The Wiscasset Waterfront Committee met Oct. 27 to hear about how the summer went for Main Street Pier vendors, decide on a date to pull the floats from the water, and to consider a public art installation on the Recreational Pier next summer.

Harbormaster Preston Dunning said he was confused about a date to pull the floats from the water because it was his understanding that the fishing community would be largely out of the water by Nov. 1, but Committee Chairman Susan Robson wrote to him and asked him to leave the floats in for the fishermen for an additional month. The fishermen are using both the commercial float and the recreational float, since most pleasure craft are out of the water, as they bring in their traps and lines for the season. Dunning agreed to ask Public Works DIrector Doug Fowler to hold off on pulling the floats until Dec. 1. “They need to be cleaned up and repaired,” he said. Dunning acknowledged that repairs would most likely not occur until spring, because the floats would have to dry out first.

The committee will be entertaining new applications for having businesses on the Main Street Pier beginning in February, but as things are winding down, they invited vendors to come and tell them about their experiences. Only three vendors appeared: Frank Sprague, who is a member of the committee and who runs Sprague’s Lobster stand; Ron Leeman, who operates Forgotten Recipes, a store featuring jams and relishes from his family’s recipe files; and Monique McRae of the Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce.

Leeman thought his business would do better if he were closer to Route One. Sprague said his business was hurt somewhat by the lack of an ATM in the downtown area since Key Bank left. McRae was very pleased with the amount of foot traffic the chamber booth got this year. Some businesses didn’t do as well, they thought, including QT’s ice cream, which kept somewhat irregular hours over the summer.

“I was really hoping they’d have been here tonight,” said Town Planner Benjamin Averill. “I’ll be reaching out to them to find out what happened.”

All agreed that the entertainment was valuable, and that the good weather helped to make the season better.

Applications for the summer of 2017 will be available in February, Averill said.

Local artist Nick Dalton appeared to discuss his possible temporary outdoor art installation on the Recreational Pier. He has applied for a grant from the Space Gallery in Portland which is reaching out to artists in other places in the state. If successful, he hopes to create a sculpture that would be interactive and would feature a water fountain, honoring the four-masted schooner Hesper. The art project would be installed in May and be removed by the end of October. Approval was tabled until the next meeting, because there were only three members present, and Robson said she would prefer the rest of the committee see the plans.

If approved by the committee, Dalton will have to take his proposal to the Board of Selectmen for final approval. It has already had the approval of the planning board and the code enforcement officer.

The committee will meet again on Nov. 17, at a location to be determined.