Raymond– Residents hoping to see a community dock at Veteran’s Memorial Park will have to wait a little longer after the Raymond Board of Selectman decided at Tuesday night’s meeting more information was necessary before issuing a permit to install the dock.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Selectman Lonnie Taylor. “But I think it’s not much past a great idea. We still have work to do. I need more solid information to go on to see if it is something I would vote for.”

The proposal, a brainchild of the Raymond Revitalization Committee, aims to install a seasonal dock in Panther Run at the Veteran’s Memorial Park on Route 302 to give Sebago Lake boaters easy access to the businesses located along that corridor, an area committee member Nick Hardy says is already being used inappropriately by boaters.

“Whether or not this dock goes in, people are using this area already,” said Hardy. “There are erosion issues there from boats coming ashore there.”

Raymond Code Enforcement Officer Chris Hanson agreed.

“They (boaters) are already going to the area where they are proposing,” said Hanson. “We saw evidence of that when we were there.”

The dock, which would range in width from 4 to 6 feet and measure 28 feet long, was donated to the committee by local business owners, and as it is town-owned land, the Raymond Public Works Department would be responsible for putting the dock into the water in spring and removing and storing the dock during the winter months, an idea that concerned Selectman Charley Leavitt.

“Asking the town to take part in these activities? I don’t know,” said Leavitt. “No offense to the chair, but I see this proposal as more of a lobbying effort than anything else. I have unanswered questions about the Revitalization Committee.”

Selectman Michael Reynolds did not agree.

“I don’t share Selectman Leavitt’s concerns,” said Reynolds addressing Leavitt. “All of those concerns you just brought up have nothing to do with the proposal. I think if anyone brought this to us, it’s a good idea.”

Leavitt disagreed.

“The same issues we tried to get our arms around at Jones Beach will be the same issues we will have at Memorial Park,” said Leavitt. “If it was such a great idea the private sector would get involved with it and not the government. This proposal isn’t ready. I think we have more important issues than propping up a non-entity. This proposal is not complete or well-thought-out and shouldn’t even be on the agenda at this point.”

Hardy assured the board he had done due diligence by speaking to members of the Raymond Waterways Protective Association regarding milfoil in Panther Run and other environmental issues. Betty Williams, the association’s executive director, was at the meeting and acknowledged meeting with Hardy, but did not openly endorse the dock idea.

“I am not for or against this,” said Williams. “If it happens I hope it happens in a good way to protect the environment. There are always risks in doing something like this.”

Raymond resident Dana Desjardins presented a problem that perhaps the board or Revitalization committee had not thought of; respecting the memorial.

“In my opinion when we put the veterans’ memorial there, the point became sacred ground,” said Desjardins. “People go there for some peace and maybe a moment of silence. To commercialize this park, it’s the wrong place for it.”

After hearing all concerns the select board requested the Revitalization Committee to work on answering these questions before presenting the proposal again. The board voted unanimously against issuing the permit.