Second Community Conversation about Montgomery Dam and Waterfall, April 27, 2 p.m.
The Save the Dam Falls Committee held a successful Community Conversation at the Camden Public Library last month, according to a news release from the committee, Over 60 attendees participated and offered their questions and concerns.
There will be a follow-up Community Conversation on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m. The April 27 event will be similar, beginning with a visual history of Montgomery Dam and including some current updates to start the conversation.
"The slide talk will include information on the dam, its history, alewives in the Megunticook, flood assessment, and a look at costs for the town for not only Montgomery Dam but the enormous costs for the whole river," the release said.
Although the events will be held at the Camden Public Library they are not Library programs.
The town will be offered a vote on whether or not to save the Montgomery Dam on the June 10 town ballot. The Community Conversation will be an opportunity to become informed and participate in the discussion on this vital issue.
Montgomery Dam, for generations, has offered beauty, legacy, and economic vitality to Camden, and its removal would be a significant loss to Camden, the release said.
"The removal of Montgomery Dam is part of a larger plan to remove or modify all the dams in the Megunticook River," the release said. "It should be noted that removing Montgomery Dam alone does not achieve any of the goals of river restructuring. Every dam site on the river would need to be restructured, and so the Montgomery Dam vote could trigger an enormous project in the heart of Camden."
The conversations about Montgomery Dam will be presented by Camden’s Save the Dam Falls Committee, a group of citizens organized for the purpose of raising awareness of the beauty, value, and legacy of the waterfall and Montgomery Dam, and dedicated to giving the citizens of Camden a chance to discuss and to vote on the future of Montgomery Dam. The committee has been gathering information and sharing it over the more than three years since the committee was formed.
The slide talk will include an illustrated timeline of the construction of the dam and discuss its place in the history and legacy of Camden. It will also address the natural history, geology, and other issues related to this focal point where the river meets the sea. The slide presentation will be followed by questions and comments from the audience.