The Sheepscot River was largely calm at Alna’s Head Tide Dam the night of Sept. 9, but the ideas were flowing. Representatives were there from a firm the Atlantic Salmon Federation has hired to draw up designs for the Head Tide Dam Committee and the rest of the town to consider.

Much of the talk near the dam’s platform centered on how to honor the site’s history and keep and possibly improve river access for recreation, all while meeting the federation’s goal of improved fish passage if residents OK a plan.

The federation’s vice president of U.S. programs, Andrew Goode, said displaying the history in some form could help draw visitors. Committee Chairman David Reingardt wasn’t sure townspeople were interested in increasing visitors to the site, but he said residents do care about the history and would want to preserve it.

If not for a dam being there to power industry, the Head Tide neighborhood would not have been built, said neighbor and committee member Gerry Flanagan.

“There’s a human history here. Memorializing it (and) leaving artifacts is important,” he said.

Inter-Fluve’s consultants asked committee members and other attendees how they would like to see the history displayed. Panels are commonly used, including removable ones where winters are harsh, Goode said.

Member Chris Kenoyer suggested fitting artifacts into the setting. That would help avoid the spoon-fed feel of some historic sites where everything is presented formally, he said.

“There’s a lot to be said for it being more of a discovery.”

Throughout the meeting, children and adults could be seen below, using a long-popular swimming hole near the dam. Inter-Fluve consultant Nick Nelson said it appeared so far that the pool would still be there if an existing opening in the dam is widened. “There’s nothing that jumps out at me right now (to indicate) that would change if we widen the hole.”

That would be important information for residents to hear, because people have been concerned about losing the pool if changes are made to the dam, Kenoyer said.

Alna resident Joe Barth and committee members noted that the river sometimes moves a lot faster than it was that night, and at times runs over the dam. Barth told the consultants they might have a much better sense of the river’s behavior there if they could observe it at other times.

Members said they would like to see the platform and its railings stabilized; paths to the river made easier for paddlers and other users; the possible addition of mounted binoculars for use free of charge; and equipment to view fish moving underwater. “There’s got to be a way to do that,” Kenoyer said.

The work could also remove vegetation overgrowths, such as a tree if its roots are contributing to the concrete’s deterioration, Goode said.

Tree removal would take planning board approval because the site is in the shoreland zone, Barth said.

A project the federation undertakes at the site would likely take multiple years to raise funds, get local, state and federal permits and to complete, Goode said.