OTISFIELD – Boat inspections for milfoil are slated to start part-time May 1, Joel Bloom of the Pleasant Lake/Parker Pond Association informed selectmen Wednesday night.

Bloom noted this is two weeks earlier than last year. Milfoil is an invasive water plant that chokes the life out of waterways it grows in and has become a threat to all waterways in the state.

There will be a sign added to boat launch sites asking boat owners to inspect boats and trailers for plant matter before entering the lake, Bloom said for when launches are unmanned.

The association has hired a diver to hand-pull milfoil roots. They plan to document the amount pulled this year to track the amount of regrowth when the process is done again next year. Bloom estimated it will take four to five years to adequately determine how effective the removal is.

Because Gerry Robinson finished his term on the Board of Selectmen in March, Bloom asked for a new representative from the selectmen to join the association. Board Chairman Lenny Adler asked Bloom to let him know when the next association meeting is.

In other business, selectmen told assistant Marianne Izzo-Morin to inform Oxford County Sheriff Skip Herrick the town wants to participate in Operation Cleanup again this year.

Through Operation Cleanup, prisoners in Oxford County jail assist in picking up trash along roads. The board told Izzo-Morin to set up a list of roads to forward to the Sheriff’s Office with assistance from Road Commissioner Richard Bean Sr.

Izzo-Morin informed the board about a request from Maine State Police to lower the speed limit on sections of Scribner Hill Road from 45 to 25. Since January, there have been three accidents in the sections listed by state police, Izzo-Morin noted.