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Select Board schedules Aug. 19 workshop on mooring/harbormaster ordinance after lengthy public comment
Summary
After review of a committee'draft and extended public comment, the Bridgton Select Board voted to hold a workshop on a proposed mooring and harbormaster ordinance on Aug. 19 at 5 PM. Public speakers urged cost neutrality, enforcement mechanisms and strong grandfathering provisions.
The Bridgton Select Board on July 14 agreed to hold a workshop on a proposed mooring and harbormaster ordinance after hearing more than an hour of committee reports, board discussion and public comment.
Chair opened discussion on the "review of the mooring ordinance" and invited committee members to speak. Committee member Brooke Salloway introduced herself and described committee work that began in early 2025 and suggested financing options including a fee scenario: "with something like 400 moorings, if there was a fee of a 100 or a $125, $125 would produce $50,000 a year," she said, noting those funds could help pay for a harbormaster and equipment.
Board members debated whether to send the draft first to an attorney or to hold workshops to resolve the committee''s outstanding questions. One board member urged sending the draft to legal counsel early; others favored a workshop to nail down unresolved items prior to legal review to limit repeated attorney bills.
Public comment was extensive. Speakers from lake communities — including Deb Brouzzini, Charles Layman (Highland Lake), and John Sims — urged enforcement and protections for shoreline owners, recommended a 1997 grandfathering date, and asked for mechanisms that require written landowner permission for moorings. Concerns ranged from safety and shoreline erosion to "wild west" mooring placement without local oversight.
After hearing the public, the board voted to hold a workshop to examine the ordinance and outstanding questions. The meeting record shows the workshop motion passed with a recorded vote described in the minutes as 4 in favor and 1 opposed (Mr. McCatton recorded as the negative vote). The board set the workshop for Aug. 19 at 5:00 PM.
What happens next: Board members said the workshop will identify unanswered questions (cost, enforcement, grandfathering and operational needs) before possible legal review and a later decision about placing the ordinance before voters. The committee and residents were invited to prepare cost-neutral proposals and to be available for the workshop.
Votes at a glance: the motion to schedule a workshop (to review the mooring ordinance) passed (vote recorded as 4-1), and a specific workshop date of Aug. 19 at 5 PM was set.
