POLAND – The Planning Board is asking Gov. John Baldacci to assist in getting a state agency to submit to a review plans for a public boat ramp on Thompson Lake.

Planning Board Chairman Larry Moreau told the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night that the letter was sent because the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is trying to circumvent the town’s planning and zoning review process.

Moreau presented a copy of another letter state Sen. Neria R. Douglas of Auburn sent to Baldacci saying she reviewed state statutes and materials received from the town. “I firmly believe that the law requires that the department must first obtain approval from the Poland Planning Board before it can begin construction,” Douglas wrote.

Selectmen voted to support the Planning Board on this issue in late May.

The proposal calls for construction of a public boat ramp on a 25-acre state site at Abrams Point and Potash Cove. It is off Johnson Hill Road in West Poland.

A public meeting on the proposal in late May was marred by frequent interruptions from lakeshore homeowners opposing additional access and others saying the public shouldn’t be locked out of using the lake. Several residents of the Potash Cove area who opposed the boat access plan identified themselves as members of Citizens For the Preservation of Thompson Lake.

Planning Board member Susan Ellis drew applause at the meeting when she said she objected to the state agency attempting to bypass Poland’s Planning Board and the town’s permitting process.