OTISFIELD – A crowd turned out Tuesday to hear Dan Simoneau describe his plans to operate a Christian summer camp for kids on the west shore of Saturday Pond.

High among concerns about the project were noise levels and the project’s impact on the water quality of Saturday and nearby Moose Pond.

Simoneau said his non-profit organization, Manasseh Inc., has operated for five years at an old traditional summer camp on Woods Pond in Bridgton. There, it housed about 100 kids a week.

He said that property was sold in order to create a more cost-effective operation at Saturday Pond that would house 200 to 250 children a week for seven weeks in summer. Costs are kept affordable by the use of volunteers from the church sending the campers, he added.

Manasseh purchased 156 acres off Ahonen Road. Under Simoneau’s plan, a road would be built from Ahonen Road down to a complex of two main buildings. Those buildings would be situated no closer than 280 feet from the water, outside the shoreland zone.

One of the buildings would be a dormitory for the campers; the other would house a kitchen, meeting area, and housing for Simoneau and his family.

A walking path would be built with a permeable liner underneath, overlaid by crushed stone to minimize runoff problems. At water’s edge would be a horseshoe-shaped dock for swimming. Playing fields would be built further back, behind the buildings. Motorized boats would not be used on the pond, but canoes and kayaks would be.

“As (summer) camps go, this is relatively small,” Simoneau said.

The camp would also be used on a less frequent basis during the off-season, for smaller groups of about 60 children and adults, or for other activities such as weddings.

Simoneau said he has no plans to use megaphones or loudspeakers.

“We are not just free-wheeling. This is fully licensed by the state,” said Simoneau, referring to the ratio of campers and counselors to ensure supervision. Nurses are also required, with any medications strictly controlled, he said. Kitchen operations also must pass inspection, he said.

“This is a very controlled atmosphere.” At Woods Pond, he said, “We never had any complaints from people living on the lake. We’re not wanting to disturb anybody’s peace and quiet.”

Simoneau said he began Manasseh Inc. after working as a youth pastor and seeing the need.

“We’re just trying to provide a camp for average kids to come to,” he said.

Most private summer camps charge about $1,000 a week and are too expensive for working people, he said. Manasseh’s charge for a week’s stay, on average, will be about $100, he said.

Pond resident Maureen Purdy said she was concerned about excess noise from the summer camp.

“It is so quiet there now. It’s a very serene environment, and most of us are retired people and don’t have any children,” she said. “When you bring together kids, be they Christian or Muslim, they make noise. And sound really carries on that pond. There’s an echo effect.”

Board member Rick Micklon said the noise issue is one that the board is very aware of.

As the session began, board member Win Webster made a motion to establish that the hearing should be considered as informational only rather than a formal public hearing. Webster said the town had not received a complete application from Simoneau. Maureen Howard seconded the motion, noting that the board did not have the results of the stormwater management study by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The motion passed, 4 to 2.