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Save Sebago Cove Responds to Fundraiser Complaints

September 13, 2010 - NAPLES -- Members of Save Sebago Cove (SSC) appeared before the Naples Board of Selectmen on Monday to save the reputation of their nonprofit group’s recent fundraiser, which was held on Aug. 7 and elicited complaints from a few community members.

On Monday, SSC President Eddie Lapham countered and clarified comments that had been made during the board’s Aug. 23 meeting. During that August meeting, two local business owners complained about the music being too loud as well as it lasting until nearly midnight, the stand-up comics using profanity, and some attendees swimming nude in Brandy Pond from the Causeway Marina, where the outdoor fundraiser was held, to the water in front of neighboring Bayview Cabins.

“We all went home that night thinking we had put on a great, successful event. We left feeling proud of the event, and were surprised about the complaints,” Lapham told the board. He later added he was concerned the negative comments – some of which he explained were untrue or exaggerated — might discourage local business owners from contributing to SSC fundraisers in the future.

Save Sebago Cove is a nonprofit organization with the mission of battling milfoil, an invasive water plant.  About $2000 was raised during the early August fundraiser, he said.

According to Naples Town Manager Derik Goodine, community feedback at the Aug. 23 meeting as well as at Monday’s gathering brings to the forefront an issue that is already being addressed by the town’s General Ordinance Committee and will be reviewed by the selectmen in the near future:  The Outdoor Entertainment Ordinance. 

As it stands, there is a “loophole” that allows nonprofit organizations to hold fundraisers that include outdoor entertainment without going through a permitting process, Goodine said. Members of SSC did come to the town offices seeking a permit for their event, but discovered it was not necessary.

Goodine said a permitting process that includes public hearings would allow the board to hear the concerns of neighboring businesses and homeowners before an event occurs. It would provide a forum for the selectmen “to see what issues need to be addressed,” he said.

SSC Secretary Wendy Callanan told the board she was relieved to hear her organization’s fundraiser did not result directly in the potential change in the Outdoor Entertainment Ordinance for other nonprofits.

“We’d hate to be the cause of changing the policy,” she said.

At Monday’s meeting, Selectman Rick Paraschak responded to Lapham’s testimony and comments he himself had made about “being duped” by the organizers of the midsummer fundraiser.

“A lot of non-profits come to us wanting to hold events. We take them for their word. People are starting to take advantage of our laid-back way of governing,” Paraschak said.  As a board member he planned to request more details about nonprofits’ events during the planning stage, he said, adding that a revamped Outdoor Entertainment Ordinance would provide guidelines for that process.

Steve Kirk, the owner of the Tiki Bar and Grill which facilitated the fundraiser, said he received 67 phone calls about the loud music.

Selectman Tom Mayberry, who was out of town on Aug. 7, said his wife received a phone call around 11:30 p.m. from someone complaining about the loud music coming from the Brandy Pond side of the Causeway.

“Loud music, as you know, it travels down Brandy Pond. We were looking to you to control the volume.” Paraschak said to Lapham.

Lapham admitted the 1980s rock and roll did get loud, but he asked someone to turn down the volume around 10 p.m., and the event ended and the area was emptied by 11:30 p.m.  He said some of the senior citizens who attended the fundraiser left before 10 p.m., telling him the music was a little too loud, but saying they had enjoyed the night’s festivities.

However, Lapham said he took offense to claims the comedians were using vulgarity throughout their routines. He also denied skinny dipping took place during the fundraiser.

“There was only one swear (word), not vulgarity all night long,” he said. 

At the last minute, Naples businessman and Causeway Marina property-owner Dan Allen footed the bill for a few professional stand-up comics to take the stage. Allen forewarned the comics that the fundraiser was a family-oriented event and not to use any profanity. Apparently, one comedian – perhaps out of habit – accidently uttered a swear word, he said. Immediately, Lapham and another individual approached the stage to inform the comic of his faux-pas. The performer then joked to the audience that he only had 10 seconds worth of material that wasn’t profane, but finished his show cuss-free.

“We would have never had an event where there was swearing on the P.A. system that could be heard all over Brandy Pond,” he told the selectmen. “My kids were there, too.”

During a phone interview on Tuesday, Arlene Stetson, who owns a bed and breakfast located at the corner of Route 302 and Route 114, said she heard more than one swear word during the comedy show. She said it wasn’t just inappropriate topics, but that the show included profanity. Stetson, along with Bayview Cabins owner Frances Keen, had aired their concerns at the Aug. 23 meeting.

Stetson agreed with the idea that nonprofit organizations should not be exempt from the permit process. “Nonprofits should have to adhere to the same regulations as anyone else.”

She said during this summer she hasn’t heard music coming from Bray’s after 9 p.m., and there have been some occasions where she has heard music and carryings-on later at night, but the fundraiser’s loud music “was by far the worst.”

“Nonprofit or not — I don’t think it is right to bother the rest of the neighborhood,” Stetson said. “My guests were awake most of the night.”

Lapham said the most immediate neighbors in the area had been informed of the event, which had been scheduled to end at 11:30 p.m., but given the nature of sound being carried across the water people more than a mile away did comment they heard the music.

With summertime activities and the influx of tourists, people living on the lakes and ponds can expect to hear an increase in noise – even at night.

 “It was a Saturday night during the summer in a resort town in Maine,” SCC Secretary Callanan said.

The Tiki Bar & Grill and Bray’s Brewpub & Eatery both have permits to have outdoor entertainment four times a year, but the restrictions require the music stops after 9 p.m., according to Goodine. He wasn’t sure if that restriction of music ending at 9 p.m. should apply to all outdoor events in the future.

Goodine said he thought it wouldn’t take long for the General Ordinance Committee to re-write the permit process regarding outdoor entertainment.  “We’re trying to make a process where people have the right to be heard before an event is planned. (The SSC fundraiser) was a good event. It raised money for fighting milfoil.”

by Dawn De Busk, The Bridgton News, September 9, 2010


Lakes: Brandy Pond, Long Lake, Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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