The Gorham Planning Board approved a site plan for Shaw Park off Sebago Lake Road, following a public hearing on Monday.
The project along the Presumpscot River will feature ball fields, a beach for swimming and a launch for canoes and other small craft. There will be graveled areas for public parking. The site is adjacent to the Mountain Division Walking Trail.
Marylee Dodge of Kemp Road opposed swimming being allowed at the site but supported fishing and boating. She called swimming combined with boating as “a recipe for problems.”
Danny Shaw of Shaw Brothers Construction Inc., which is donating the park, said a lot of kids don’t have any place to learn to swim. “This a calm piece of water regulated by a dam,” he said. “Please don’t take away our swimming.”
Gorham Recreation Director Cindy Hazelton said the area is being designed to separate swimmers from boaters. “This plan has evolved into quite a gem for the town,” she said.
Hazelton said the town could not be held liable for accidents at the park, and Town Manager David Cole agreed.
Planning Board Chairman Harold Grant said the approval paves the way for the land to be transferred to Gorham from the Shaws.
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