CANTON – The Lake Anasagunticook Dam Committee met Friday night to review three proposals for engineering a new permanent structure.

Chairman Malcolm Ray led the discussion covering the proposals from Wright Pierce, Main-Land Development Consultants Inc. and Kleinschmidt Energy and Water Resource Consultants.

Selectmen had reviewed the proposals on Thursday night and some were also present at the meeting on Friday.

On the issue of payment, Ray was in favor of having the consultants charge an hourly rate rather than a fixed fee, but attorney Michael Poulin preferred a set price.

Though all three phases of the construction have involved engineering, the first is for preliminary design, cost estimates, soil boring and hydraulic studies.

In the second phase, the engineers will help put together the permits for the work, and phase three will include detailed design drawings.

Ray gave an update on putting in a temporary sandbag dam upstream. The Department of Environmental Protection had voiced its concerns about the use of sandbags, which would be vulnerable to damage from exposure to sunlight and ice during the three years required to construct the major dam. If the bags break sand could get into Whitney Brook.

Ray said Friday that he was thinking about placing a stop log dam at the old bridge abutments where the permanent dam is to be built. He is holding off getting a permit until the engineering contract is awarded.

Poulin said the water district may be exempt from a permit.

Ray set the next dam committee meeting for Nov. 28 to give time for the selectmen to make a decision on awarding the contract for the first phase of engineering.

The town took ownership of the broken dam this year. It is on Whitney Brook, which is an outlet to the lake.