By Dawn De Busk
Staff Writer

NAPLES — The departure of the residents living on town-owned Kent’s Landing is dependent on weight-limit postings in Bridgton.

With the recent deluge of rain this week, it appears the weather may not cooperate.

According to Naples Town Manager Derik Goodine, Ken Burnham Sr., will be able to transport his mobile home from the Kent’s Landing parcel to a piece of property in Bridgton once weight-limit postings are removed.

The legal agreement was that Burnham and other residents would be off the property by May 1, Goodine said, but nobody can bust a move until the roads are dry enough.

“May 1 is the date to get out,” Goodine told the Naples Board of Selectmen during a mid-April meeting. “But, we are not going to run right up there, and get that order.”

The legal agreement between the town and the Kent’s Landing tenants gives the town the leverage to have them forcibly removed — if the parcel isn’t vacated after May 1, he said.

“If Bridgton has roads un-posted by May 1, they have the piece of property,” Goodine said.

According to Bridgton Public Works Director Jim Kidder, it is likely the Town of Bridgton won’t “un-post” the roads by Sunday.

“At this point, with the rain we’ve got, I don’t know if it will be May 1,” Kidder said. “There is still a lot of water coming out of the woods onto the roads.” Kidder added that the roads just aren’t dry enough to handle anything that exceeds the current weight-limit postings.

“We are not ready to un-post roads yet,” Kidder said.

During the April board meeting, Selectman Rick Paraschak said many residents have wondered about the eviction date, since it had changed several times.

“This is a big thing in town. People are watching this issue evolve,” Paraschak said.