POLAND — Questioned Tuesday on whether they were aware of rumors of a music festival being planned for a site in the western part of town, selectmen acknowledged they were aware but that no one had applied for a mass-gathering permit, as far as they knew.
Tripp Lake resident Linda Laskey said she had heard there was a festival in the works for the weekend of the Oxford 250 race, which she believed was sometime around July 20, which would be held at the Hemlocks Campground on Larch Drive in West Poland.
Laskey wondered whether the group putting on the festival had a mass-gathering permit.
“I understand they’ve sold hundreds of tickets already,” Laskey said.
She also said the local lake association was quite concerned with a mass gathering of that size in the watershed.
Selectman Steve Robinson said he had heard that the town of Hebron had turned down a request for the festival to be held in that town.
“No one has come before us. We need to follow up on this,” Robinson said.
Captain Ray LaFrance of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that the sheriff’s department had been alerted by the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office that Hebron had turned the festival down and that “it’s coming to your area.”
Selectmen asked Town Manager Rosemary Roy to check with Code Enforcement Officer Nick Adams on whether the planned activity met the requirements of the town’s mass-gathering ordinance.
In other business, selectmen authorized Roy to sign a contract for the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department to provide the town with law enforcement services.
The contract provides the town with 16-hour-a-day coverage, with the remaining eight hours covered by rural patrol, at a cost of about $196,000 for the year beginning July 1.
LaFrance noted the contract amount was a little less than it was a year ago because the officer formerly assigned to Poland had more seniority than the officer who will be providing primary coverage this year.
Selectman also awarded the bid for a new thermal-imaging camera to Harrison Shrader Enterprises, the lowest bidder of three received, at $16,740.
Fire/Rescue Chief Mark Bosse noted that the department’s camera was 13 years old “and just doesn’t work anymore.”
Bosse also reported that work on an addition to the town’s fire station was proceeding well and that he expected the department might be moving into the new addition by the end of August.
“The guys are pretty excited,” Bosse said.
Selectmen also received a formal report from the town’s auditor, R.H.R. Smith, on its review of the town’s General Assistance program and procedures, with particular attention to rumors of breaches of confidentiality that had been circulating about town.
The investigation found no material weaknesses in the town’s program and no evidence of any breaches of confidentiality.
Selectmen also agreed to call a community meeting at 7 p.m. July 18 in the Town Hall to gather citizen input into what people want the municipal complex to look like. DeWan Associates, an architectural design team, has been selected to assist townspeople in the design process.
In a special ceremony, selectmen awarded the 2013 Poland Spirit of America Award to the Tri-Town Thrift Shop and Food Bank. Linda Laskey accepted the award.
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