” Casco
Town Manager Dave Morton said. “On what basis does MDOT think the towns have a legal obligation?” Morton said. There is no record of the state deeding the bridge to the towns, he said. The first step is to determine if MDOT in fact is liable for the bridge or if the state shares that responsibility with the two municipalities, Morton said. The old and the new bridges are almost parallel and both sit on the boundary of Casco and Naples. “If towns have legal responsibility, we have to coordinate both towns and the state to have the money at the same time,” Morton said. “It is a puzzle with a number of pieces that have to fit together,” Morton said. Naples Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak said he thought MDOT turned over ownership of the bridge to the towns when the new road opened. Paraschak had been apprised of the bridge inspection report that recommended that the two towns embark on a campaign to remove the unsound structure. “The (Naples) Board (of Selectmen) is aware of it. MDOT does a report every two years,” he said. According to the letter, which was dated April 9 and BRIDGE, 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