LIVERMORE — Selectpersons Tuesday night, Aug. 2, considered possible next steps in the ongoing situation at Brettuns Pond beach area. They are asking residents for their input on the situation.
Selectperson Scott Richmond said there had been another complaint about the beach Monday, after a complaint about broken glass and dog feces was mentioned at the July 19 meeting. He was told there was “all kinds of trash down there” and those he spoke with wanted Highway Foreman Roger Ferland to send somebody to clean it up.
Piles of what appear to be dog feces are seen Tuesday evening, Aug. 2, near the water’s edge at Brettuns Pond beach in Livermore. Several complaints have been made about the beach this year. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser3
“I called the mowing contractor because it is in their contract, they are supposed to pick up trash before they mow,” Richmond said. He learned the mowers were there Friday and had picked up two bags of trash. “I told Roger (Ferland, highway foreman) ‘we are not picking up trash there,'” Richmond stated. “If they can’t pick up after themselves we don’t need the town to go down there and pick up trash.”
Livermore officials are seeking input on the possible closure of Brettuns Pond beach after more complaints were received. Pictured Tuesday evening, Aug. 2, are two of the signs posted at the beach. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser
Signs at the beach state: no dogs allowed, no loitering, carry-in carry-out, surveillance camera in use, and beach use for residents and taxpayers only.
In June 2018 selectpersons considered closing town beaches due to reports of a dead cat, bags of human feces, dirty diapers and used needles at Round Pond and Brettuns Pond beaches. Two weeks later they agreed to install security cameras at those beaches. More recently they limited beach access at Brettuns Pond to residents and taxpayers.
“At some point we are going to have to do something,” Richmond said.
Selectperson Brett Deyling agreed but wasn’t sure what to do.
Administrative Assistant Aaron Miller shared two options: Shut the beach off completely to the public or pay someone to be there and clean it.
“I have got a third option,” Richmond said. “Sell it. Keep the boat launch and be done with it.”
Miller indicated other materials placed in the portable toilet plugged up the suction device used to empty it. The town pays Nickerson $125 a month to have the toilet at the beach.
Livermore officials are looking into closing Brettuns Pond beach at dusk, hiring someone to monitor the beach, or closing it entirely after more complaints have been submitted. Seen near the beach area Tuesday evening, Aug. 2, are a child’s sneaker and a soda can. Input is welcome from residents and taxpayers on what should be done. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser
“If it doesn’t clean up, [Nickerson’s] are just going to stop like they did at Round Pond,” Selectperson Chairman Mark Chretien said.
Deyling asked if the Androscoggin Sheriff Department would need to be notified if the beach were to close. He noted many people bring their boats to Brettuns Pond.
Richmond said “No Trespassing” signs could be installed.
Cigarette butts are seen Tuesday evening, Aug. 2, at Brettuns Pond beach in Livermore. Officials have received several complaints about trash and dog feces at at the beach. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser
“Honestly, if it is just going to be a dumping ground for people, that may be that we say ‘This is done,'” Deyling said. “The town is not going to be liable for people getting hurt.”
Resident Peter Stokes said he had considered putting lights on utility poles as a deterrent but there aren’t any on the road along the beach.
“It is a shame, there are only a few people that are going to ruin it for everybody,” he noted.
He asked what it would cost to hire somebody to be there.
Deyling said several factors would need to be considered to determine the cost.
Hiring a retired person looking for a little extra income was suggested by Miller.
“I don’t want this to be where some little kid gets cut up, floundering around in the water down there and all of a sudden we are on the hook for somebody getting hurt because it is not a safe place to be,” Deyling stated. He said pursuing charges from camera footage is challenging, very clear evidence is needed.
“Post on the town website the people that are doing it,” Chretien said. “Publicly shame them. Half of the time it is out of towners.”
Having a paid monitor in June, July and August was suggested by Selectperson Randy Ouellette.
If littering is seen, talk to the person or take it upon yourself to take it out, Deyling suggested.
Listing hours for when the beach would be open was suggested by Richmond. Others liked his idea, suggesting dusk as the closing time.
Miller will check into what other towns with public beaches are doing and get a sense of potential costs. If monitoring the beach is decided on, ARPA funds could be used or the money raised at a town meeting, he said.
Livermore Selectpersons Tuesday evening, Aug. 2, agreed to have a third party look at the paving done last November by Pike Industries Inc. of Fairfield on the Goding and Norlands roads. Center seams not matching such as seen in this July 20 photo are one of the concerns they shared at the July 19 meeting. A Pike representative said tests taken when the paving was done would be emailed to the town but they haven’t been received. File photo/Livermore Falls Advertiser
In other business, Deyling said he would contact a company he deals with to look at the Goding and Norlands roads.
At the July 19 meeting, representatives from Pike Industries, Inc. of Fairfield offered to redo some of the paving they did on the Goding and Norlands roads last November. Selectpersons wanted both roads redone.
At that meeting Pike representative Jason Griffiths said he would email the test results taken when the paving was done. As of Tuesday night, those results had not been received by town officials.
“The next time we do a paving project we may want to spend some additional money for a third party inspection to keep our testing outside of [the company’s] hands to make sure they are kept on track,” Deyling said. “If they are paying for their own testing, that is sort of a conflict of interest in my mind. That they can just basically say whatever they want. It is not that much money for what you get out of it.
“Now we are looking at repaving, spending money on extra tonnage to finish roads that should have been done, one and done last year.”
Having a third party look at the roads would mean not just the town saying the work was bad, Deyling noted. He recommended having that done before sending a letter to Pike about the situation.
“For a few hours of their time it would be a few hundred bucks, wouldn’t be that much,” Deyling said.
By consensus Selectpersons agreed to the third party inspection.
Several attempts were made by the Livermore Falls Advertiser to learn the name of the company suggested for that inspection. Miller and Ferland didn’t know the name. Deyling was out of state.
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