Harrison public hearing on ATV use of town roads; mil rate set

HARRISON — There will be a public hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss whether Harrison should allow ATV travel on town roads in the Bolsters Mills and Ryefield Bridge Road area.

The hearing will take place at the town office.

The Otisfield Trail Blazers ATV Club has requested access for ATVs to travel over the town roads from Bolsters Mills to the Plains Road to access the pipeline, and then from Rich Road to Ryefield Bridge Road to access the bridge back into Otisfield. ATV access is between May 15 and Dec. 15 (unless the road commissioner closes road access early due to snow) between the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Anyone with questions or concerns are asked to attend. If you are unable to attend please submit in writing your questions or concerns to the Town Clerk by Tuesday, Aug. 21 at noon.

A map of the roadway is available at the town office and on the town’s website under the “Announcement” for a public hearing.

In other news:

Tax rate set. Tax bills will be arriving in the mail within the next week or so. The Board of Assessor’s committed the taxes on July 31, 2018. The first installment will be due Monday, Aug. 27. The mil rate was set at $10.80, an increase of 15¢ per thousand. What does this mean to taxpayers? A house and land valued at $200,000 would see an increase in the tax bill of $30 over last year’s bill.

Road Work. Public Works has completed the replacement of culverts on Maple Ridge Road. Those locations will be gravel until the paving company comes in and patches them over. Public Works moves on to the Zakelo Road extension which connects Route 35 to Carsley Road. The road will be gravel until the project is completed.

Transfer Station plan. Harrison officials will be working on implementing a state DEP required plan at the transfer station. Over the next couple of months, be aware there may be areas with limited access and/or areas closed off while the town completes required work

Water Testing. Harrison will continue to monitor water quality at local beaches. Last week, tests were done at Crystal Lake Beach, Long Lake, Crystal Lake (day beach) and Crystal Lake (boat launch). Water test numbers were negligible for E-coli.