APPLETON — The Select Board in Appleton convenes Tuesday, Aug. 24, to address a full business agenda that includes the possible municipal acquisition of four acres on Sherman’s Mill Pond.

At the board’s Aug. 10 regularly scheduled meeting, a conversation ensued about purchasing the acreage for waterfront access and a municipal park. 

Sherman’s Mill Pond is approximately 37 acres in size, long and narrow, with a maximum depth of six feet. It was created with the construction of a dam on Allen Brook, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“An agreement, dated in 1899, was made to allow the land to be flooded from the first day of September to the first day of April each year,” IF&W said. “Sometime during this agreement, the brook remained permanently flooded and thus the pond became a ‘great pond’; owned by the State of Maine.”

Aug. 10 Appleton Select Board meeting minutes reflected that Appleton’s Acting Fire Chief Prent Marriner said the area’s water supply for the fire department is underserved and a hydrant there could help. 

The Aug. 10 discussion resulted in a unanimous vote to pursue more information. 

In advance of the Aug. 24 meeting, Board Chair Lorie Costigan contacted Sarah Demers, director of the state’s Land for Maine’s Future Program, for assistance with accessing public funds for the acquisition.

“The Town of Appleton has been offered four acres of waterfront along Sherman's Mill Pond, a pond used by residents in all seasons by  access over private land for decades,” said Costigan, in an email to Demers. “The owners are elderly and looking to formalize the access point through a combination sale and donation to the town, which also would remove tree growth penalties for the sale of an adjacent lot.”

Appleton has assessed the parcel at $104,000.

“The Getchells propose that as the sale price, with a charitable donation of $29,400 at the time of the sale, for a sale price of $75,000,” wrote Costigan.

She said townspeople would held raise funds for the purchase,  “but the ability to secure partial public funding through LFMF is likely key to the success, particularly given Appleton's status as the second-highest mil rate in Knox County.”

Costigan noted: “Appleton lacks public access to any ponds or lakes for recreation. Residents do have access to a stretch of the St. George River, but the larger waterbodies are entirely in private ownership. This project, if ever there was, seems to be made for public access funding.”

The Aug. 24 meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Appleton Town Office. 

The agenda follows:

Convene.
Approve Minutes of August 17, 2021 Approve Warrants
Public Comment
Road Commissioner
County ARPA FUND UPDATES

a. Town office and fire department failed water test b. Broadband
c. Covid protection of infrastructure

Sumner Trust Update and Interest Fund Vote
Town Office and Fire Department Painting Bid Review Getchell Property Offer Update
Select Board Meeting Attendence/Zoom Policy