PERU — Wayne Moore, who lives on Auburn Road, told selectmen Monday that he was out hunting Saturday and noticed that the water in the brook by his house had dried up to gray mud.

“I walked on to the end of my property and there was a 16-foot mud dam with a pond in the brook,” he said. He also said the dam and pond are about 102 feet wide, but he didn’t know how deep.

Moore said he had spent most of the day Monday in Augusta talking to Colin Clark of the Department of Environmental Protection and felt sure the problem would be addressed. He said there was no permit on file for the pond nor was an engineer listed.

Selectman Secretary Kathy Hussey said no permit was normally required for a pond, but this one was made in a stream, which would require a permit. Selectman asked Hussey to notify Code Enforcement Officer Jack Plumley of the situation as he would have to come and check it out.

“The brook follows down about 1,500 feet of our property and none of the abutters were aware of the dam,” Moore said. He continued to say that the drop from the top of Morrils’ Ledge where the dam is located had a drop of about 350 feet. “If a hard rain were to come and breach the dam, the water could rush across Route 108 and wipe out everything in its path.”

In other news, Selectman Tim Holland suggested that the town shop around for its insurance needs that are currently carried by the Maine Municipal Association. “It’s worth looking into because we are spending a lot of money on insurance,” Holland said.

Bill Hine asked why there was a deficit last year and Town Clerk Vera Parent said that more people are delaying paying their taxes and there are a lot of delinquent taxpayers. Hine suggested the board monitor the situation and take that into consideration when working on the next budget.

Selectman Laurieann Milligan said she would like a list of the delinquent taxpayers with the amounts.

The board reviewed the audit, but felt more information was needed for a better understanding of the town’s financial standing. The auditor will be asked to attend the next board meeting.

A moment of silence was observed for longtime resident Ron Ashworth, who died last week.