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Town Council and citizen coalition still at odds over Forest Lake

May 31, 2007 - The town presented the cost of proposed improvements at Forest Lake on Memorial Day, but that did little to quell debate about the town's acquisition of land for public boat launch.

Both sides agreed on one thing, though: the continued debate has done little to change opinions on either side of the issue.

In March, the Town Council voted unanimously to acquire 3.2 acres of land on Forest Lake for $318,000. A subsequent citizen petition to overturn the council vote successfully sent the purchase to voters. The vote is scheduled for June 12.

"The issue is spending," Alex Brown, a spokesman for the Cumberland Citizens Coalition, said Tuesday. "We believe that we need to look at all aspects of spending. It affects some lake residents directly. That by no means diminishes what were about going forward."

Brown said he appreciated the town's presentation of anticipated costs on Monday.

Town manager Bill Shane said the total cost for a proposed boat launch site would approach $26,000 in startup costs, and about $5,100 in annual maintenance and operating fees. Costs could include $1000 annually for toilets, $10,000 to demolish the building, about $7,800 in ramp construction, $5,250 in permitting, $3500 in gating and nearly $3100 for part-time summer staff.

"This is how much it would cost," counselor Jeff Porter said Tuesday. "But again, the council has not signed off on any of that."

Porter said that would be a decision a citizen advisory committee would make.

"Again," Council Chairman Steve Moriarty said Tuesday, "it's a model we've used it successfully before."

Moriarty said previous committees had decided on the use of the Rines Forest and the Twin Brook property.

Monday's meeting also included what Porter described as "banter back and forth about the purchase."

Some of that banter was about town manager Bill Shane's photographs of his son Jordan launching a small aluminum boat at the site.

"I think that in fact with no improvement," Moriarty said, "you can trailer a small boat to the water's edge and launch it. There's been some debate about that issue that put an end to it."

But Brown said the pictures depicted a "fairly innocuous launch" without any documentation of loading the boat back into Shane's trailer.

"The meeting," Brown said, "didn't go a long way in convincing anyone."

This article appeared in its original form in The Forecaster May 31, 2007.


Lakes: Forest Lake
Regions: Sebago


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