OTISFIELD – Thompson Lake Association members asked for selectmen’s support in a request for funds to continue the association’s youth conservation corps.

“We were pleased to have the support of Otisfield, Oxford, Poland and Casco,” member Dave Hankins told the board at its Thursday night meeting. “We are coming back to the towns again as we said we would last year. We had planned on asking for double support but decided we were moving too fast and decided to ask for the same as last year.”

Otisfield and Oxford each contributed $5,000 last year, and Casco and Poland each contributed $2,500 to the summer program set up to ensure water quality in the lake. The four communities surrounding the lake joined together last year to partially fund the program.

A federal grant also funded the program. The grant ended with 2003 but Hankins said $12,000 remains in the account that the group wants to carry over and use for summer 2004.

“We need to get the word out that we are not only interested in shore lots,” Hankins said. “There’s no reason why we can’t work on inland lots, but we need residents to ask us to do so.”

They noted they are interested in any runoff source that could result in polluting the lake, onshore or inland. Hankins said property owners need to buy supplies. The average cost to landowners for supplies last year was $102.

Residents will be able to vote on the funding during the annual town meeting in March. Selectmen said they would not oppose the funding request.

“The main thing is we have a pristine lake because people are willing to work on it,” association member Jim Bishop said.