You never know what’s going to float by and get caught on the webcam. Yesterday it was my wife on the hammock. Earlier today it was Steve Viti out fishing.
Author Archives: George Fergusson
29 April 2013: Fergusson asks DEP to dismiss Pleasant Pond Mill LLC petition
I have formally requested DEP dismiss Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s petition for release from dam ownership on the basis that they lack sufficient property rights in the dam to transfer it in accordance with the provisions of the statute. MRS Title 38, Chapter 5 §906 (2) “Property rights transferred” clearly states what property and property rights need to be included in the conveyance of a dam. These explicitly include flowage rights. Pleasant Pond Mill LLC does not own the flowage rights. Aquafortis Associates owns the flowage rights. Aquafortis Associates LLC has made no statement about their intent to throw in the flowage rights if and when the dam is transferred.
Letter to DEP requesting PPM petition be dismissed
Some of you will recall that when I filed the Clary Lake water level petition, I named both Pleasant Pond Mill LLC and Aquafortis Associates LLC as parties to the petition for the very reason that Aquafortis Associates LLC owned the flowage rights and that these rights are crucial to the operation of the dam. Despite vigorous protests on the part of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC and their counsel to have Aquafortis Associates LLC removed from the proceedings, DEP upheld my decision to include them in the petition and they remain today parties at interest in that petition. As they should be.
I have no idea if DEP will grant my request to dismiss the petition, but regardless, at least anyone considering taking ownership of the dam will be on notice. Caveat Emptor: Buyer beware.
29 April 2013: Clary Lake Association makes offer on the Clary Lake Dam
As anticipated, on behalf of the Clary Lake Association, Ellis Percy has made a formal offer on the Clary Lake dam. Normally such an offer would be kept private between the parties at least initially but Mr. Kelley has taken this whole mess public by his filing of a petition under MRS Title 38, Chapter 5 §901; Mr. Kelley wishes to obtain relief from dam ownership and has asked the State for their help in finding a new owner. This is no longer a private matter, it is a matter of public concern. The towns of Whitefield and Jefferson will be holding public meetings to discuss the matter of dam ownership and it’s price will certainly be discussed in these public forums. Various State agencies will be consulted. Presumably there will be other offers on the dam. Public offers. Here’s ours.
Clary Lake Association Dam Offer
The Association has also sent a letter to Mr. Kelley requesting permission to obtain an engineering assessment of the dam:
Request for permission to conduct study
Our rationale is that regardless of who ends up owning the dam, it will need repairs and a current engineering assessment of it’s condition will be crucial to that end. To my knowledge, there has never been a comprehensive engineering assessment of the dam made so such an initiative is way over due. The Association anticipates hiring Kleinschmidt Associates of Pittsfield Maine who is familiar with the dam, we’ll pay for the assessment, and we will make the results available to whomever requires them. We see no reason why Mr. Kelley will not authorize us to pursue this activity at his earliest opportunity.
28 April 2013 Commentary: Spring is finally here.
It seems like this April has been colder than usual, certainly colder than it had to be though that is just my opinion. Most everyone I’ve talked to seems to agree with me though. Anyways, it just seems like it hated to warm up this month and this in spite of the lack of rain. I usually think of April as a cold and wet month, but this one was just cold. We’ve only received 1.58″ of rain so far, well below normal. In the past couple of days though the weather sure has taken a turn for the better and it looks like we’re in for a good stretch of warm, dry weather. People are out fishing, putting docks in, and cleaning up around their yards. It’s nice to see activity around the lake again. I for one constructed a slip for my boat and hung my hammock today. I was somewhat chagrined to see that the hammock (and anyone laying in it) it is visible on the webcam. Not sure how I feel about that.
The lake was like a mirror this morning and the sun was bright. I was sitting down by the lake having my coffee and contemplating where we’ve been with this water level petition so far, and where we’re headed. And of course, I couldn’t help but notice how bloody shallow the water is on my shoreline. The picture at left tells the story. The water level is currently 44.25″ below the top of the dam and falling about 3/4″ a day. 25′ off shore the water is less than 2′ deep, and that’s about as close as I can get to shore with my boat without pulling the motor up and rowing. Everyone around the lake is in the same boat. As it were. More or less. Some have more water, some have less.
I was looking through an old Association photo archive the other day I and came across 4 pictures of loons with a baby. The pictures are dated July 14, 2003 which is very likely the last time we had a baby loon on the lake. If anyone knows who took them, please let me know so I can give them credit. I’ve added the pictures to the User Uploads Gallery. Let’s hope the pair of loons on Clary Lake this spring have more luck nesting than they did last year. They need a stable water level. It doesn’t look like they’re going to get that this year.
The week ahead promises to be action packed with something happening it seems like every day. Tomorrow there are 3 letters going in the mail. As soon as they have been mailed (and emailed) to their intended recipients, I’ll post them on the web site. Tuesday night is Whitefield’s Information Public Meeting, 7 PM at the Whitefield Fire & Rescue building on Town House road. Wednesday we get the Department’s responses to my and Paul Kelley’s comments on the bathymetric survey. That should be interesting.
Thursday I’m going fishing.
I am more firmly committed to resolving this Clary Lake water level crisis now than I have ever been. I’m not tired, nor disappointed with where we are in the process. I believe DEP is acting with the best of intentions and with the importance of Clary Lake’s valuable wetland habitat, and the best interests of the general public firmly before them. While the situation is still fluid and somewhat confusing with the 2 different petitions underway, I see a path forward through the confusion and I am more confident of the ultimate outcome now than ever before.
27 April 2013: Association Board Meeting Resounding Success
The Association board meeting held today at the home of Ellis Percy was well attended and quite productive. Members in attendance were Ellis Percy (President), Malcolm Burson (Vice President), Margaret Fergusson (Secretary), Linda Gallion (Treasurer), Jack Holland, Tom Vigue, George Fergusson, David Knight, and Bob Antognoni (Board members, each and every one), and Sue McKeen, visiting Association member. There was lively discussion and a lot of business conducted, including the following items of note (these aren’t the minutes, they’re from my notes):
- The Annual meeting of the Clary Lake Association will be held at 2 PM on Saturday August 3rd 2013 at the home of Bob Antognoni on Robert E. Dow road, in Jefferson. Bob, his daughter Mary, and Linda Gallion will be taking care of planning the event.
- A Nominations Committee was formed to be chaired by Trudi Hodgkins. Sue McKeen has also joined that committee. They’re looking for a 3rd member. Terms are for 2 years. The role of the committee is to come up with names of people to be voted on at the annual meeting. I’ll be posting a list of positions to be filled soon.
- A Fund Raising Committee was formed to be chaired by Margaret Fergusson. Jane Chase will be joining the committee in June and I will be a consulting member. The board also authorized the Fund Raising Committee to work with me to set up an online fund raising and ultimately, a membership subscription system. I’m pretty excited about this!
- A Membership Committee was formed to be chaired at least initially by Margaret Fergusson (someone had to do it) at least until someone else agrees to take that role. Malcolm Burson and Sue Mckeen have agreed to be members. The Membership committee is still looking for additional members.
- As expected, a decision was made for Ellis Percy as President to make a formal (and public) written offer on the Clary Lake dam. The terms of the offer were discussed and agreed upon. It will be going in the mail on Monday.
- The board authorized me to request permission from Pleasant Pond Mill LLC to conduct an engineering assessment of the Clary Lake dam and to contact Kleinschmidt Associates in Pittsfield Maine for an estimate of the cost of such an assessment in time for a vote by the board at their next meeting which will be in about 3 weeks. The thinking is that regardless of the outcome of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s petition or the Clary Lake water level petition, and regardless of who ends up owning the dam, a complete and current engineering assessment of the dam will be invaluable in planning repairs to the structure. The Association will fund this endeavor and make the results available to any parties interested (I just got off the phone with Paul and he has asked for a request from the Association in writing signed by the President. And so it shall be).
- The next board meeting will be 18 May 2013 again at the home of Ellis Percy, at 2 PM. This meeting is not expected to be as well attended as today’s was and the agenda will be much shorter. One more board meeting will likely be scheduled before the annual meeting.
- The board reviewed and approved a new Clary Lake Association letterhead.
The board also discussed Pleasant Pond Mill LLC’s petition and what the likely outcome of it will be as well as the role the Association and the towns might or might not play in that outcome. We also discussed the current status of the Clary Lake water level petition and what the likely outcome of THAT will be. We agreed to work on developing a contingency plan designed to address each of the handful of potential scenarios that are likely to play out this summer. The plan will consist among other things of steps the Association is prepared to take, and more importantly, is authorized to take. The idea is to be flexible, and be prepared. Wish us luck.
26 April 2013: Clary Lake Association meets with Whitefield Selectmen
Ellis Percy, David Knight and I met for several hours this afternoon with Whitefield Selectmen Dennis Merrill and Tony Marple to discuss the petition filed by Pleasant Pond Mill LLC for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance. These same two Selectmen met earlier this week with Paul Kelley to discuss his plans and intentions surrounding the Clary Lake dam and his petition for release from dam ownership. Today’s discussion included some of the implications the petition might have for the town and the Clary Lake Association, and what might happen at the upcoming public meeting tentatively scheduled for this coming May 22nd. There are no immediate solutions apparent.
We also discussed the Association’s plans to make a formal offer on the dam possibly as early as next week and despite a lack of guidance from DEP on what they think “costs of transfer” means, it appears that Paul Kelley’s understanding of that term and ours are about the same: basically, the cost of a title search, the preparation of a deed, and recording fees.
Pleasant Pond Mill LLC has up to 180 days to consult with various parties including State agencies including holding their own public meeting in an attempt to find a new owner for the dam. Kelley, manager of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC originally scheduled a meeting for Monday, September 11, 2013 at 11 AM at its company’s office located at 171 Molyneaux Rd., Camden (see original filing of notice). I believe however that Mr. Kelley has been convinced to hold his meeting in Whitefield or Jefferson at a time and place yet to be determined though presumably still sometime in early September. Mr. Kelley also indicated attendance at the meeting would be by invitation only, raising the obvious question of who would be invited to attend and who would be left out, and why? I question whether such a private “public” meeting actually meets the requirements of the statute let alone the intent to consult with any and all parties that might be interested in taking over the dam, but that is not my decision to make. Nor do I particularly care because I’ve already decided to vociferously boycott any so-called public meeting with restricted attendance whether I’m invited to it or not. Kelley seems to think he has all the time in the world to orchestrate this dog and pony show according to his whims, and to suit his ends. I’m not so sure. We will see.
We also discussed the public informational meeting coming up this coming Tuesday, 7 PM April 3oth at the Whitefield Fire & Rescue building, and the current status of the Clary Lake water level petition. All in all we covered a lot of ground today, way more than I can begin to describe here. Suffice it to say there’s a lot going on in several different venues. These are exciting times.
24 April 2013 LCN Article: Whitefield and Jefferson plan meetings to consider dam ownership
The anticipated article by Shlomit Auciello has appeared in today’s in Lincoln County News:
Whitefield and Jefferson plan meetings to consider dam ownership
It contains some rather serious misinformation. For example:
“PPM’s next recourse is to the departments of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Conservation (within the .Departrnent of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry) and Emergency Management. If none of those entities choose to take ownership, the state will order the water level lowered and the dam removed, Merrill said.”
That statement is categorically wrong and I can assure you, Dennis said nothing of the kind. He is well aware of what’s in the law. If he had said anything like that, I would have immediately corrected him. And then this:
“He [Fergusson] said the law requires a sale, even if only the cost of transfer is offered and PPM would have to keep the dam if no buyer appears.”
I said that? I don’t think so. The law does not require a sale and if no buyer appears, the State orders the water released and the dam removed. I wish Ms. Auciello would get her facts straight. The law is readily available. Correct information is readily available. Printing misinformation does everyone a disservice.
I’ve replaced the scanned copy I made with a better PDF from the paper’s site.
23 April 2013: Update on Kelley’s petition for release from dam ownership
Last night Ellis Percy and I attended the Jefferson Selectman’s meeting to see what they had to say about Kelley’s petition for release from dam ownership. Whitefield Selectmen Dennis Merrill and Frank Ober were also there as was Shlomit Auciello, reporter for the Lincoln County News. It appears the Jefferson Selectmen haven’t really given this matter a whole lot of thought yet; we did our best to fill them in on what’s happening and why, and what some of their options are. They have a public meeting scheduled for May 21st (details on where and what time at a later date). I expect an there will be an article in the Lincoln County News tomorrow.
Tonight I attended the Whitefield Selectman’s regularly scheduled meeting to see what was happening. There have been some new developments since last week:
- Dennis Merrill and Tony Marple are to meet with Paul Kelley tomorrow to discuss the dam situation in general and what his intentions are, specifically. Dennis assured me that the Clary Lake Association would get “equal time”, not that I’m worried.
- The Selectmen have wisely scheduled a public “informational meeting” to discuss Kelley’s petition and what it means for the town. The meeting is next Tuesday night the 30th of April at 7 PM, at the end of their regularly scheduled Selectman’s meeting which is held at the Whitefield Fire and Rescue building on Town House road, next to the Whitefield Town Office.
- I let them know that the Clary Lake Association will be preparing a formal offer on the dam at our upcoming board meeting this Saturday. I also explained that our offer does not preclude the town or anyone else from making an offer of their own, nor does it relieve the town of the necessity of holding a public hearing on the matter.
I’m hoping for a good turn out for next Tuesday’s informational meeting. I’ve put all the dates on the Clary Lake Association Activities & Events calendar, plus I’ll post a reminder here.
22 April 2013 KJ Article: Clary Lake foes take issue with DEP study
The anticipated KJ article has finally appeared in the paper this morning:
Clary Lake foes take issue with DEP study
Here’s a link to the online version:
http://www.kjonline.com/news/Clary-Lake-foes-take-issue-with-DEP-study.html
A couple of comments. First, I am not particularly surprised at Samantha Warren’s response to allegations that the bathymetric survey contains significant errors. She’s just a spokesperson making standard spokesperson type remarks though she should realize that using the “We’re experts” argument doesn’t usually hold up to scrutiny. I believe my comments have provided the necessary “strong technical evidence” necessary to open the study for revision.
Second, it’s time they took another picture, perhaps one showing the drained wetlands, or the virtually unusable State boat launch.
21 April 2013: Howard Nickerson: What price are we willing to pay?
I was visiting Jane Chase this morning and she happened to mention an impassioned letter to the editor of the Lincoln County News that she’d read recently that did not ring a bell with me. Sadly, as much as I try and stay on top of everything going on these days, I just can’t and I rely heavily on other people to let me know about things of importance to Clary Lake and the water level petition. Jane found a copy on line and sent it to me. The letter to the editor turned out to be by none other than my good friend Howard Nickerson and was sent to the paper back in the middle of March. My apologies for just now getting it posted.
What price are we willing to pay?
Howard owns land up in the northeast end of the marsh on the east side of Clark’s Meadow Brook adjoining land of Sue McKeen and Butch Duncan. He’s a life-long conservationist.
20 April 2013: Added some more photos to the Chase Family Archive
Jane Chase was kind enough to loan me some more pictures to put up on the site, quite some time ago but I’ve been kinda busy and haven’t had a chance to scan them until tonight. I’ve added 6 new photographs to the Chase Family Archive; 4 of them appear to have been taken at the time of a decent sized flood event and includes one aerial photograph showing water pouring over the Clary Lake dam (see the picture at left). You can also see in it the original stone dam below the mill building which likely dates back to the late 1700s or early 1800s, the remains of which are there today.
Perhaps of the 6 photographs I added tonight, the one I like the most is this one at left, a simple photo of the marsh with water lilies and marsh grass and nothing really special about it except for Chester’s hesitant handwriting scrawled across the top “Pond from float” and that Chester took this picture and clearly appreciated the beauty of the scene. I believe it was taken from his landing looking across the marsh at the Floge and Burns properties. Thanks again to Jane Chase for sharing these pictures.
20 April 2013: Upcoming Clary Lake Association Board Meeting
The Board of the Clary Lake Association is holding their regularly scheduled spring board meeting this coming Saturday the 27th of April at 2 PM at the home of Ellis Percy. Agenda items include but are not limited to setting the date/time/place of the Annual meeting, selection of a nominating committee, fund raising ideas, and discussing the preparation of a formal offer on the dam. While the meeting is not open to the general public, Clary Lake Association members are welcome to sit in and watch the sausage being made.
If anyone is interested in taking a more active role in the Association, there are some great opportunities to do so and this is a great time! Never before have we needed an active and engaged membership than we do now. In addition to a Nominating committee (whose role is coming up with a slate of officers to be voted on at the Annual meeting) we will be also be forming a Membership committee and a Fund Raising committee. Please contact the Clary Lake Association board if you’re interested in getting involved in any of these committees, or if you feel there is another way you can be of service.
20 April 2013: Update: No KJ article on the dam today
UPDATE: No article in today’s KJ. Supposedly there WAS to be an article appearing in today’s Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. Perhaps tomorrow. On a brighter note, it’s raining.
19 April 2013: Launched my boat today, which I am naming the “Peggy Ann”
This was going to be a post about my thoughts regarding Paul Kelley’s comments to Heather Parent which he submitted earlier this week, but I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to say. Maybe I will later, maybe I won’t. So right now I’ll talk about launching my boat.
Peggy Ann is the name my wife’s mother and most of her friends and relatives call her. I call her Margaret. Margaret is a wonderful name for a wife I think, but a lousy name for a boat don’t you agree?
Today seemed like the day to do it, it was warm enough and the wind and weather was right and sounded like it wouldn’t be very good again for a while. I’ve been ready to go for the past week (last year I put in on the 21st of March). It took two of us pushing/lifting on the boat and one person standing in the back of it to get it off the trailer and into the water as there wasn’t even close to enough water to float it off. Thank goodness it’s a relatively light aluminum boat with a small motor. If it was a heavier fiberglass boat with a big motor, it would have been a lot more difficult. The State designed the ramp to require a minimum of 2.3′ of water over the foot of it but today there was only about 1.7″ of water over the end of it. I didn’t take any pictures but it must have looked a lot like this one at left though today the water was about a foot higher than in the picture. Now that it’s boating season again I will start including the “water over the foot of the ramp” data to the water level chart.
Also planning on putting the
Hobie Cat in the lake this year even though low water will make it risky to sail (it’s hairy enough as it is to sail it without having to worry about hitting rocks at 20 knots). But I figure I know where the ledges, shoals, and rocks are and I’m not going to let Paul Kelley and his low water regime rob me of another summer of sailing. We’ll be putting it in sometime in mid to late May, as soon as the water warms up a bit more and I can get a mooring set.
17 April 2013: Post followup thoughts on Petitioners Comments on the bathymetric survey
17 April 2013: Pleasant Pond Mill LLC Comments to DEP regarding the Bathymetric Survey, I think.
At 10 minutes before 5 PM today, Melissa O’neal, Administrative assistant for Tony Buxton filed 4 documents with DEP and the Service List that were shortly before forwarded to her by Paul A. Kelley acting on behalf of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC… Got that? So while this communication has all the appearance of propriety for having passed through the Law offices of PretiFlaherty, this stuff was not prepared by a lawyer. I don’t think a lawyer even waved at it on the way by, more or less confirming my suspicions that Tony Buxton is counsel in name only for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC and Aquafortis Associates. Then again, none of my stuff is prepared by a lawyer…
So without further preamble, here they are. They consist of one 4 page letter to Heather Parent and 3 other documents apparently the results of the Freedom of Access action I mentioned a week or two ago. Document #2 (below) is so heavily redacted as to be virtually meaningless 🙂
- Kelley’s Comments to Heather Parent
- FOAA Document #1 (this link was initially boogered and has been repaired).
- FOAA Document #2
- FOAA Document #3
The only thing that jumps out at me right off is that the FOA request was supposedly brought by Aquafortis Associates LLC and if that is the case, then how did Pleasant Pond Mill LLC end up with the documents??? I’m confused!
I have not tried to decipher any of these documents. More to follow.
17 April 2013: Petitioner’s Comments on Clary Lake Procedural Order #5: Bathymetric Survey
This afternoon I completed and emailed my comments on the bathymetric survey to the Service List. My response consists of 2 files, a 6 page letter and an appendix with 18 photographs. Because the appendix is large (2.3 megabytes) I’ve added it to Google Drive and have provided links below. At this point I doubt anyone else is going to submit comments on the survey but I remain prepared to be surprised. I’ve posted the documents at these links:
The photographs included in the appendix are also available for viewing and download (with descriptions somewhat truncated for online formatting) here:
It pained me to take issue with the Department’s survey results.
Google Drive Links if the above give you trouble:
17 April 2013: Tentative date set for Town of Whitefield Public Meeting
The Whitefield Selectmen at their regularly scheduled meeting last night tentatively scheduled a public meeting for 22 May 2013 at 7 PM at the Whitefield Fire and Rescue building next to the town office on Town House Road. The meeting is to comply with statutory requirements of the recently filed Petition for release from dam ownership, filed by Pleasant Pond Mill on 02 April. The town of Jefferson will be scheduling a similar public meeting, for the same reason. According to the statute (MRSA 38 §§ 901-908) the towns must hold a public meeting to “consider and act” on the issue of owning the dam. Note, this does not necessarily mean the towns have to vote Yea or Nae on owning the dam at this upcoming meeting, the warrant could just call for the formation of a committee to study the issue or to conduct a feasibility study, etc. The statute gives Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) up to 180 days to consult with various parties on taking over ownership of the dam at which time PPM has to report on the results of their activities. At that time they can if they wish apply for another 180 day extension to continue their search…
Ellis Percy, president of the Clary Lake Association and I attended the meeting last night. The Whitefield Selectmen meet every Tuesday night at the Whitefield Fire and Rescue building from 6 to 8 PM. The Jefferson Selectmen meet every other Monday at the Jefferson Town Office from 6 to 8 PM. Their next meeting is this coming Monday night. These and other important dates are included on the Clary Lake Association’s Events and Activities Calendar.
15 April 2013: Site Upgrade: Changes to log in and user registration system
I’ve implemented a new user log in/registration system in the hopes of resolving or eliminating the issues with the previous log in/registration system. I’ve tried to test “everything” and “everything” seems to be working as advertised but as you know, or may not know, software always has bugs. So don’t be surprised to encounter glitches. If you have any trouble getting onto or using the system, email me.
The obvious changes are to the look and feel of the log in, log out, register, and profile pages. They now look like they’re part of the site. If you’re an existing user:
- If you forget your user name, you can now log in with your email address.
- If you forget your password, we’ll send you and email with a link so you can reset it.
- When you login, you’ll be returned to the News page rather than being dumped into the Dashboard “admin” screen.
- There’s now just a “Log In” or “Log Out” link on the side bar. Use the “admin” bar at the top of the page to get to the Dashboard or your profile page.
- Stop by your Profile page and if you haven’t already, please add your name.
- If you’re logged in but don’t have a black bar across top of the page with “Howdy <your name> on the right side and a Clary Lake Association menu on the left side, email me.
For new users registering for the first time:
- We’ve implemented the hated “Captcha” security road block. This is to thwart the bots and automated spammers that attempt to automate the log in process. Only carbon-based life forms please.
- There is now an email confirmation sent. You have to click on the link in that email to “activate” your account. Until you do, you won’t be able to log in. This is pretty much standard now days. I’m hoping it will discourage the people signing up with bogus email addresses. If not, there are some additional security hoops I can put up for new users to jump through.
- You can now pick your own password rather than having a temporary one emailed to you. Make it a good one please.
Again, if anyone has any problems, email me.
14 April 2013: Webcam Update
The java-based webcam software that runs the camera and uploads the pictures to the web server is fantastic software, well written, rock solid for the most part, and best of all, totally free. However, it sucks up a healthy amount of computer memory and adds a punishing 35% load factor to my computer (this has more to do with my computer being 15 years old than anything else). When I’m not trying to work, it isn’t a problem but when I’m competing with the webcam for slices of processor time, it’s a drag. Therefore until I upgrade my computer system (which upgrade is long over due) I’ll be running the webcam only when I’m not sitting in front of my computer… which lately, sadly, has been most of the time.
You’ll know when the webcam is operating by the picture that shows up in the sidebar. If the picture is like the one above, the webcam is offline.