Alton Selectmen approve three-year milfoil treatment contract with Solitude Lake Management

The Alton Board of Selectmen voted to award a three-year milfoil-management contract to Solitude Lake Management, following a unanimous recommendation from the town’s Milfoil Committee.

The Milfoil Committee representative told the board that the previous herbicide contract expired this year and the town put the work out to bid last fall. “We had one company — the company that we’ve been working with for 15 years — came back with their bid, and the committee met and unanimously forwarded on to you folks to approve it,” the Milfoil Committee representative said.

The committee provided cost context: using this year’s level of treatment as a baseline, the representative said the same level of work under the new contract would represent about a 17% increase over the previous three-year contract. “This past year we spent approximately, I want to say, $40,000,” the committee representative said, and added that a 17% rise over three years was “not that bad.”

Committee members described treatment outcomes and methods. “Have been really good. The state said, I think we started in 2008 and compared to where we were then the state said we’ve made tremendous improvement in Alton,” the committee representative said. The committee said chemical treatments are used where milfoil is very dense and diver‑assisted pulling is used in less-dense areas. The representative also noted that the committee treated the Merrymeeting River up to the Alton Traffic Circle for the first time last year and that total treated area last year was about 32.37 acres.

The committee described safety and coordination practices: newer chemicals used at some sites carry no swimming restrictions but staff said they still post signs for six to 12 hours at beaches after treatment and the contractor returns to test water quality. “We also, since we’ve done the river, I’m in contact with the Alton Water Department just to make sure that they’re aware that we’re doing it so they can shut in wells that are in the area at that time,” the Milfoil Committee representative said.

Select Board action: Select Board members moved and seconded a motion to award the three‑year contract to Solitude Lake Management in accordance with its proposal dated 12/10/24. The motion passed with the members present voting in the affirmative.

The committee said the town’s upcoming annual report will include maps showing where chemical and dive work were performed.

The contract replaces the town’s previous three‑year agreement and, if implemented at similar treatment levels, will change the town’s expenditures on milfoil control relative to the final year under the old contract.