INDUSTRY — By a near-unanimous vote, town meeting voters Saturday turned down an article that would have prohibited vehicles from using the tiny public beach on Clearwater Lake to get on and off the ice in the winter.

But there was strong interest in finding some way to protect the grassy beach that each year has to be repaired and reseeded after the sod is churned into mud by trucks, cars and ice fishermen hauling shacks onto the lake.

The worst damage, selectmen said, occurs in late winter when some fishermen don’t remove their shacks before the beach area has already thawed. There are still two huts on the lake, Selectman Lee Ireland said, and although Maine’s deadline to remove shacks from lakes is April 3, that is often too late at Clearwater.

Townspeople supported a suggestion by Road Commissioner Joe Paradis, who said the solution could be a removable “mat” made of hemlock posts cabled together and placed on top of the ground for vehicles to drive over to reach the water. It would be put down and pulled up each winter.

“I think we can build this with 80 percent volunteer labor,” Paradis said. “The first time around would be tricky, then it would be a piece of cake. I think we could get seven to 10 years of use out of it.”

If there was enough money left in the lake-front improvement account once the area is repaired this spring, the mat could potentially be ready for next winter, he said.

Ireland was skeptical.

“It will be costly and very labor-intensive to build and to lay down every year and then pick up and store,” he said.

He and Selectman Mike Senecal noted that promises made in the past by volunteers and fishermen to help restore the beach in the spring have not always materialized.

Ireland said the article appeared on the warrant because the board wanted townspeople to decide if that was how they wanted their tax money to be spent.

Each year, voters raise $1,500 for lake-front improvement to repair the damage. On Saturday, they agreed with selectmen and increased that to $2,500. The extra money, after repairs, could be used for dock repair or maintenance to the head of the lake, Ireland said.

One resident asked why vehicles can’t use the new, state-funded boat ramp. Ireland said the area is too close to the outflow dam and the water there doesn’t always freeze.

Resident Betty Wing asked why the town started planting grass there in the first place. Planning Board Chairman Dan Maxham said the Maine Department of Environmental Protection requires grass to be planted along shorelines to stabilize soil and prevent erosion.

Several said the access had to be kept open since the lake in winter is used by many people and families for recreation.

“It is the only time people can really enjoy the lake,” resident Carol Gile said.

In other matters, the town honored Paradis, who has stepped down as fire chief after 20 years. Selectmen presented him with an engraved wooden plaque that held a ceremonial gold fire ax and a locally made stained-glass design.

Ireland said the department, under Paradis, became the first in Franklin County to have a first-responder-trained team, brought in nearly $300,000 in grants used to buy a new pumper-tanker, turnout gear, air packs, a thermal-imaging camera, a generator and that he oversaw the building of a modern, fully-equipped fire station.

“He is an invaluable asset to the town and he is a great guy,” said Selectman and Assistant Fire Chief Rob Geisser.

The new chief, Rick Tibbetts, has been with the department for 27 years.

The 2011 budget of $386,742 for municipal operations, only 1.8 percent more than last year, was approved without objection. The moderator was Paul Mills.