AMC filing application to expand Medawisla Lodge

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is filing a rezoning petition with the Land Use Planning Committee so they can expand the Medawisla Lodge and Camps on Second Roach Pond.

    If the application is approved, the recreational facility would more than double its capacity from 38 to 86, according to a letter to the Piscataquis County Commissioners from Dan Rinard, AMC’s operations and facilities manager.
    Medawisla Lodge and Camps is about 20 miles northeast of Greenville near Kokadjo.
    “If the rezoning petition is granted, the expanded facility will increase the need for … fire protection, student transportation (if staff members living at the facility have children in the Greenville schools), construction debris removal, road maintenance, septic pumping, police and waste disposal,” Rinard wrote. “Of these services, the county will only be impacted by the increased use of the Lily Bay transfer station (for waste disposal) and policing (by the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department).”
    However, commissioners didn’t seem to be too concerned about any negative impact on the AMC proposal. Eric Ward, who represents the district where the camp is located, said he was “happy to see this (proposal) happen. But bear in mind that it will probably have an impact on the transfer station, so we’ll have to deal with that.”
    County Manager Marilyn Tourtellote said that when AMC expanded Gorham Chairback Lodge a few years ago, “We had a substantial increase in our waste at Lily Bay.” But she added that AMC already knows that they’re responsible for the cost of getting rid of any demolition debris related to the construction “so the rest would be household waste for the most part.”
    Commissioner Fred Trask said that in his view, the expansion would be a plus for the county. “We’ll be getting more property taxes out of it,” Trask said.
Ward said once a recreation area like this is expanded, “People come through the area; they eat here, buy gas and generally spend money.”
    AMC also operates Little Lyford Lodge and Cabins in the Moosehead Lake region.
    Specifically, AMC wants LUPC to rezone the existing D-GN (general development) and M-GN (general management) subdistrict to a D-RF (recreational facility development) subdistrict, according to Rinard.
The letter noted that Medawisla is within the area covered by the Maine Forest Service for fire protection and is located off the Smithtown Road, a private forest management road owned by Plum Creek Timberland, LLC.  AMC has a deeded easement over the Sias Hill and Smithtown roads from Lily Bay Road to its property boundary, and AMC and Plum Creek share responsibility for maintenance of the road.
    There will be no public sewer service at the development site, Rinard said. “AMC plans to use composting toilets at the Medawisla facility, using septic systems for grey water waste only,” he wrote. “These systems will be pumped out periodically by a private contractor.”
    LUPC serves as the planning and zoning authority for the unorganized and deorganized areas of the state, including townships and plantations. When a zoning change is requested, the commission traditionally places it on their meeting agenda, schedules a public hearing and accepts written comments before making a final decision.