COMMITTEE TRIES TO PREVENT MORE AGAMONT PARK DAMAGE
Group also explains denial of memorial bench at Hadley Point
BAR HARBOR—At its Monday meeting, the Parks and Recreation Committee directed Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt to install granite curbing on the east side of Agamont Park to fix the current “divoted” area and prevent illegal parking. The three members of the committee unanimously passed the motion.
The motion stemmed from Chair John Kelly’s worry about vehicles driving through the soft ground by the town’s boat ramp. Especially during the heavier parts of the tourism season, fishermen often stage there when they want to put in their traps. It’s also the area where town docks are put in and extracted. Kelly and Leavitt both said that people who are not fishing also randomly park in the spot, which is eroding. Because of the vehicles, the pavement is starting to erode.
The committee talked about several options before voting on granite curbing. Member Greg Veilleux stressed that the ability to back a boat up and down the ramp easily not be impinged upon.
Granite Bench Request
The committee members also discussed granite memorial benches with Judy Spurling whose arrival was delayed by one of the many car accidents in Ellsworth. Spurling had requested a memorial bench at Hadley Point for her deceased parents. That request had been denied 4-0 this summer. Spurling said on Monday that she wasn’t present or notified of that meeting. She wanted to hear the committee’s reasoning.
Kelly said that this type of request is very common.
“There are more than a few every year. The issue with this very nice idea is that a lot of people want to do it,” but he said, “there cannot be an endless number of benches. There is a limit.”
The current town policy is for people to donate to existing benches and then those benches get replaced via that funding. Grant Park’s redesign provided an opportunity for more donations for more of those benches.
Kelly said that the benches are in pretty formal parks and not in the more informal parks or more natural parks like Hadley Point.
Spurling said, “A bench is really needed at Hadley Point. There’s a grill there and nothing to sit on in that park. There are fishermen and boaters who use it.”
The committee directed Spurling to see if there were any benches that do not currently have plaques or to possibly become a part of the existing memorial bench replacement program.
