WOODSTOCK – Town Manager Vern Maxfield announced Tuesday that the 2003 Maine state property valuation is up $7 million over last year to $85 million.

The valuation is based on current sales, with the average price of lakefront property at $136,000 and residential at $75,000.

“This is going to hurt us this year as it drops our valuation to below 90 percent of the state average, which means we’re going to be looking at another revaluation in the near future. Not a full revaluation, but we need to bring the values up especially on shore property,” he said.

A partial revaluation will begin around the first of January, Maxfield said.

David Conary of Bryant Pond village told the board he would like the town to buy a radar gun to clock speeding vehicles, especially tractor-trailer rigs traveling Route 26, to prove there is a problem.

“I’m not that concerned about individuals, but am concerned about the 18-wheelers. We have a bad corner at the bottom of Merrifield Hill and another by the post office. And there has been four rollovers on that corner in the past few years. Those corners are dangerous and we need to educate drivers that we expect the speed limits here to be observed,” he said.

He said he called some companies whose drivers come through town at excessive speeds and said the companies are willing to make it clear to their drivers that they are expected to slow down in villages.

“We need to make everyone aware that speeding through town is not acceptable behavior,” Conary said, “and I’d like to see the town get behind the effort. I’m not saying we need to get into the arrest, conviction and punishment part of it. I’m saying we need to educate drivers, and if the town gets involved enforcement will be much better. I don’t want to see vigilantes doing enforcement, and to avoid that the town can be a big help.”

Selectmen were concerned residents with a radar gun might be seen as an infringement on people’s rights.

“I’m not in favor of us (the town) having a radar gun because I think we could get in a lot of trouble. The State Police and Sheriff’s Department are the ones who should handle the problem,” Selectman Leon Poland said.

“The police are undermanned and just can’t do it,” Conary said.

Selectmen decided to contact the Maine Municipal Association about the legality of a town owning and using a radar gun.

Maxfield told the board he has received a permit from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to clear brush from the town beach on Lake Shore Drive.

“The DEP has approved our cutting the brush away from the beach, but we have to plant junipers to hold the soil in place. Junipers can be trimmed so we can control their height so we can maintain a sight distance at the beach that will be safer for the people using it,” he said.

The project will be done next spring.

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