Contractors began the next phase of construction on the Damariscotta Mills fish ladder Nov. 9.
Jim Brinkler, Stanley Waltz and Deb Wilson – the members of the Fish Committee of Nobleboro and Newcastle – met with the Newcastle Board of Selectmen Nov. 8 to discuss the impending project.
The committee asked the town to transfer $8000 from the “fish account” – the proceeds from the sale of the alewife harvest – to the restoration fund. Nobleboro will match the $8000, Wilson said.
According to Newcastle Town Administrator Ron Grenier, the fish account currently has a balance of almost $33,000.
Already, about a third of the fish ladder – the top, near the entrance to Damariscotta Lake – has been restored. “The efficiency of those new pools is way beyond our expectations,” Brinkler said. “The fish just fly through there.”
The selectmen approved the transfer, 3-0, with two members absent.