BELGRADE — The Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance will be the one entity handling requests for funding for milfoil removal, according to a policy adopted Tuesday night by the town’s Board of Selectpersons.

“It will all be a coordinated effort,” said Ernie Rice, chairman of the board.

Toni Pied, representing the alliance, told selectmen at their Tuesday meeting, “Our interest is to work with the town to support water quality.”

The alliance includes five lake associations: Belgrade Lakes, East Pond, North Pond, McGrath Pond and Salmon Lake, and Friends of Messalonskee.

She said the alliance would create one plan to deal with milfoil and submit one request annually to the town for funding.

About 14 people attended the meeting, some leaving as soon as items of interest were discussed.

Town Manager Greg Gill told the board the town has been “hammered just this last month” by requests for general assistance from residents getting notified that Central Maine Power Co. is about to shut off the electricity because of nonpayment.

“This year residents used electricity because they didn’t get as much oil,” Gill said.

The town budgeted $4,450 for its general assistance fund. “About 60 percent of that is gone this year,” he said. “I’ve had over 10 in the last two or three weeks.”

He said little of the fund has been spent on rent or oil although the town purchased wood for some residents. “Heat was the major thing,” Gill said.

Selectmen tabled a discussion on updating a social media policy designed to protect the town from liability.

Selectmen also discussed filtering town computers to ensure that they are being used for town business purposes.

Rice asked his fellow selectmen, “Remember when the town manager was escorted out for having pornography on the town computer?”

He was referring to Paul Beattie, who was town manager in 1998 when he was arrested on federal child pornography charges. He died four months later, an apparent suicide, on the day he was expected to enter a guilty plea to the charges.

The Board of Selectpersons received no public comments at two brief public hearings Tuesday at their regular meeting.

Once the hearings closed, selectmen approved putting the town’s proposed updated comprehensive plan on the ballot for the June Town Meeting.

They also approved an application from Great Pond Marina for a bottle club.

In other business, Zigmunt “Ziggy” Streznewski was sworn in to a vacant seat on the library board of trustees. Selectman Michael Barrett reminded the other selectmen, “Ziggy was the first youth member we appointed to the library board of trustees.”

Selectmen authorized Gill to sign a one-year renewal of the contract with Somerset County Public Safety Answering Point services. The charge is $2 per capita, with the town’s population calculated at 3,189.

The board accepted “with regret” the resignation of Cheryl Cook as town clerk. She has been the clerk for almost 10 years.

Betty Adams — 621-5631 | badams@centralmaine.com | Twitter: @betadams