A pair of kayakers paddle around Brettuns Pond in Livermore on a warm and sunny Wednesday afternoon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Buy this Photo

LIVERMORE — Selectpersons on Tuesday night agreed signs listing winter rules should be erected at the Brettuns Pond town beach area.

“Over the past seven or eight years during ice fishing there’d be a road plowed out to go across the pond,” Selectperson Brett Deyling said. “At some point, the rocks were moved to get shacks off the pond.”

As soon as the ice is thick enough to walk on, that area is being kept plowed all winter long, he said.

“Instead of parking in the 30 parking spaces available, they drive onto the beach,” Deyling said. “It’s tearing up the town beach.”

On Saturday, a camper, giant ice shack and truck were on the beach and an ATV had gone through the ice, he said.

“If the ice isn’t thick enough for an ATV, stay off of it,” he said.

Highway foreman Roger Ferland has put some larger rocks there, selectperson Scott Richmond noted.

Deyling said he doesn’t know how to address the parking situation. He doesn’t want to cite people.

“It’s frustrating due to the fact it’s been happening for several years. People think it’s OK to park on the pond,” Deyling said. “I’d like to mitigate that.

“I understand it’s a hobby people look forward to in the winter,” he said. “This year especially, people need something to get away to.”

The space needs to be protected, should be vegetated in the summertime, Deyling said.

“It screams of laziness to me. There’s plenty of parking there. Use it,” he said.

“Brettuns Pond Association has been aggressive and active over the years,” association President Churchill Barton said. “We skipped the summer meeting because of COVID-19.”

A grant was obtained through the Department of Environmental Protection in 1998 to evaluate the entire watershed, look for erosion on the north and south side of the pond, he said.

“We went camp to camp, gave each owner a report on their property and what they could do to help protect the water quality,” Barton said. “We tried to handle everything with a positive approach. A lot of people pitched in.”

The enemy of the pond isn’t ice fishermen, it’s sediment washing into the pond carrying phosphorus that feeds algae, he noted.

Selectperson Benjamin Guild said near the cemetery a silt fence had been put out and asked if the “Restoration area, keep off!” signs were still there.

“The pond’s nicer to swim in when you can see your feet. I think the signs are a wonderful thing,” Barton said.