Agreeing with a 4-1 vote, the Whitefield Board of Selectmen signed the town’s 2012 tax commitment at their Sept. 11 meeting. Selectman Lester Sheaffer dissented.
Based on a $2,605,207.23, net assessment for the commitment, the selectmen set Whitefield’s mil rate at $14.75 per $1000 of value. A property owner for example, would pay $1475 in taxes on a property valued at $100,000.
In other business, local resident George Fergusson engaged the selectmen in a discussion of potential options concerning the future of Clary Lake Dam.
The dam is the subject of a water level dispute between homeowners on Clary Lake and the dam owner, Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM). The parties are still awaiting a state Department of Environmental Protection decision on a lake level petition filed by members of the Clary Lake Association. The DEP held a hearing on the petition in Jefferson Aug. 17.
Fergusson said it is possible Paul Kelley, the managing partner of PPM, may give up the dam, and if so the Clary Lake Association could take ownership of the dam, operate it, and fund repairs.
Association members have expressed concerns about liability issues, Fergusson said, but if the town of Whitefield were to take ownership of the dam instead, the private group would accept responsibility for funding and operating the dam.
The town would be harder to sue than the association, Fergusson said.
Selectman Lester Sheaffer asked what would stop Paul Kelley from suing the Clary Lake Association if the town took ownership and leased the dam to the group.
Fergusson said that he hasn’t looked into all the issues yet, but will be looking into the costs of insuring the dam. The aspect of no cost to the town is important, said Fergusson.
Selectman Dennis Merrill said Kelley should put into any agreement what water flow downstream is acceptable, in order to protect his other properties.
When asked by Selectman Frank Ober why the association didn’t want to own the dam, Fergusson said that members of the group have been wary about owning the dam for years, and would be more comfortable if the town owned the dam while they managed it.
“If the selectmen could stand up in favor of it, it would help,” said Fergusson.
There is a possibility of creating a Limited Liability Corporation to own the dam, said Fergusson.
“Paul Kelley may continue to own it and that’s fine, too,” he said.
Ober said he thinks that the town taking ownership, even at no cost, would be very problematic.
In other business, the board voted to hire Diane Brush as a part-time attendant for the town’s recycling center.
In response to a request from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the board voted to officially recognize Constitution Week, (Sept. 17-23).
