Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus talked with selectmen April 19 about a proposal to seek a Harbor Management and Access Grant for a study to try to solve a Biscay Beach issue.

The beach is a popular summer attraction for both swimmers and boaters, and currently, there is no barrier between the two uses. The town had wanted to put in a boat ramp on one side of the access area so boaters wouldn’t affect swimmers and vice versa. However, recently it was pointed out to Lutkus that there might not be enough room for a car and a trailer in the parking area, leaving the car partly in the roadway. Lutkus agreed to revisit the idea by applying for the engineering grant. Selectmen agreed to his proposal.

Other parks were also on the agenda. Selectmen approved a proposal for riprap repair at Riverside Park and approved a grant application for water quality at area land trusts the town was lending its support to. It also accepted $75,000 from the Twin Villages Alliance. The money had come from three anonymous families, two outside Damariscotta and one within, to improve the municipal parking lot, including setting some aside for the restroom construction and building a walkway along Taco Alley.

Selectman Robin Mayer announced the recipients of this year’s Spirit of America Foundation award will be the people who had taken it on themselves to fix up Riverfront Park, the Riverside Park Cleanup Committee.

The Elm Street sidewalk project has been approved and is expected to begin immediately after Labor Day, with the possible contingency that Great Salt Bay Sanitary District has to obtain its share of the funding. There will be an attempt to complete the work if possible by Pumpkinfest, or at least mitigate any impact on the popular autumn festival.

Selectman James Cosgrove announced he would not be taking out papers to run for re-election. He encouraged citizens in the audience to get involved in public service.