RAYMOND – The owner of a Windham cleaning business, a Portland restaurant manager and a longtime food industry worker in the Lakes Region have applied to be the manager of Raymond Beach.
The Raymond Select Board on April 10 will consider the three proposals for overseeing the beach on Route 302 this summer.
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Persistent problems with trash, including hypodermic needles and human feces, shut down the beach in 2010. In response, the select board decided to start leasing it to a private manager who would keep it clean in exchange for use of the land for business purposes, such as selling food.
Jeff Pomeroy, a local carpenter, managed the beach last summer and planned to operate a cafe out of a pontoon boat docked in Sebago Lake. The cafe sank the day he put it in the water.
Because he didn’t remove the boat from the lake until February, which violated shoreland zoning rules, the town terminated his five-year lease. Code Enforcement Officer Chris Hanson said town officials haven’t decided how much to fine Pomeroy.
The beach-management contenders for this summer are Joanne Alfiero, who owns the cleaning business GXA Services; Kevin McAllister, the former owner of a Gray sports bar and current manager of Nosh Kitchen Bar in Portland; and Rhonda Keene, who has worked in the food industry since high school and is now a manager for Dunkin’ Donuts.
Keene, who has worked for other people all of her life, said she’s excited about the prospect of running her own business. She’s proposing to operate a food cart selling hot dogs, sausages and sandwiches, as well as her own specialties, including sloppy joes and chili.
“I’m a good cook,” she said.
Alfiero said she’d like to help turn the beach into a community hot spot with fundraisers for local groups, such as recreational sports teams.
She said she’s equally interested in “making a little bit of money and making it nice for people.”
In addition to having hot dog and ice cream carts, she’d eventually like to hold lobster bakes at the beach.
Alfiero proposes charging a fee for using the beach, in order to give money back to the town for leasing the space. But if the select board isn’t interested in the concept, she said, she’d be happy to change her plan.
McAllister, who couldn’t be reached for comment Friday afternoon, proposed running a hot dog cart “serving traditional food with a delicious twist, using local, quality ingredients and perfected recipes.”
He said he plans to run the cart near one of Maine’s ski mountains during the winter.
Select board Chairman Joe Bruno said he expects the board to question the applicants in April before making a decision.
“We’re anxious to hear what they have to say,” Bruno said. “We think someone can make a go of it, if they do it right.”
Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
lbridgers@pressherald.com
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