RANGELEY – Approximately 80 Rangeley area residents attended a meeting Thursday night with the Board of Selectmen and Poland Spring Bottling Co. representatives to express their concerns about the bottling company’s plans to open a pump station in nearby Dallas Plantation.
Poland Spring is in the process of getting permits for the proposed station, and, along with Dallas Plantation officials and concerned residents, company representatives will be meeting with the Land Use Regulation Commission on Tuesday, Nov. 1, to discuss the company’s permit.
Thursday night’s meeting, advertised as a forum in which worried Rangeley area residents could ask questions and express their concerns about the proposal, began with a reading of a resolution signed on Oct. 4 by the selectmen outlining members’ worries that a pumping station in Dallas Plantation could not only ruin Rangeley’s water supply, but also negatively affect the town’s economy.
The reading was followed by questions and commentary by more than 20 people, coming from relatively diverse walks of Rangeley life. Some were newcomers to the area, some were people whose families have lived in Rangeley for generations. All but two told Poland Spring representative Tom Brennan they hope the company will decide not to truck through Rangeley if granted a permit in November.
Paul Chodosh of Mingo Springs Golf Course in Rangeley told Brennan that, “Before I came here tonight, I was convinced this was a bad idea, and now I’ve doubled or tripled my conviction.” He went on to paraphrase a comment Brennan had made minutes before, when he told the assembly that pumping and trucking would probably increase in the summer, as that season is the bottling company’s busiest time. Brennan said that as many as 100 trucks per day might bring loads of water from Dallas Plantation to a bottling plant in Kingfield.
“What you’ve done is to lay out all these threats to us,” Chodosh said, “like what happens if you have to pump more in the summer. The summer is our prime time here as far as our resort business goes. I’m sure you’re a good company, but I would like to see you go someplace else,” Chodosh said.
His commentary was followed by applause from residents.
Brennan explained that when applying for a permit, Poland Spring officials must extrapolate to plan for future possibilities. “We’ve got to think about the built-out conditions, so that we’re not leading people astray – what it could look like if we have 10 high-speed bottling lines in Kingfield (for example),” Brennan said.
He explained that pumping and bottling for a prospective plant in Kingfield would start out slowly, and probably expand over time. He also told the assembly numerous times that Poland Spring depends on high-quality water, and large quantities of it, and that therefore taking care of the water source and not overusing it is a priority.
Kit Caspar of Rangeley said he agrees with Brennan that Poland Spring is a reputable company. “I’m very impressed with what you’ve had to say. Its refreshing, the attitudes you bring, and the honesty,” he said. But “I’m a farmer. Over the last 25 years my wife and I have raised organic vegetables.”
He used his farming experience to explain why he thinks Poland Spring should not come to Rangeley, explaining that people who have seen his farm have noticed the high quality of soil there, and have wondered why he has not started selling the rich soil, instead of the vegetables. “It’d be a lot less work,” he said. He has not sold the soil because, he said, “It’s your capital – you sell it once and then it’s gone. In Rangeley, our capital is the beauty and the quiet in this region. That’s all you have. I’m convinced that if your project goes ahead it will withdraw from our capital.”
His comments were also followed by clapping.
Alison Hagerstrom, from the Greater Franklin County Development Corp., said she thought a bottling plant in Kingfield would bring more money to the area, which would help people in the Rangeley region. The pumping station would help support the plant, she said.
One Rangeley resident agreed, saying he thinks a pumping station is the least of Rangeley’s problems. “I think you should be looking at the trucks that are already here,” he said.
More comments followed, mostly centering on fears that increased traffic in town will affect Rangeley’s atmosphere, which is what attracts tourists. “Some people feel this region is under attack from outside forces with a lot of money, here to make a profit,” said Linda Robertson, of Sandy River Plantation. “Don’t do it on our backs.”
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