JAY — Selectmen will discuss continuing work on a Parker Pond water protection ordinance and lowering the cap on the environmental ordinance reserve account Monday.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 22 at the town office.

“We started working on an ordinance for Parker Pond a few years ago and selectmen kind of pulled back until access to the pond was resolved,” Town Manager Ruth Marden said.

The pond, located off East Jay Road, is an alternate drinking water source for the Livermore Falls Water District that has customers in both Jay and Livermore Falls.

Parker Pond Road, which leads to the pond, is private property with both the water district and Central Maine Power Co. having easement rights over it.

Residents on the road posted the road in 2004 and granted access by landowner permission only.

More than 370 people signed a petition in 2004 asking selectmen to take all necessary steps to make Parker Pond Road a town way or recreational easement.

There is still no public access to the pond.

Water District Superintendent Doug Burdo approached Marden recently about concerns of gas-powered engines on the pond. He asked Marden to see if work could continue to establish an ordinance to protect the water source.

Selectmen are scheduled to discuss that item as well as a request to propose a change to the town’s Environmental Control and Improvement Ordinance, Marden said.

Verso Paper has asked if selectmen would be willing to consider proposing a change to lower the $1 million cap on the reserve fund the town uses to fund environmental work for permit fees, studies, consultants and legal fees for oversight of industry.

If the cap is changed, which would ultimately have to go before voters, then it would alter the fees paid to the town. The ordinance suspends fees once the reserve account hits $1 million and does not require fees to be paid until the account drops below the cap.

Businesses such as Verso Paper pay fees for air, water, solid waste and other permits that the town issues. The money raised from the fees is used to operate the environmental code office without using property taxes.

There is about $900,000 in the fund now, Environmental Code Enforcement Officer Shiloh Ring said. She is going to recommend an $800,000 cap to selectmen, she said.

About $300,000 is paid annually in fees, and operation expenses are about $200,000, Ring said.