The town of Southport informed local artist Mike Lewis that he had until Friday, May 6 to clean up items that were too close to the pavement at his Cross Road property.

Selectmen signed the letter to Lewis at their regular meeting on Wednesday, May 4.  It instructed Lewis to “...commence immediately and without delay” move all items to at least 10 feet from the edge of the pavement because the “general collection” of “vehicles, trailers, boat parts” and other materials has become a public safety matter by encroaching on the roadway.

The notice was expected to be delivered by selectman Gerry Gamage immediately after the meeting adjourned but Lewis could not be reached at that time. Gamage learned that Lewis was in the hospital on Wednesday evening. However, Lewis later reassured Gamage that the material would be cleared from the edge of the roadway on Friday. When asked what would happen if the material was not removed on Friday, Gamage said he would "help him move it out of the road on Saturday because it is a safety issue."

The material was moved and Lewis was at work Monday cleaning out various materials stored at his property. “I have hauled 38 truck fulls out of here so far,” he told the Register. “All the rest of this has to be done in a month.” Lewis explained that he is an artist and stored the materials to use on his pieces.

In other news from the meeting, the town’s contribution to Lincoln County taxes is $787,925.25 which represents an increase of approximately $1,400 over the previous year. The amount includes Southport, Capitol and Squirrel islands. Selectmen stated that the amount is third among the largest items of the town’s budget, following the school and municipal budgets.

Southport’s harbormaster Jim Gagnon informed the selectmen that the island’s harbors will benefit from the Maine coastal mapping initiative. The program is administered by the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and uses sonar to map the shape and composition of the seafloor.  

The mapping project is focused on the area around the mouth of the Kennebec River and Seguin Island. However, when the weather is too rough, the 35-foot boat can’t go out to the area and so Gagnon was contacted about using the equipment for Southport’s harbors.

There will be no charge to Southport and on rough sea days the equipment will be used to map the seafloor of Cozy Harbor, Townsend Gut and Decker’s Cove.

Gagnon is pleased with the project. “I can have more accurate information about where current and discarded mooring blocks are located,” he explained.

The project will continue through the summer.