OAKLAND — Town residents might get to choose from a variety of names for the boat landing on Messalonskee Lake while voting in the November election.

Town councilors discussed changing the name at a meeting Wednesday night while also saying they could pick a variety of names and put them on the election ballot, thereby letting townspeople choose an official name for the area.

The idea of renaming the boat landing came from a gazebo committee, which is raising money to put a gazebo at the boat landing and beach area.

“We’ve discussed naming it after people and naming it historically,” said Town Manager Gary Bowman, who’s also on the gazebo committee.

In the past, the area where the boat landing is — on Belgrade Road at the northern end of Messalonskee Lake — was called a harbor and a bay.

Some preliminary ideas are Oakland Harbor Memorial Park or Oakland Memorial Park. Bowman said they thought of adding memorial to the name in remembrance of the victims of the triple homicide that happened yards away on nearby Belgrade Road on Nov. 4. Lakeview Cemetery is also next to the boat landing.

The families of the three slaying victims — Michael Muzerolle, Amanda Bragg and Amy DeRosby — are planning to place a memorial bench in the park area at the landing, according to Muzerolle’s mother, Lisa Hassam.

“It is more than a boat landing now, so I think (a different name) would be appropriate,” Councilor Dana Wrigley said.

In other business, the council also voted to approve the first reading of the general assistance ordinance that will go into effect on Oct. 1. The ordinance is updated every year by the state, so towns have to vote to approve the changes.

The amounts for everything except food increased this year. The council approved the first reading 4-0, as Councilor Don Borman was not in attendance. The ordinance requires two readings to be approved.

Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239

mstamour@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @madelinestamour

Related Stories