HARTFORD — Stickers allowing use of the town beach have been ordered and selectmen must decide whether they want to charge a fee and bring the issue to voters.

At the April 7 selectmen meeting, the board heard from Constable Chuck Merritt about issues at the beach on Anasagunticook Lake last season.

“The biggest problem was the guest passes,” he said, adding that some residents requested two to three guest passes in 2015. “I had seen people with the same pass in a different vehicle the next week. That could be avoided if a resident wants somebody to come to the beach with them, they have their sticker and they can come in the car with them.”

Other issues include nonconformity in issuing the beach stickers, people accessing the beach after hours and at night and a lack of parking spaces.

“Residents come down there on a hot day with a car full of kids and there’s no place to park,” Merritt said.

He said he spoke with several handicapped people last season and requested one handicapped parking space be designated and a sign erected.

Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Lee Holman said 2,000 beach stickers had been ordered for $380.

Merritt said he spoke with Turner Town Manager Kurt Schaub, who said his town charges $10 for beach stickers, which are good from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There’s an attendant at the beach from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The fee that they pay for the sticker pays for the salary of the individual who maintains it,” Merritt said. “One advantage they do have is that area is fenced.”

A public works employee opens the fence in the morning and closes it at night, he said.

“It might not be a bad idea to have a fence to close at night,” Holman said. “That might be what we have to do.”

“They’re adamant of the fact of residents only,” Merritt said.

Holman said selectmen must explore the idea of beach stickers for nonresidents. She said that last year the board allowed families who had participated in the Hartford Recreation Committee’s swimming program to continue to use the beach for the remainder of the season to practice swimming.

Merritt said he’s been told people would like this practice to continue and had no issue with it.

“There are some people who remember quite clearly our beach was taken away by a corporation, which was subdivided, which is now known as Pine Shores,” she said. “We were granted the weedy end of the beach strip by a covenant (with) the DEP.”

The agreement said the beach is to be used by Hartford residents and their guests only, according to Holman.

“But ultimately, we’ve been asked by Buckfield if they can use our beach,” she said.

Merritt said it might be a good idea to ask residents to weigh in about the beach sticker issue at the annual town meeting in June.

Holman said she believes it needs to go to town meeting because Hartford has a Beach Ordinance.

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