The Morning Sentinel

BELGRADE

August 1

Meeting set for summer residents

By Mechele Cooper mcooper@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

BELGRADE -- Since summer residents account for approximately half the town's property taxes, officials are looking for ways to keep them informed about what's going on in town when they're not around.

One way seems to be a reprise of "As Others See Us," an article that ran in the town's 1963 annual report highlighting comments received from seasonal residents in what was then known as the Non-Resident Mailbag.

The mailbag was an attempt to provide summerfolk an opportunity to comment and offer suggestions about the local government and the community as a whole.

Town Manager Dennis Keschl said that, up to the summer of 2000, officials used this and a variety of other ways to get input from seasonal residents.

Then, for whatever reason, those efforts stopped.

In an effort to re-establish that line of communication, the Board of Selectpersons scheduled a special meeting for seasonal residents at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Center for All Seasons.

"This is important because summer people help drive the economy in this area, which is really due to the lakes," Keschl said. "They pay 50 percent of the property taxes and we, the board and, certainly, I want to hear if there's anything we can do different or better to help them and help the community.

"We're advertising this as open to seasonal residents. But it is open to the general public as well."

Keschl -- a Republican candidate for the Legislature in House District 83 -- said there are 2,800 taxable properties in Belgrade and about 1,250 are owned by nonresidents who contribute approximately $3.1 million in property taxes.

He said summer residents enjoy the area for much of the summer before they have to go back home. They pay half the property taxes and help support schools, roads and government programs, but have had less say in how their tax dollars are used.

At Wednesday's meeting, he said they will have an opportunity to meet with town official and listen to brief presentations from different community groups including Friends of the Belgrade Public Library, the Recreation Committee, Belgrade Lakes Business Group, Docks to Doorways and the Belgrade Dams Committee.

"Lake levels are low and so we thought it would be good to let people know why," he said. "We've been getting a lot of questions and complaints about this. Without rain, levels drop."

He said a representatives of the Belgrade Lakes Association will be on hand to answer questions about lake quality. Activity around the Belgrade lakes chain has caused the water quality to decline, he said. Officials want people to know they are serious about protecting the lakes.

"The lakes are here for our enjoyment and we have to follow all the codes and regulations," he said. "Little impacts, which people might think are minor, have huge impacts on water quality."

He said there have been two cases in this past year where the town has taken action against property owners who violated Belgrade's Shoreland Zoning Ordinance. He said they were forced to pay fines and restore the areas.

"As seasonal residents, and our friends and neighbors, this is an opportunity to meet with representatives of our local government and for you to provide input on any of the many issues that confront all of us," he said.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com