STRONG — Selectmen agreed Tuesday night to allow ATV riders to use Chandler Road to get from one trail head to another.
Sandy River Riders ATV Club representative Bill Birden said he spoke with Chandler Road property owners to confirm that they wouldn’t object to having the vehicles use the road as long as the speed limit was obeyed.
Selectmen said riders must stay on the pavement, give way to other motor vehicles and not drive more than 20 mph.
The club, Birden said, would provide signs. The club’s riding routes are part of the 139-mile Moose Loop ATV trail that connects seven Franklin County clubs’ trails, including Stratton/Eustis, Salem Township, Carrabassett Valley, Kingfield, Phillips, Strong and Rangeley.
Maps of the Moose Loop trail system are available at the White Elephant and at Beal’s Store, Birden said.
In other business:
* Swim lessons for children will run from Monday, July 28, through Friday, Aug. 8, at the town beach. They will be taught by Red Cross-certified instructors.
The lessons are free for preschool children and for those students who attend the town’s elementary school, including those in Freeman Township. Children who live outside those communities must pay $15 for the two-week program. Registration forms are available at the Town Office.
* Selectmen have begun deciding a plan to determine which, if any, of the town’s streetlights might be shut off to save money.
Selectman Milt Baston said he mapped 52 streetlights. The next step, he said, will be determining if all of the lights work and whether people need specific lights. A nighttime ride will show any lights that are not working. Some higher-wattage bulbs could be exchanged for lower-wattage, he said.
Town meeting voters asked selectmen to do the research on shutting off streetlights and to provide a plan to present at the 2015 town meeting.
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