Alna selectmen

Pinkham Pond parking among ideas for unspent grant

Tue, 07/27/2021 - 8:15am

SUSAN JOHNS

File photo

According to Alna selectmen July 22, a town email July 23 and an April 7 Maine Department of Transportation letter to the town, the Egypt Road bridge over Ben Brook needs work and the board will seek proposals. The first request will be for offers to do an engineering design; the town will then use that design to seek construction bids, the email stated.

Meanwhile, town officials want public input on the first request. View the draft RFP at http://alna.maine.gov/egyptroadbridgerfp with password “egyptroad”. Second Selectman Linda Kristan said MDOT sent a letter in 2013 listing the same issues, and the town had work done. Like last time, this year’s letter, from MDOT assistant bridge maintenance engineer Ronald Taylor based on MDOT’s 2020 inspection, said the state will not fund the work. The bridge “is considered a minor span on a town way,” it states.

The letter states a stone retaining wall downstream has “severe movement” and the road could have a “serious washout” if stones collapse into the brook. MDOT recommends stabilizing the wall and channeling surface water away from the road.

Also in the board’s July 22 Zoom meeting, selectmen reported they are looking for how to spend a $2,000 Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission grant. Kristan said the town got the grant to hire a consultant on solar power options. She said the money went unspent in the pandemic and the grant runs out at the end of the year.

Kristan cited possible uses instead for safety, including addressing an exposed drop off near Head Tide Dam or adding parking near Pinkham Pond. As for the drop off, resident Chris Cooper recalled a proposal he worked on with Atlantic Salmon Federation and Midcoast Conservancy for “an impenetrable tangle of shrubbery.” He suggested the board look into that and spend the grant money elsewhere.

Mike Walker and Kristi Favalaro of Bailey Road supported more parking for Pinkham Pond. Walker added, the area gets trash and speeding. He suggested maybe lowering the speed limit seasonally.

Also July 22, selectmen said they were asking Maine Municipal Association if they have authority to issue moratoriums. The board voted July 7 to give out no permits for accessory apartments or for two homes on a lot until the town passes a “fair and enforceable” amendment to the building code.