Ossipee’s simmering feud over a proposed land planning study shows no sign of abating. Selectman Rick Morgan has called for a meeting to determine whether the town’s Conservation Commission has the legal right to find a new source of funding for the study. Citing a similar study in Freedom, Morgan says “ultimately it [was] all about the concern over phosphorous levels in Lake Ossipee,” adding that since Ossipee is in the hills and “all its run-off ends up in the lake,” the same kind of study in Ossipee could result in “detrimental restrictions” on land use. Citing the importance of water quality in the lake, Conservation Commission chair Ron Adams reminds Morgan that “Fifty-two percent of the town’s taxes are raised from lakeshore properties.”
Carroll County Independent
Conservation Commission Queries Selectmen’s Rejection of Built-Out Survey
Ossipee Selectmen don’t like Green Mountain Conservation Group and don’t think much of their planning survey either, even if the town’s own conservation commission leads the effort. Issue may be proposed directly to voters at Town Meeting.
Funding for Watershed Buildout Study Rejected by Ossipee Selectmen
“No” is the Select Board’s answer to a request to pay $6,000 toward a Green Mountain Conservation Group research study to give town planners data to help manage growth and protect the area’s water supply. Chairman Rick Morgan says he will “never work with” GMCG, citing that group’s support of DRED’s decision to deny the town’s request to build a public beach in environmentally sensitive state-owned Ossipee Lake Natural Area more than a decade ago.
Selectmen Hear Progress Report on Covered Bridge
The next step for the project is to receive all necessary permits to satisfy environmental protection requirements. Some work will be done to the bridge this fall, but work will not be completed this year.
Letter Says Ossipee Property Assessments Punish Those Who Ask for Abatements
Former Long Sands Association president George Eisener says lake property assessments are “screwed up,” and the threat the town’s Selectmen holds over property owners who question their assessment is “a form of blackmail and ends up as a con game.” He calls on the Select Board to restore integrity to the process by treating all property owners equally.