RAYMOND – Joanne Alfiero is a busy woman.

The Windham resident sells advertising full time for newspapers in Portland and New Hampshire. She also runs a cleaning business, GXA Services, named in honor of her daughter Grace’s initials.

And now she manages Raymond Beach, having recently signed an exclusive contract with the town to provide food-vending services at the popular Sebago Lake location in return for keeping the beach free of trash.

In the summer, the beach needs to be cleaned daily, not only for appearance reasons but also for public health. It was closed two summers ago after high levels of bacteria were discovered. Baby diapers and other refuse from beach users and nighttime partiers were collecting along the beach, which is located on Route 302, prompting the town to look for long-term solutions.

Last year, in an attempt to reopen the beach without investing taxpayer dollars for on-site management, the town contracted with resident Jeff Pomeroy, who built a floating restaurant named the Black Ghost Cafe?. Pomeroy sunk about $40,000 into the cafe? and accompanying 100-foot dock but ran into issues with state and local regulators when one of the pontoons ruptured soon after opening last July, placing him in violation of the state’s shoreland zoning code. Pomeroy, who had a five-year lease with the town, eventually gave up the Ghost because of frustrations with authorities resulting from a difficult extraction of the cafe this winter.

Due to that experience, selectmen have pursued the simpler course offered by Alfiero’s concept, one of three proposals submitted earlier this year. In exchange for beach maintenance, the town has waived any vending fees. The two parties have a five-year lease, dependent on a yearly review of Alfiero’s performance.

While she may expand the menu in the future, Alfiero is aiming to “keep it simple,” she said, operating a hot dog cart and portable grill for hamburgers on the grassy area next to beach. She expects to operate from noon to about 6 p.m. daily through Labor Day.

Her operation, which she expected to begin on Memorial Day, got a late start due to family health issues. But Alfiero said she has a full crew of employees in place and was planning to open daily starting this week. While she won’t be manning the cart daily, except for possibly weekends, Alfiero said she and her daughter are the ones performing trash patrol.

“It depends on boaters, crowd, weather,” Alfiero said. “But we think it’ll work out. We’re very excited. But my job – my first priority – is keeping the beach clean.”

Knowing the weather can be beautiful after Labor Day, Alfiero is trying to think of ways to extend the season past the usual departure date for summer residents and tourists. While she’s got a few ideas, Alfiero is seeking Raymond residents’ help in coming up with those fall activities.

“We’re excited about reaching out to people in the town of Raymond because I’m interested in possibly organizing a farmers market in the fall,” she said. “I’m interested in ideas from people in the town of Raymond as to how we can utilize the property in the fall when people aren’t there swimming so we can keep the hot dog cart and do something good for the town.”

Alfiero says she is waiting to hear from residents with ideas.

“My obligation first and foremost is to make sure the beach stays clean, and then I’m interested in people in the town having access to me if they have ideas of what we can do up there in the fall,” Alfiero said. “It’s a nice spot. It’s not just a summertime place, so I want to involve the community and get their feedback on how we can improve things. The money we make up there is almost secondary. The primary thing is keeping the beach clean.”

Selectman Joe Bruno, who advanced the need of a downsized operation after the Black Ghost’s troubles this winter, is happy to see Alfiero stepping up and cleaning up.

“She has a lot of great ideas and I think she’s going to put a lot of effort into it. We asked her to start slowly, and I think she’s going to do that. But I think eventually we’re going to have her expand and do a lot more,” Bruno said. “But we don’t want to get caught in that same situation we got caught in last year, with someone investing all kinds of money without a business plan to make it work. So I think starting out slow as a hot dog vendor with a hot dog cart selling minor things along with that, and expanding from there, is the way to go.”

Bruno likes Alfiero’s style, too, and admires her work ethic.

“I think this woman has a lot of spunk and a lot of drive and I think she’s going to do very well,” he said.

Selectman Charley Leavitt, who championed the idea of a public-private partnership after the beach was closed in 2010 due to pollution, is likewise hopeful the new arrangement will prove mutually beneficial.

“Absolutely, I think it’s been a good resolution,” Leavitt said. “I never saw any of our attempts to be failures, just building upon the program, building upon the experience. And I think that’s what we’ve done. So far, it seems the proposal out there is more than adequate to provide what we’re looking for as a town and maybe enhance the experience of people who go to the beach.”

Joanne Alfiero, of Windham, walks Raymond Beach Wednesday morning looking for trash. Alfiero recently entered into an agreement with the town of Raymond to clean up the beach in exchange for exclusive vending rights. (Staff photo by John Balentine)