By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer 

NAPLES — Hiring a warden might be the ticket for extra safety and enforcement on the lakes next summer.

Recently, officials from the Town of Naples had a discussion with management from the towns of Bridgton and Harrison to see if there was an interest in budgeting to pay a warden.

This summer, one of the biggest complaints was that the warden, who works for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, was spread too thin and often could not respond to boating problems on the local lakes and ponds. 

The solution would be the shared services of hiring an intern warden for $20,000, according to Naples Town Manager John Hawley. That cost would also be shared and each town would contribute about $6,000, he said.

Hawley talked about the tri-town coverage during the Naples Board of Selectmen meeting via Zoom on November 30th. 

“Naples, Bridgton and Harrison town managers got together and met with Col. Dan Scott of the Maine Warden Service (MWS) to talk about the issues that we have had on the waterways the last couple of years that were exacerbated by the pandemic this summer,” Hawley said.  

“It was reported to us that there have been staffing shortages within the MWS but that this area was fully staffed during the summer months due to our increased activity level,” he said. “The three towns felt that full staffing was not enough and the MWS suggested that we could contact an additional warden to cover our area.”

“The coverage would be for 40 hours a week from Memorial Day to the end of August,” Hawley said.  

“This would be the first contracted position with a community and the MWS, but they agree that it is worth a try. This contracted position would not take away tri-town warden contract services,” he said. 

“The estimated amount would be $20,000 and the three towns agreed to split the cost equally for next summer,” he said. “For a little more than $6,000 a summer, we would have the guarantee of a warden.” 

He explained that the coverage is through the end of August because these are college students who are deputized.  

Harbormaster Shawn Herbert explained that an intern warden could perform most of the same duties as warden except when it comes to OUI’s and investigating boating accidents of fatalities.  

“If they pulled over boaters for operating under the influence (OUI), they would have to wait until a senior warden arrived to do field sobriety test. But, they could detain the person,” Herbert said. 

Hawley said the intern would be scheduled during most popular boating days.

“It is understood that the intern would have to work every single weekend. They would have to be available at peak times,” he said.