POLAND – Sheriff’s deputies answered 10.5 percent more complaints in town this past year than last, according to a report presented to selectmen Tuesday.

While some categories showed only slight increases and a few even decreased, animal complaints more than doubled for the year ending June 30.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department records showed 234 animal-related complaints in Poland between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, compared to 104 the previous year.

Selectmen recently approved a new version of an ordinance attempting to define and limit barking nuisances. Town voters have to approve the proposed ordinance at the next town meeting before it goes into effect. For now, the town has no enforceable rules for such complaints.

The sheriff’s year-end report did not differentiate between types of total animal complaints.

Traffic stops also showed a sharp increase from 678 during the 2003 fiscal year to 963 this past year. Deputies issued 301 warnings for speeding, cited 963 vehicle violations, and 68 parking violations.

The department responded to three vehicle fatalities during the 2003-2004 year, which was one less than the previous year. However, it responded to five unattended deaths compared to four the year before, and it also responded to one suicide call and one drowning.

Robberies, burglaries and thefts reported this year were up to 144 compared to 127 last year, while auto thefts declined from nine to five reported incidents.

After receiving reports and dealing with routine items, selectmen went into executive session with Fire and Rescue Department Chief Willie Rice regarding legal matters.

In other board business Tuesday, the town’s snowmobile club received preliminary approval to pursue a federal grant to finance bridge improvements over Waterhouse Brook and an abandoned railroad bed off Girardin Lane.

“You’d be amazed how much snowmobile and pedestrian traffic there is down there,” Selectman David Corcoran said.

Larry Moreau, president of the snowmobile club, asked for selectmen’s support before applying for the matching federal grant administered by the state.

The current bridge is 6 feet wide with no railings and original railroad underpinnings, Moreau said.

That same bridge raised issues of access and rights of way when David Duff asked for a wider easement for access to his adjacent property. Voters granted Duff a 60-foot easement through town property at their annual town meeting in April.

The old railroad bed, formerly owned by Portland and Rumford Falls Railway more than 100 years ago, is now used for snowmobile and nature walking trails.

A federal grant for all-purpose recreation trails provides 80 percent of project costs up to $30,000, Moreau said. The award is based on merit and need. The town’s 20 percent match can be figured in labor costs provided by club members or town employees and not necessarily in dollars, Moreau added.