By an overwhelming majority, Whitefield residents voted against authorizing the Board of Selectmen to negotiate for ownership of the Clary Lake dam at a special town meeting May 30.
Both Whitefield and Jefferson, whose residents voted against owning the dam on May 21, were required by statute to hold a public meeting to “consider and act on the issue of dam ownership.” The requirement came as part of a process started by an April 1 petition to the Department of Environmental Protection by the dam’s owner, Pleasant Pond Mill LLC, to release the company from dam ownership and water level maintenance.
Selectman Anthony Marple went through a handout the Board of Selectman prepared to outline facts about the dam and potential options and outcomes. The cost of repairing damage the dam sustained from Hurricane Irene is still unknown, as is the asking price of PPM for purchase of the dam, Marple said.
“We have asked Pleasant Pond for a price; we have not gotten a response,” Marple said.
Paul Kelley, the manager of PPM, said the company had purchased the dam for about $70,000 and had previously offered to give it to Whitefield, Jefferson, various state agencies, and the Clary Lake Association at no cost.
Now, the company is seeking commercially reasonable figures based on the cost of ownership, which will be discussed with qualified potential bidders, Kelley said.
George Fergusson, a member of CLA and the spokesman for a December 2011 petition for the DEP to set Clary Lake’s water level, said CLA has requested to have a firm look into the repair costs, but Kelley used the request as a basis to seek an extension of public comment on the water level petition. As such, the request to evaluate the dam will likely be withdrawn, he said.
The water level petition “is my first and foremost interest,” Fergusson said. The goal is to get an order from DEP on the water level, no matter which party owns the dam, he said.
Fergusson said his “seat of the pants” estimate of costs to repair the dam is about $10,000.
Several residents spoke to the recreational, fire protection, and potential power resources the lake provides, but most were unsure which party should own the dam.
Other residents spoke against having the town take over ownership, citing liability and costs concerns, as well as questioning why owners of the Clary Lake dam have continued to resell it.
The other article on the warrant, asking for authorization for the selectman to carry forward this year’s approximately $4900 balance of the town’s legal fees account, passed after little discussion.
Selectman Frank Ober said the thought behind the article was the dam issue may not have died with the vote regarding negotiations and the legal fees may be needed later.
