OTISFIELD — The Board of Selectmen said they hope to meet with their counterparts in Casco at the end of the month to put together a strategy for repairing the Pleasant Lake dam.
Board of Selectmen Chairman Hal Ferguson said both Otisfield and Casco selectmen have the engineer’s report in hand and will now tentatively meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Community House in Casco to review the report and decide how to approach the problem.
Earlier this month, board members received the 15-page report from a Portland consultant. The report said that although Pleasant Lake dam in Casco is in poor condition, there are no signs of imminent failure.
The dam is on Mill Brook behind the Hancock Lumber Co. office on Route 121. It regulates the water level of the 3.8-mile-long lake in Casco and Otisfield. There are numerous homes and cottages around the lake, as well as the Seeds of Peace International Camp on the western shore and Camp Arcadia for Girls on the eastern shore, both in Otisfield.
Maine Emergency Management Agency officials inspected the dam Aug. 15 and reported significant leakage and structure deterioration.
The dam has been jointly owned, operated and maintained by Casco and Otisfield since 1994. It was previously owned by Hancock Lumber Co.
Selectmen said whatever decisions are made it is expected that once the appropriate funding is determined it will go before town meeting next year for approval.
In other action, the board discussed the condition of fencing at the South Otisfield Cemetery. The board is looking at using a natural fencing of trees and is now awaiting receipt of proposals for the job.
One proposal from Goodwin Nursery has suggested using 30 five-foot-tall trees costing $3,760. With installation costs of $2,250, the total cost would be $6,010. The board is waiting for cost estimates from a second local contractor.
The board also spent an hour with Kristen Roy discussing her disagreement with minutes of previous board meetings that she says misrepresented what she said. Selectman Rick Micklon made a motion to not record minutes when Roy appeared before the board in the future except to say she appeared, there was a discussion, documents, if any, were submitted and what, if any, vote was taken.
Ferguson and Selectman Len Adler did not support the motion.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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