Upcoming bridge work to detour Route 115 traffic into Windham

By Ed Pierce

For thousands of motorists who rely on Route 115 to get to their destination daily, the commute in and out of town is about to get a little trickier for a few weeks.

Last week the Maine Department of Transportation revealed the start date for a project to shore up the Narrows Bridge on Route 115, which spans Ditch Brook. Work on the bridge was originally scheduled to take place in the spring of 2020 but was postponed because of school schedules and resulting traffic delays and detours for school buses.

MDOT construction crews will begin work on the Narrows
Bridge on Route 115 in Windham starting on Monday, July 26.
The work will cause the reduction of traffic on Route 115 to
one lane eastbound. Vehicles entering Windham westbound from
Gray will be detoured onto Route 202. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE  

The $150,000 project will remove the east bridge joint and replace it with a new armored joint, removal of the west bridge joint and replace it with a new APJ asphaltic plug joint, applying sealer to wearing surfaces of the bridge, and extensive repair of the abutment over Ditch Brook. Work on the project will begin on Monday morning, July 26, and is estimated that the work will take about three weeks overall to complete.

The Narrows Bridge is located some 250 feet west of Running Brook Road on Route 115, also known as the Tandberg Trail and just west of the Falmouth Road intersection. Thousands of vehicles use Route 115 and cross the Narrows Bridge each day as it connects Windham to Gray, the Maine Turnpike and points beyond.

According to Maine DOT officials, work on the Narrows Bridge will force the reduction of traffic on Route 115 to one lane for the duration of the project.

MDOT says that vehicles entering Windham from Gray on Route 115 will be detoured onto Route 202 to either Falmouth Road or Route 302 to reach their destinations. Traffic on Route 115 will only be allowed to travel east away from Route 302 for the duration of the Narrows Bridge work. 

Traffic signs for associated project detours were put in place several weeks ago and will be uncovered Sunday, Maine DOT says.

Residents of the Running Brook, Collinwood and Wedgewood neighborhoods in Windham will be able to access Running Brook Road from both directions, according to Windham Public Works. A sign on Running Brook Road indicating “No Outlet, Residents Only” will be posted there at the entrance from Route 115 throughout the duration of the project.

Earlier this week, traffic on Route 115 in the area was limited to one lane briefly as Windham DPW workers repaired some erosion damage adjacent to locations the state project will tackle near Ditch Brook.

Because of the proximity to the Narrows Bridge, the Windham DPW erosion work was necessary prior to the Maine DOT project launch because of accessibility issues once the state begins work there, a representative of Windham DPW said in a social media posting.

In March. State Rep. Patrick Corey, R-Windham, said that the three-year MDOT Work Plan from 2021 to 2023 would include seven different projects totaling more than $2.5 million.

Among the projects included in the three-year plan was the Narrows Bridge repair and numerous improvements to Route 302 in Windham such as rehabilitation and construction to the roundabout there as well as safety improvements made possible through the municipal partnership initiative program.

“MDOT Work Plan projects will benefit our local communities in many ways,” Corey said in a press release. “I am pleased to see several MDOT projects scheduled for the next three years in our area. They will make our roads safer and benefit the local economy.” 

According to Paul Merrill, Maine DOT public information officer, detours associated with the Narrows Bridge repair project will end by Friday, Aug. 13.

“Some ancillary work, requiring an alternating single-lane traffic pattern, may occur after that date,” Merrill said. <

Little Sebago Lake Association promotes water safety in significant but fun and hands-on ways

Roger LeBlanc on the Water Safety Patrol Boat

By Lorraine Glowczak

According to the American Red Cross, water competency is a way of improving water safety for yourself and those around you through avoiding common dangers, developing fundamental water safety skills to make you safer in and around the water, and knowing how to prevent and respond to emergencies. The Red Cross also points out that by working together to improve water competency – which includes swimming skills, water smarts and helping others – water activities can be safer… and just as much fun. Working together to improve water safety is one of the missions of the Little Sebago Lake Association (LSLA) boards, whose motto is “Safety is no accident”.

In fact, the association has created a Water Safety Program directed by Sharon Lamontagne, a long time LSLA board member. It also includes a Patrol boat, captained and managed by Roger LeBlanc. The patrol boat motors around the 1,900 acres of crystal-clear water every Friday, Saturday and Sunday offering a friendly reminder to both residents and visitors alike, the importance of water safety.

The patrol team, which consists LeBlanc, John Bernier, Kate Martin and Cedric Harkin, cruises the lake educating and encouraging swimmers, kayakers, canoers, jet skiers, and motor boaters to adhere to safety guidelines. “We are about having fun and enjoying the water with the intent of avoiding accidents….and that we care about your safety as well as the safety of others,” stated Lamontagne, who leads  the lake association Water Safety program.

Little Sebago Lake, as most lakes in Maine, is becoming a popular spot for water activities. “Over the years it has become more and more crowded and congested,” Lamontagne said. “Many people, especially new members or renters who are not seasoned boat drivers and not are aware of the boating laws with the State of Maine - we wanted to serve as a gentle reminder to know the laws and to stay safe.”

The association’s safety patrol program began 15 years ago, by “accident”, when a member donated an old pontoon boat. “I wondered what we should do with the boat but realized we could fix it up and outfit it to serve in the manner of promoting water safety education and awareness,” Lamontagne stated.

It was from that point the LSLA developed the program. “We fixed up the boat, added signage on the side and began by volunteers patrolling on Saturdays and Sundays – increasing our presence as time went on. People loved to see the patrol boat on the lake and would slow down or show us they had their life jackets. Boaters and kayakers would even stop to talk to us.

According to the 2019 LSLA’s yearly newsletter, accidents occur on Maine lakes every year. In that newsletter, it stated that the State of Maine had a total of four boat crashes that involved more than $2,000 in damages and 10 personal injury crashes that involved the Warden Service. Little Sebago Lake was one of the lakes to be included in those statistics.

Over the years, as the lake became more popular and therefore  more crowded, the committee realized it needed actual law enforcement as well as what the patrol boat was doing to educate. For a number of years, LSLA hired the Cumberland County Sherriff’s Department to patrol the lake throughout the summer . It grew into a very successful program – but eventually the sheriff’s department became short staffed. Presently, LSLA contracts with the Maine State Warden Service to patrol the lake most weekend days.

“We are about having fun on the water – not about chastising people who may not know the  boating laws of the State of Maine,” reminded Lamontagne. “We reward people for good behavior. If they have the required number of life jackets or are driving with no wake near shoreline – we will give out gift certificates for pizza, Subway sandwiches and ice cream. This is especially good for children to see that observing the law has positive consequences. In addition, it educates them regarding water safety in a fun and engaging way.”

“Captain” LeBlanc stated that meeting people is what he loves best about his role on the Water Safety Pontoon. “I have met so many people on the lake, it’s been such a fun experience, “LeBlanc began. “I enjoy talking with them and sharing some safety techniques while I’m at it. If people don’t have life jackets, we have some available on the pontoon and will loan them what they need while in the water. We also carry gas cans on the boat for those who are running low on fuel. What’s so amazing to me is that people always return the life jackets and the gas cans, putting them right back in the Safety Patrol boat as it sits at the dock.”

In his fifth season as Captain, one may find LeBlanc available for children and their families for a tour around the lake. “While we are on the tour, we talk about various subjects such as the proper fitting of a life jacket and how to throw a safety ring into the water to help someone in need,” he stated. “The kids love it, but just as important – the parents learn a little bit more about water safety, too.”

Another service the Water Safety Patrol has added this year is, upon request, the Patrol boat will go to Association members’ homes to educate and inform all family members the importance of water safety awareness.

Additionally, the LSLA pays for members to take water safety classes provided by the State of Maine. “We sponsor a class every year at the Raymond Public Safety Building,” stated Lamontagne.

The Water Safety Program includes a working relationship with the Cumberland County Dispatch service center and have created six entry points onto the lake so medical personnel can easily respond to any emergency. As LeBlanc pointed out, the Water Safety Patrol Pontoon is not a first responder.

Perhaps what is just as important to the water safety component of the LSLA members and residents of the lake, is that of unity and kinship. “The Safety Patrol Program has even increased our membership and has provided a sense of community among us,” stated Lamontagne.

“We are just good Samaritans who are having fun while educating the public on ways to have fun, and yet safe experience, on the lake.”

A tour of Little Sebago: Lake association receives grant to study loons

Look closely and you can see baby loons riding on
 their dad's back as mom looks on. Photo by Jim McBride

By Lorraine Glowczak

The Little Sebago Lake Association (LSLA), located in the towns of Windham and Gray, recently received a $7,500 grant from the Cumberland County Fund of Maine of the Maine Community Foundation to develop a Little Sebago Loon Monitoring Program. The purpose of the program is to study and document loon behaviors, engage and encourage citizen science participation, and implement sustainable conservation actions.

To share information with the greater Windham and Raymond communities, Sharon Young, Pam Wilkinson and Jim McBride, all members of LSLA, invited The Windham Eagle for a tour of the lake. It was a perfect sunny morning last Friday, June 28^th, to be introduced to the world of loons – their nesting habitat and the importance of a loon’s role to lake health.

“Our focus is to measure their reproductive success,” stated Young, who is the LSLA Loon Committee Chair and the author of the grant. “Originally, from 1997 to 2014, Biodiversity Research Institute banded and monitored loons on Little Sebago.  When their program ended, I became entranced with the majestic loon and began recording their nesting activity on my own.”

Why is a loon monitoring program important? Loons are custodians of a lake’s health. They are near    
the top of the food chain, eating fish who eat smaller fish, who eat zooplankton, etc. As a result, their numbers and reproductive successes are indicators of the overall health of the lake. “It’s our measuring stick,” Young said in a recent press release.

In that same press release, it was stated that because the loon population on Little Sebago is vulnerable to stressors, coupled with the potential impacts of climate change, more information is needed on the individual performances (i.e., reproductive health), as well as specific movements of individuals to ensure long term sustainability. Other nearby states have seen sudden, unexplained declines of territorial loons on their lakes, and it is for this reason that a monitoring program is so important.

The grant will allow lake members to collaborate with Wildlife Research Biologist, Lee Attix of Loon Conservation Associates, in a two-year program of volunteer “Loon Ranger” and “data gathering” training, culminating in a locally run effort of ongoing conservation practices to benefit loons and to promote citizen science. The training will provide instruction to sustain the program long term, keeping the costs at a minimum with maximum lake health benefits.

Nest rafting (seen above) helps protect a loon's nest.

While on the tour of the lake last Friday, we learned that it takes approximately 28 days for loon eggs to hatch, and that both male and females will take turns sitting on the nest, while the other feeds and rest. “Sometimes a loon will leave their nest for an hour but will stay close by to protect them from predators,” Young explained. “Also, they must turn their eggs frequently to allow gasses to escape.”

Their nests are located on land, and in the case of Little Sebago Lake, many of those nests are hidden behind bushes or trees along the shorelines of the islands that sit throughout the lake. It is quite a feat for a loon to walk on land because their legs are located far to the rear of their bodies, so they must walk in a “rolling” fashion. But on land, hidden in the trees and bushes, is where the nest is most protected.

Unfortunately, not all nests survive due to predators such as eagles, rodents and reptiles. However, human interaction also contributes to the failure. “At the beginning of the summer, we saw a loon nest failure on Spider Island due to the boat wakes,” stated Wilkinson. “The waves washed up on land, making the soil below the nest mucky, causing the eggs to be sucked into the mud where the loon can no longer turn it.”

To help prevent nest failure, members of the monitor program have strategically placed signs near nesting sites to not only prevent wake damage but to keep people away to avoid chasing the loons off the nest. “When people kayak too close to the nest, it scares the loons away,” Young stated.

If the loon monitors notice there has been a nest failure in the same spot for a couple of years, they will create a “nest raft” to help protect from water damage and/or predators.

Presently, there are twelve Loon Rangers, two who have been volunteering for the Audubon Society’s loon counting program for many years. There is also vet tech and one who is trained in animal husbandry, to name just a few individuals who have already signed up to be Loon Rangers. There is
now a waiting list to volunteer.

Banding the loon and registering it in a shared data bank is part of the activities of the Loon Ranger. This method not only keeps track of reproductive successes but can determine the age of the loon. “The oldest loon on Little Sebago is at least 28 years old, making her the second oldest loon known to us,” Young explained. “The oldest known loon is 30 years old and is on a lake in New Hampshire.”

The Loon Rangers on Little Sebago have given a name to this old loon – The Grand Dame of Little Sebago Lake.

In addition to keeping track of loon health, the program envisions developing a “Loons in the Classroom” curriculum where elementary students learn about the chain of life surrounding Loons.  “Creating interest and impacting knowledge at an early age will further ensure the ongoing success of
the Loon Monitoring Program,” stated Young.

Young recently spoke about loons, using Maine Audubon’s Loon Kit, to a first-grade class in Windham and in a third-grade class in Raymond at their Grandparents Day event. “Many students had encountered loons on Little Sebago or elsewhere and were thrilled to learn more about them and about how to keep them safe,” Young said.

Little Sebago Lake Association’s mission is to protect, restore, and improve our lake’s water quality and fragile ecosystem.  LSLA works to create and nurture a community of lake stewards, educate users on lake safety, always mindful that human needs must be balanced with the needs of the natural environment.

Be sure to catch follow up articles coming soon on boating safety and the milfoil work being completed on Little Sebago Lake.

             

Paving the way – the story of a road trip for women’s right to vote

By Lorraine Glowczak

In 1915, three women drove across the country in an Overland Six automobile, from San Francisco to D.C. with the sole purpose of gathering and delivering over 500,000 signatures on a petition to Congress and President Wilson, demanding women’s right to vote.

Maine author, Anne Gass, retraced that trip with her husband in the summer of 2015 - 100 years after

Left to right Sara Bard Field (from Detroit), Maria Kindberg
and Ingeborg Klingstedt. photo credit goes to Library of Congress

the initial journey. She shared her own story as well as that of the three women who made the arduous trip in a presentation last Monday evening, March 25 at the Little Meeting House in Windham, hosted by the Windham Historical Society.

The trip was sponsored by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (CU), a small but mighty group led by Alice Paul that was determined to win voting rights for women through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution instead of the much slower strategy, pursued for decades, of winning it state by state. The CU set up a booth at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915 and spent months gathering signatures on a petition demanding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution enfranchising women.

However, there needed to be a way to get those signatures to President Woodrow Wilson and Congress in Washington, D.C. Paul decided that a cross-country road trip was the answer. This would permit gathering more signatures in the states they visited, and would also generate badly needed publicity for their cause.  

Paul asked a poet, Sara Bard Field and wealthy socialite, Frances Joliffe to represent the Congressional Union on that journey. “Unfortunately, Frances became ill and was forced to drop out of the trip almost right away- in Sacramento,” explained Gass. “Two Swedish immigrants from Rhode Island, Maria Kindberg and Ingeborg Kindstedt, had traveled by steamship to the Exposition and were already planning to buy a car and drive it back to Providence. They offered to drive the envoys and the petitions the 5,000 miles to D.C, getting there in time for the opening of Congress on December 6.”

As Gass explained at last Monday evening’s talk, “They traveled the Lincoln Highway. However, the term “highway” was much different at that time. In 1915, the ‘Lincoln Highway’ was little more than a cart track that would turn to a sea of mud in the rain. It was highly unusual for women to drive alone - but they were determined to do it and they overcame considerable hardship.”

Gass revealed the many obstacles the three women faced. “Notice the car is a convertible,” Gass pointed out the picture on the PowerPoint presentation. “They begin their road trip in September and were traveling east in early December. Obviously, they were going to face cold weather along the way.”

Author and speaker, Anne Gass

Gass also explained that they had three gas cans filled with water, oil, and fuel stored on one side of the vehicle because gas stations were not as plentiful and easily accessed as one would experience today on a cross-country trip.

She told the story of the three women driving through the Salt Flats of Utah on their way to Ibapah Ranch, where they were planning to stay that night. “They went through extreme heat, through dusty salt plains and had to stop to patch their tires a dozen times. Unfamiliar with the route, they’d hired a man who swore he knew the way,.”

Not as much help as expected, the hired driver got lost. With the help of two cowboys they found wrapped in their blankets at a crossroads, they finally arrived at the ranch early in the morning hours. “

The women continued across the U.S., enduring snowstorms, washed out roads and mud. “At one point, they got stuck in the mud  near Hutchinson, Kansas at 10 p.m. at night,” Gass said. “They had just passed a farm house, so they yelled for help with the hope that someone would hear them and offer assistance. Getting no response, Field, who had insisted on taking the short cut, was elected to walk to that house – in mud up to her hips in places– to ask for help.”

They discovered from two men they met later that day that their pleas for help were heard but ignored because, “If those women want the right to vote, let’s see if they can help themselves out of the mud,” is what the men said to the three feminists. Not impressed with their logic, Field rebutted, “Do you know how many times I’ve been up in the night to help a man who was ill and couldn’t take care of himself? This is not a matter of the right to vote, this is about common humanity.”

Despite their challenges, the road trip provided opportunities for signatures and education to the public, with Field informing those who gathered in town squares, etc. about suffrage and encouraging people to support voter rights.

Making it to D.C. in time and impressed by the size of the petition, the President expressed his admiration and said he would consider their demand. Although it took another five years, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, finally ratified in 1920, opened the polls to women. The three women, plus the 500,000 signatures, helped pave the way for women winning the right to vote.

Anne B. Gass is the author of “Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine’s Fight for Woman Suffrage”, published in 2014. She is the great-granddaughter of Florence Brooks Whitehouse who led Maine’s branch of the CU, working closely with Paul, Lucy Burns and other well-known suffragists. Gass’s great-grandmother was present in D.C. to greet Field, Kindberg and Kindstedt after their long three-month trip.

Gass lectures regularly on Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine suffrage history at conferences, historical societies, libraries, schools, etc. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Maine Suffrage Centennial Collaborative, a diverse group of organizations from across the state working to promote the one hundred year anniversary of woman suffrage.

To have Gass speak to your group, contact her at agassmaine@gmail.com.

The multi-faceted life of a local entrepreneur and philanthropist by Lorraine Glowczak

Misty Coolidge

The first paragraph in a newspaper article most often identifies the who, what, when, where, how and why to introduce the major details of the subject. In this case, the who is Misty Coolidge. 
 

To address the other five topics requires a novel length composition in Coolidge’s circumstance and cannot be captured in one sentence or identified in a 500-word article. However, much like Coolidge, we are always up for a challenge and will do our best to capture this entrepreneur and philanthropist’s unique energy, style and contribution to her community.

Many recently married couples know Coolidge through her farm and barn wedding venue, Coolidge Family Farm located in New Gloucester, co-owned with her husband Peter. Her mother, step-father, aunt and cousin also help in this family owned business.

Coolidge is all hands on when it comes to helping the newlyweds have their dream wedding. “Despite my dream of having a barn wedding of my own, we discovered that our budget was not going to allow for it, so one of the reasons for starting this adventure was to provide a beautiful venue at an affordable price and provide as much as I could to my couples to ease the stress of planning and making a budget work,” explained Coolidge.

In her bartending role

Others may know or have worked with Coolidge through her bartending enterprise, Maine Mixologist, LLC. Besides offering this service at the Farm, you can find Coolidge and/or her 15 qualified bartenders at other venues in multiple locations from Kennebunkport to Stockton Springs and beyond. To keep the family vibe, her sister and cousin are two of her bartenders.

If operating two businesses wasn’t enough to keep this mother of three small children (under three) busy, she somehow finds time to follow her love of history and historical preservation.

 
Coolidge recently purchased and is in the process of renovating the Old Baptist Church, 16 Shaker Road in Gray. This church was once the home of an antique shop that included an apartment over the shop and church owner, Victor Downs. 

“I have always loved the quaint beauty of that church,” Coolidge said. “I knew one day I would purchase that building to preserve its historical beauty and make it an alternative location for my wedding customers in case of inclement weather. I also want to make the chapel available for other local venues, for networking events, family gatherings, bridal showers and dinner parties to name just a few possibilities.”

After the passing of Downs, Coolidge reached out to his family after they put their father’s home and antique shop on the market. “They were very happy about my interest in preserving the church,” Coolidge stated. “They said that their father would have been very pleased with my desire to keep the building intact instead of demolishing it to make room for a parking lot, which was its destiny.” The church renovation will be completed early this summer and an open house will take place.

 

When Coolidge is not running two businesses, raising a family, making bride’s dreams come true and restoring history, she does as much as she can to give back.  Her passion for service began at Husson College where her sorority’s dedication to community service fueled her passion to help others. One way she hopes to open some doors and really make a huge difference was in her decision to run for Mrs. Maine and help fight hunger. Two years ago, she competed for Mrs. Maine America where she placed 3rd out of 18 wonderful women. Then she took a year off to add a third child to their family, but she is back at it competing for a more community service-based organization, Mrs. Maine International. Currently holding the title of Mrs. New Gloucester, she’ll be competing with 5 other amazing women this Sunday, April 22nd at the Crooker Theater in Brunswick.

The pageant and the organization highlight married women, their accomplishments and commitment to family and marriage, while promoting their individual passions. The contestants’ passions are funneled into fundraising efforts to help meet the needs of others or non-profit organizations.

“My platform is fighting hunger,” Coolidge explained about her role as Mrs. New Gloucester. “I have raised funds and continue to raise funds for area food pantries including the New Gloucester Food Pantry. On May 6, I will host the second annual Running of the Brides 5K at Coolidge Family Farm. Most people, both men and women, will run in wedding dresses.” The money raised from this event will go toward Good Shephard Food Bank.  

In addition to family and friends, couples who are booked at the Farm for 2018 and 2019 are invited to raise money toward the cause as well. The couple who raises the most will get $500 off their venue or other services. 

This impressive list of accomplishments does not end here. Coolidge will also be running as a democrat for House District 65 (New Gloucester and parts of Poland.) Being a relative of Calvin Coolidge, lover of history and politics, and a passion for doing what’s right and good are in her blood. “I believe in small country values and I am against big business in politics. It is my goal to participate in civil discussion with both parties and to get matters resolved for my neighbors. It’s all about serving them.”

One would assume that a woman this successful, passionate, giving and who is a relative of a former U.S. President would have been born with a silver spoon. This is not the case. Coolidge explains: “My mother raised three children as a single mother. Despite her hard work, she still needed to utilize State services and utilized the ‘free lunch’ program at school.  I guess that's where my passion for helping the local food pantries comes from. Not that we went hungry, but the statistics on those that do (1 in 5 school children) makes me want to help all those other single moms or families who do not have enough to eat at home”. 

It seems Coolidge found the skills to follow her dreams and passions. But instead of focusing solely on her own needs, she has stopped, reflected and reached back to grab the hands of others so that they, too, can live to their fullest possibility.

Gray secession committee discusses pros and cons of annexation to Raymond - By Walter Lunt

The Gray Secession Committee kicked off their petition drive this week at an informational meeting held at the Raymond Fire Barn, an early step in an estimated 2-year process aimed at several neighborhoods seceding from the Town of Gray and joining Raymond. The area includes the west shore of Little Sebago Lake and Little Sebago Lodges on the north to Northern Oaks on the southern boundary. Some residents refer satirically to the area as “Graymond.” A map showing the proposed new boundaries was presented at the meeting and is available on the committee’s Facebook page.
 

The topics were many and varied: Redrawing boundaries, town services, private roads and sense of place, were all discussed at an informational meeting sponsored by a group of Gray residents calling for what committee member described as a “divorce.”

The 5-member group cites geography as the main reason for a separation. Committee president Jennifer White says residents living in the secession area have to travel through Raymond to access Gray town services, such as the town hall, transfer station and schools, which for most is a 20 to 25 minute drive.

“We have an identity crisis,” according to White. She said residents from those neighborhoods access commercial services in Raymond and Windham, and “we’re in an area where Gray doesn’t have a great deal to do with us. I feel we’re a cash cow for the Town of Gray.”

Committee vice-president David Getchell said talk of secession has been raised several times over the years, but the last round in disagreement with the town over a section of Gore Road in Gray became the impetus for the current action. The town, he said, has long been reluctant to maintain a short stretch of Gore Road due to uncertainty over public easement and ownership issues. Frustration has mounted because the two sides have failed to reach any kind of agreement. Gray town officials say they are confident a settlement can be reached, but according to White, funds for the work are not included in the current budget.

Many who attended the meeting signed the petition to initiate the process of separation. Others who spoke disagreed with the effort, saying the committee lacks specific information on the on the advantages of joining Raymond. According to White and Getchell there is a probability of lower property taxes and a certainty that town and school services would be closer and more convenient. They said Raymond offers curb-side trach pick-up and recycling, although some private roads have pick-up at a centralized point. Gray residents take their trash to the town’s transfer station which also accepts large items, such as appliances for a fee. 

A possible disadvantage to switching towns would involve snow plowing. Raymond plows only public roads. The large number of private road neighborhoods in the proposed secession territory now serviced by the Town of Gray, would have to form associations, charge dues and hire private contractors, a move that would reduce the lower property tax advantage.

Gray town officials have indicated they hope to reach an agreement with the secession committee. White said the committee has conducted talks with Raymond officials who say they can make no guarantees, but that some issues would be on the table for discussion.

At stake for both communities according to research by the secession committee, is some $77 million in property valuations including 171 year-round residential properties, much of it shorefront.

Click Here to Apply

The secession process will be a long one, reported White and Getchell, taking a minimum of two years. If the group garners enough petition signatures (51 percent of the approximately 315 registered voters in the secession area) that are validated by the town, a public hearing will be held that would require the committee to submit detailed reports on the impact to both towns in the event of a switch. Also at the hearing, all residents of Gray would have the opportunity to weigh in on the plan. Following that, a bill would be drafted in the Maine Legislature that, if passed, would allow the secessionist movement to proceed. Meditation and referendum votes in both towns would follow. White said the process could end at any time if the proposal is defeated in the referendum or if the committee reaches an agreement with the Town of Gray.

Additional information on the petition drive and the committee’s efforts are available on the Gray Secession Committee Facebook page.