FARMINGTON — Selectmen discussed allowing a prospective study to be conducted on the Walton’s Mill Dam to determine the feasibility of the dam’s removal or modification to allow for the passage of Atlantic Salmon, an endangered species.
The town-owned dam is in West Farmington on Temple Stream, which was designated as a critical habitat for Atlantic salmon in 2009, according to a letter sent to the town from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The study, which would be funded by NOAA as part of a larger study on the Kennebec River, would look at the feasibility and estimated price of removal of the dam, estimated price for passage installations such as a fish ladder, as well as a structural evaluation of the dam.
Town Manager Richard Davis said the town has known that Atlantic salmon inhabit the Temple Stream and that addressing a solution to allow for their passage past the dam has been “one of those things brewing in the background.”
Under the Federal Endangered Species Act, it is illegal for public or private entities to obstruct the migration of endangered species. Davis said that since the town will be required to address this at some point, it would be in the town’s interest to take advantage of an outside entity, such as NOAA, funding the feasibility study.
Davis said that removal of the dam probably would be a hard sell to residents, but the installation of a fish ladder as a solution probably would be a more feasible option for the town.
Paul Christman, a marine scientist from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, approached the town about a study of the dam last fall, but he was unable to find funding for the study.
The NOAA study would come at no cost to the town. Christman will be applying for the NOAA grant, and Davis said he will provide a letter of support on behalf of the town for Christman’s grant application, which is due April 1.
Once the study is completed, which could be as soon as this fall or as late as the summer of 2017, it would be up to the town to decide what to do with the dam.
Also at their meeting Tuesday night, selectmen cut $450 from the proposed 2016-2017 sewer budget. The approved $973,396 budget is $5,488 less than the money appropriated to the sewer department last year. However, only $921,244 of last year’s $978,884 appropriated budget was used.
Selectmen approved cutting $450 from the department’s proposed $900 housekeeping budget. In past years, $900 had been approved for that line item but was only minimally used.
“The bottom line is pretty good. We didn’t have to raise rates,” said Steve Millett, director of the sewer department.
Selectmen also approved the application of Michael Otley to serve as an alternate member to the Planning Board.
Selectmen rejected his first application in November, citing concerns that his motivation for joining the board was personal. At that time, Otley told the board that he was bothered by the notification process leading up to the approval by the Planning Board of a new cellphone tower on property near where he lives on Titcomb Hill Road.
Otley’s alternate position on the Planning Board will expire in June, and selectmen saw his appointment as a “trial period.” At the end of his term he can apply for another term.
In other business, selectmen also briefly discussed developing an alternate scenario to solve the Fire Department’s staffing problems in case residents vote down the fire chief’s request for adding four full-time firefighters to the department on Monday at Town Meeting. The board agreed with Chairman Joshua Bell’s suggestion to attend selectmen meetings in other Franklin County towns and offer the idea of regionalizing fire departments.
Lauren Abbate — 861-9252
Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate
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