CAMDEN — The owner of Royal Trail Works Inc., of Royalton, Vt., stood before the Camden Select Board and concerned citizens Tuesday evening, July 8, declaring that silt run-off conditions on Ragged Mountain had been retained, and that conditions were improving at the Snow Bowl.

“Ninety-five percent of the silt has stopped in the last week alone,” said Tom Wells. “We do have a plan. I have done this many times. We are going to stop the silt. We will see green coming through that mulch. We have seen the worst of it.”

He was responding, in part, to several neighbors of the Snow Bowl, who were speaking one by one before the Select Board at its regular meeting. They made pointed observations and raised questions about the performance and oversight of the spring logging on 15 acres of the mountain, which resulted in silt run-off to Hosmer Pond and has likely earned enforcement action from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

“How long do we expect the muddy water to continue this summer?” asked landowner Hidetaro Suzuki.

The run-off followed incidents of heavy rain, and deposited much silt from the tree-cleared slopes into the pond, which lies at the foot of the mountain.

Read Snow Bowl mountain mud runoff causes headache for neighbors, town and Camden Snow Bowl prepped for more rain, assembling working group to assist with next steps.

The public input followed a short presentation by Camden’s Park and Recreation Director Landon Fake, who told the board that the erosion’s emergency remediation included putting a turbidity boom in Hosmer Pond, placing 600 bales of hay on seven acres of hillside, as well as 300 cubic yards of erosion-control mulch berms.

He said the pond is clearing and it is safe for swimming. The E. coli bacteria count is below what is considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he said. Samples of E. coli from recreational waters are acceptable for swimmer’s protection, according to the EPA, if they measure less than 126 E. coli per 100 milliliters of fresh water. Elevated fecal indicator bacteria are often associated with storm water run-off, he said.

On July 1, samples from Hosmer Pond measured 39 per 100 milliliters. By contrast, he showed the Select Board, Norton Pond measured 78 while both Barrett’s Cove and Shirt Tail Point measured 5 per 100 milliliters.

Rock check dams had been installed in drainage ditches, as were hundreds of feet of silt fence, added Fake.

He said the Rockport landscaping company Farley and Son sent crews to help at the mountain for four days, including over July Fourth holiday weekend.

“Farley and Son had 40 people out there working under lights,” said Fake. “Aldermere Farm donated 200 bales of hay and Midcoast Solid Waste Corporation provided 150 yards of erosion control mulch. Volunteers from the ski club and Ragged Mountain Foundation came out on five hours July 4 to stake hay bales.”

Crews also built more than 15 water bars, which divert rainwater coursing down the mountain to the sides of the slopes.

Neighbors, however, were not reassured by Fake’s report, and questioned the effectiveness of the erosion-control measures. How would the town ensure protection of the pond going forward with the final piece of logging, and the next phase, the construction of trails, they asked.

They also advocated for a project manager well versed in construction projects to be appointed to oversee the Snow Bowl upgrade.

After Fake updated the board, he asked Wells to describe further what his role and methods would be.

Wells told the board the mountain was in better shape.

 “From last week to this week, it is amazing see that project come together with speed and technology they used, and effort put forth,” said Wells.

Wells has stepped into the lead almost by default, following the abrupt departure of the logging company that had been clearing the mountain slopes to widen trails. He sat with the Select Board in the front of the Washington Street Meeting Room and explained his role, saying that the erosion control at the Snow Bowl “is definitely under control, especially considering you had a 3-inch rain.”

Wells’ company, Royal Trail Works, was the successful bidder on the Camden Snow Bowl next phase of its $6.5 million upgrade, the infrastructure and ski trail improvement portion of the project. It is also one of the large project phases, and Wells bid approximately $1 million, winning the job over another Vermont trail-building company, G. W. Tatro, which quoted $1.2 million to complete the work.

The infrastructure and trail-building portion of the upgrade includes constructing new trails and widening old ones, adding snowmaking capacity to the new terrain, creating access roads to the top of both the double and triple chairlifts, and making several other small trail improvements to improve skier flow and grooming efficiency.

Wells had hoped to begin his phase of the project in June, but told the Select Board July 8 he anticipated working on the trails into September. The municipally-owned Snow Bowl hopes to open the mountain with its new layout and new chairlifts in place by December.