One thing’s for sure, I wouldn’t want to be the harbormaster at the newly revamped Standish Boat Launch. The poor guy is going to have one rough summer.

Since the opening of the new parking lot a couple weeks ago, keeping the peace will be even harder for whoever supervises the boat trailer parking lot. Unlike last summer when the boat launch’s parking lot in Sebago Lake Village could accommodate 100 or more boat trailers, this year, thanks to the Portland Water District, folks who want to cruise on Sebago Lake will have to compete for a drastically reduced number of spots to park their trailers. Thirty-nine spots, to be specific.

Let’s be clear, the town of Standish is on the boater’s side in this age-old and ongoing battle for Sebago Lake access. Several years ago in an official “white paper,” the Portland Water District made known its plain desire to close down all boating in the Lower Bay. Standish officials took notice and immediately got serious about maintaining lake access. They first hosted a Sebago Lake Symposium which offered alternate views of the future of Sebago Lake. And then, more importantly, Standish went to court to secure rights to a 99-foot-wide right of way leading from Route 35 in Sebago Lake Village to the water’s edge.

At the spurring of the Town Council, Standish townspeople also put their money where their mouth was a few years ago by voting to set aside $125,000 in the event the water district made good on their threats to shut off the land surrounding the boat launch. The money would pay to install parking spots within the town-owned right of way. The district did just that and closed its land, part of which included the critical parking lot where people stowed their boat trailers.

It would have been a brilliant move. The water district thought they could do away with Standish’s pesky boat launch by doing away with the place where vehicles were stored. But they were wrong. Because of the forethought of Standish leaders past and present, lake enthusiasts can still enjoy access to Sebago Lake.

I’m not a motor boater, but I’ve spent many a lunch break sitting in my car looking out over Lower Bay from the old Standish Boat Launch parking lot. The view is perfect and watching boaters get their rigs ready to go is part of the allure. If the Portland Water District had their way, all that would be a distant memory.

But Standish leaders like town manager Gordon Billington and former councilors Larry Simpson and the late Dolores Lymburner knew the water district meant business when it published that white paper in 2004. And it’s a good thing they acted when they did. Sure, there are far fewer boat trailer slots, but something is better than nothing.

The boat launch also has special meaning for me. When I first moved to Portland in 2000, I remember driving up Route 114 out of Gorham Center and coming upon Sebago Lake for the first time. I couldn’t believe that in such a short trip, one could go from the bustling city center of Portland to an expansive and majestic lake.

And through my years at The Suburban News and Lakes Region Weekly, I must have written 500 stories or editorials having to do with the lake, dozens of them focused on the feud between the town of Standish and the water district. The district was right in wanting to protect drinking water, but I always thought they over-exercised their power and showed little compassion for Standish’s long history with the lake.

So, news of the old parking lot’s demise didn’t surprise me last year, but the forethought and wisdom of Standish leaders displayed this year by a newly paved, albeit limited parking area has made it tolerable. They didn’t miss a beat, nor skip a step, and Standish residents and especially boaters should be grateful to the leaders of Standish who helped save the launch.

And now back to the lowly harbor master. Remember, it’s not his fault there are only 39 spots, it’s the water district’s for forcing Standish’s hand. So if you find yourself down there this summer and the lot attendant says they’re fresh out of parking spots, think twice about criticizing the poor guy running the show. Vent your frustration with the water district instead.

John Balentine, of Windham, is a former editor of the Lakes Region Weekly.