Otisfield commission seeks solution to road erosion

OTISFIELD — Otisfield Conservation Commission Chairman Jeff Stern said his effort to help resolve ongoing drainage problems on Cobb Hill Road is on hold following a meeting with selectmen earlier this month.

“We’re regrouping and seeing where we can go from here,” he said.

Stern met with the Board of Selectmen to ask permission to form a study group on how to resolve the drainage problems that affect the water quality of nearby Thompson Lake.

The group intended to come back to selectmen with recommendations.

The request was denied because selectmen said the commission is not chartered to create its own subcommittee and only Road Commissioner Richard Bean has the authority to say what happens on Otisfield roads.

“Personally, I would like to see something happen if not from the Otisfield Conservation Commission, then from someone because erosion from Cobb Hill Road is a huge problem,” Stern said. “It’s a huge problem for Thompson Lake. I would like to see it addressed.”

A 2010 grant program through the Thompson Lake Environmental Association to help control erosion from sites, including Cobb Hill Road, into the lake was considered successful, reducing an estimated 52 tons of soil from entering the lake at various sites.

Stern told selectmen he agreed some progress has been made after the installation of three culverts but damage from continuing major storms has left the situation unresolved.

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: Otisfield Conservation Commission Chairman Jeff Stearn said drainage problems continue along Cobb Hill Road and threaten the quality of nearby Thompson Lake.