LITTLE THEATRE FALL RIVER FULL

She continued: “If this task force is created and that grant is received.” “There has been a lot of talk of what that grant will and will not pay for,” said board member Stephanie French. “That is what has propelled a lot of confusion and angst in the community.” The board also discussed June 6 the scope of the grant application submitted June 1 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. “And we will review their process,” said board Chair Bob Falciani. Citizens will be encouraged to participate, but the methodology of the recruitment of the group will be up to the consultants, said Romana.īoard member Alison McKellar suggested inviting the consultants to the next board meeting to introduce themselves, and talk about their pending work with Camden. The forming of the task force will be the responsibility of the consultants, with town input. Those uses could be commercial, environmental, recreational and need to take into account benefits for the public good and future generations.” For this task, we are looking to set the basis for a community visioning exercise that will look at how the town of Camden wishes to use the river moving forward. “But the Town of Camden (and adjacent towns with an interest in the river) have not crafted a new vision for the River. “The Megunticook River has been used for commercial and industrial purposes that no longer exist today,” wrote Romana.

That grant application was submitted by the town June 1 and is named, “Pipeline Megunticook Watershed Flood Resiliency and Habitat Restoration.” The amount of money associated with that grant is to be used for community engagement and review conceptual designs, as well as engineering, for four dams and fish passage at sites where dam removal is not feasible.Īnd, the town wants the consultants to use Phase One to create a vision for the river. Phase One goals also include planning for the implementation of another grant, if it is to be awarded to Camden by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. She specified that the task force, and the consultants, are to review recent studies of the river, “in particular, identifying the gaps in the Interfluve Report - to inform what further exploratory studies the town needs to conduct in the future.” No action to date has been made by the town concerning the proposed warrant article concerning the Montgomery Dam.Ĭamden Select Board member Sophie Ramano wrote on the Phase One to-do list assembled for the consultants: “This phase is critical to set the town of Camden on a path to successfully engage with the community, stakeholders, grant funding agencies and above all, to preserve this amazing asset for the benefit and enjoyment of people of Midcoast for many generations to come.” Now, however, the Select Board is hoping the consultants will facilitate a larger municipal conversation about the project. The money to spend on this phase of the project derives from remaining funds associated with a previous grant received by Camden to complete the 2021 Megunticook River Feasibility Report. That report outlines the existing state of the river and its watershed, and proposes environmental restoration actions.Īs the report made its own proposals, a citizens group organized in opposition to removing the Montgomery Dam, and is concurrently requesting the town to include a warrant article on the next town meeting asking voters if they want to save the dam. That project has been broadly defined and has engendered much debate in the community, with a core point of contention being the idea of removing the Montgomery Dam, at the head of Camden Harbor, where the Megunticook River empties into the ocean. The first order of business is for the two companies to create a task force consisting of Camden citizens interested in the project. See more photos of the Megunticook River from the air.

LITTLE THEATRE FALL RIVER FULL

Voting yes, they approved the scope of work ( see full Select Board packet for entire proposal) submitted by two Maine consultant companies, FB Environmental and Biohabitats, as well as spending up to $20,000 this summer and fall to complete phase one of what is to being called the Megunticook River project. CAMDEN - The conversation was frank and lengthy, but by the time the five members of the Camden Select Board finished discussing whether to contract with consultants to guide the town’s Megunticook River project forward, they had reached unanimous consensus.

Little theatre fall river