Phoebe Hardesty of the Androscoggin
Valley Soil and Water Conservation District, and her staff invited
representatives of various lake associations to meet and discuss common
problems and come up with possible solutions.
Linda Laskey, co-President of TLIA,
attended one such meeting on April 15, during which time Code
Enforcement Officers (CEO’s) from four communities discussed their
roles. Representatives from Thompson Lake, Taylor Pond, Sabattus Lake,
Allen Ponds and Lake Auburn were also in attendance to listen to the
CEO’s who saw their work as 1) being approachable and being able to
assist citizens through the permitting process, 2) one who checks on
site work to insure that soil is being contained, etc, 3) one who
educates Boards and citizens on land ordinances, enforces Town
ordinances and responds to complaints.
Other issues included the facts
that 1) CEO’s cannot respond to anything on a private road…that is the
Sheriff’s Department’s territory. 2) If evidence shows that soil has
been removed from a site, the DEP must be called. 3) Complaints or calls
re: boating matters should go to the Game Warden of the local Department
of Inland Fisheries and 4) Vegetative buffers are a must within
100 feet of the shoreline.
The meeting ended with ways in
which property owners can work with the CEO’s. Linda will present those
ideas at the Annual Meeting on July 10.