Camp Sunshine to build major rec center

 

By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO – While building permits typically slow down during the winter, one non-profit known around the region has a big construction project in the works.

“A permit was issued for Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine is building an indoor recreation center. It is a huge facility with a rock wall and a gym,” according to Casco Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Alex Sirois.

The permit was taken out with site plan review. Point Sebago Resort also took out a building permit for 2018, he said.

The number of building permits for the first month of the New Year has “slowed down since December” Sirois said.

“October through December, there was a steady curve. It is obviously slower now,” he said.

The Town of Casco issues “a little [more than] 200 permits for the year,” which is a few more than the annual average, Sirois said.

“Most of the ones I issue this time of year are residential,” he said, adding the exception has been Camp Sunshine and Point Sebago Resort.

CEO Sirois provided a department update to the Casco Board of Selectmen recently.

“It was quiet for about two weeks,” he told the board.

“For some reason,” the first week of February “was busy just out of the blue,” he said.

A few weeks ago, Sirois issued a permit for tree harvesting on Poland Spring Road. The area is near Quaker Ridge Road, he said.

As part of his report to the board, Sirois addressed code violations but did not go into detail.

“Some violations are still ongoing,” he said.

“There were the Mondor White {Road} issues we were working on the fall,” he said, referring to Shoreland Zoning Ordinance violations by homeowners on Sebago Lake.

“There is one that still needs to be resolved,” he said.

“There are some other violations that have come up since December,” he said.

One big plus is that after years of a vacancy for a partime Shoreland Zone Assistant, three people applied for the position.

According to Sirois, the applicants were interviewed and one person was chosen. However, that hiring is not yet official, he said.