That was quite a stretch of wet weather eh? This afternoon as the sun started to break through I marveled at how long it has been since I’ve seen it, and how much rain we’ve gotten this month. April was a very dry month and May started out just as dry with no rain for the first 8 days. Since then we’ve received 5.5″ of rain which has so far brought the lake up 21.6″ with most of the rise occurring in the last 5 days. This afternoon the lake level sits at 34.9″ right at the bottom of the hole in the dam. As of this afternoon there was no water coming through the hole but as the lake continues to rise over the next few days that will change.
In any case, get out there and enjoy the (relatively) high water while it lasts. The lake hasn’t been this high since late June last summer and there’s no telling what to expect as the summer advances. The State boat launch is usable now and if you’re careful you won’t have any trouble getting your boat in the water. There’s 2.1′ of water over the foot of the ramp which is just a little shy of the design specification of 2.3′. Be mindful of the rocks- the water is only about 12″ deep 20′ off the end of the ramp.
I thought Kelley was going to open the gate this weekend in an attempt to keep the water level below the hole in the dam as he did last summer but he hasn’t touched it. Surprise, surprise. Last year he was ostensibly concerned about the impact of high water on the integrity of the dam and he did everything he could to keep the level -40″ or more below the top of the dam. Now maybe everything has changed; he has been referring to the dam as the “breached dam that formerly impounded Clary Lake” as if he’s given up on the useless, broken relic. Still, he’s trying to sell it and you’d think he’d want to keep it from deteriorating further especially considering he’ll probably still own it, and have to fix it, when the lake level order goes on.
Happy Memorial Day everyone.
I received a letter in today’s mail from Paul Kelley on behalf of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC notifying me of his company’s intent to file a petition for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance. Sadly, this news comes 54 days after he actually filed the petition so it can hardly be called “notice of intent to file” but that’s what he’s calling it just the same. Presumably he’s sent copies of his letter to all the Clary Lake shore owners but for the benefit of those interested parties who aren’t technically lake shore owners (and there are quite a few of you) I’ve scanned and posted my copy here. First I should remind everyone that according to a 
The Whitefield Selectmen have published the warrant for the upcoming special town meeting on May 30th at 7:00 PM at the Whitefield School. Article 2 addresses the matter of the Clary Lake dam:
Shlomit Auciello has written another article in the ongoing saga of the “beleaguered” Clary Lake dam property, this one covering last night’s Jefferson town meeting at which the town voted to reject ownership of the dam. Ms. Auciello also spoke with Paul Kelley before the meeting about the 
At their 21 May 2013 Special Town Meeting, Jefferson voters predictably voted not to accept ownership of the Clary Lake dam. Selectman Jim Hilton made a motion right off not to accept ownership of the dam, which was quickly seconded. He gave his reasons- basically that the Selectmen feel that the Clary Lake Association is the proper entity to own the dam and the town isn’t at all interested in being responsible for dam repairs and maintenance, and they don’t want DEP telling them they have to spend money. He also cited the letter they received today to the effect that Kelley’s petition is “deficient” and the town just doesn’t want to have anything to do with Kelley or the dam.
DEP has come to the conclusion that Paul Kelley failed to satisfy the Public Notice requirements of 
Just a quick reminder that the Town of Jefferson is holding their public meeting to consider and act on the issue of dam ownership tomorrow night at 6 PM at the Jefferson Village School Gymnasium. Unlike the Town of Whitefield’s May 30th meeting which is being held solely for the purpose of addressing the dam issue, Jefferson’s meeting serves a dual purpose: residents will also be voting on school budget issues. The the dam question is #1 on the agenda and is worded as follows:
Jefferson has sent out the warrant for the upcoming special town meeting to be held on Tuesday, 21 May 2013 at the Jefferson Village School Gymnasium at 6 PM. The article on the Clary Lake dam is #1 on the agenda and the wording is short and sweet:
A month ago I installed some software that replaces the built-in user management functions on the site (user log ins, registrations, and lost passwords) with similar functions with enhanced features and functionality but it turned out to be a bit buggy so I uninstalled it. Now it appears they’ve fixed the bugs (or claimed they have) so I’m giving it another try. Here’s the 
Kelley finally closed the dam’s gate which has been wide open since last October 13th. Must have been done sometime today though I suppose it could have been late yesterday afternoon. I’m not sure what inspired this seemingly magnanimous gesture on Kelley’s part: concern over the drained wetlands? Not likely. Worry for lost wildlife habitat? Nah. Sadness over the unusable status of the State boat launch? Nope. You can be sure whatever reasons motivated him they were selfish and self-serving. He’ll get no thanks from me. The lake is down 56″ below the top of the dam and the crime has been committed. I suppose we should be grateful that Kelley has closed the gate but I’m still angry with him for draining the lake in the first place. Call me ungrateful but in my book it’s too little, too late.
Yet another article has appeared in this week’s Lincoln County News about Kelley’s request for a new hearing and my objection to it. Seems like every week there’s something in one paper or another. Shlomit Auciello is doing a pretty good job of reporting on a complicated and confusing situation:
We’ve finally gotten around to putting current Clary Lake water monitoring data online. It’s a subset of the data collected by David Hodsdon and Jack Holland and will be updated roughly every 2 weeks from early spring through late fall or as often as David and Jack get around to it. What’s online now includes all the data from 2012 and what’s been collected so far in 2013. That little thumbnail at left is what a secchi disk looks like- it’s used to measure the transparency of the water.
If the Whitefield Selectmen are going to asking the voters of the town to consider purchasing the Clary Lake dam, they’re entitled to know how much it’s going to cost, right? You know, the price. That’s a reasonable request, no? Well to that end, the Selectmen handed a letter to Paul Kelley at the 30 April 2013 Selectmen’s meeting, asking just that question. They asked for a response by the 10th of April. Many of us were there, that was the night the Selectmen held their 
I have just sent my response to Kelley’s request for a new hearing to the Service List. It’s short. DEP has already defended their decision to conduct the bathymetric survey and have decisively ruled on Kelley’s repeated objections to it. Kelley apparently can’t take no for an answer. DEP was not willing to revisit and revise the survey at my request and I see no reason now why they should approve Kelley’s request to reopen the hearing which would only waste valuable time, resources, and money.
I’ve received a few questions from people about how, when, and under what circumstances the Clary Lake Dam Fund monies will be spent. I’ll try and clear that up in this posting. First, I’m happy to report that Bill Donovan from over on the west shore of Clary Lake donated $100 to the Dam Fund bringing the balance of the fund to $1402 which is almost 1/3 of the way to our $5000 goal. Have no fear, when we are close to achieving our $5000 goal we will simply raise it; the $5000 goal was just an initial target. Bill’s donation was a good-faith gesture; he and a few other people that have donated money have said they will donate more money when the time comes to actually spend it. Yeah.
Yet another Lincoln County News article in this week’s paper, this one by Dominik Lobkowicz about last Tuesday night’s Whitefield Selectmen’s meeting. Good article. Worth reading. I was at that meeting along with Sue McKeen. We didn’t talk, we just listened. The theme of this post is “Confusion” which is what that thumbnail at left is supposed to represent. The article isn’t online so I scanned it and the photo of Mr. Kelley didn’t come out too well. Sorry.
With all the doomy and gloomy petition stuff I’ve been posting of late, it is a real pleasure (that’s me smiling at left) to be able to provide this update on the Clary Lake Association fund raising initiative. Don and Lucy Norman of Jefferson stopped by the other day to talk to me about making a donation to the Clary Lake Dam Repair fund. They hoped that by putting some “seed money” in the fund that it would encourage others to contribute. This afternoon, Lucy called to tell me that she had just dropped a check off with our Treasurer, Linda Gallion.