RAYMOND – The town of Raymond on Tuesday issued a request for proposals from those interested in forming a public-private partnership with the town to manage Raymond Beach on Sebago Lake.

Since selectmen first initiated the idea of having outside day-to-day management for the beach in 2011, two different parties have attempted to make it work.

The beach had been closed in 2010 when high levels of E. coli bacteria were discovered by testers from the Portland Water District. In an attempt to reopen the beach in 2011, Raymond resident Jeff Pomeroy agreed to manage the accumulating trash on the beach in exchange for the ability to operate a food-vending business.

While the floating restaurant, known as the Black Ghost Cafe?, received much attention, Pomeroy had permitting troubles with both the state and town after the hand-built vessel fell out of favor with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Because it failed to float, it was considered a structure and in violation of shoreland zoning rules.

Pomeroy eventually became frustrated with the venture as well as the town, salvaging the Black Ghost prior to the Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby last February.

After Pomeroy’s venture fizzled, the town’s Board of Selectmen solicited bids last winter and received three. Joanne Alfiero of Windham was chosen to operate a hot dog cart while promising to keep the beach tidy. However, the full-time newspaper advertising sales representative said she had a busier-than-expected 2012 and wasn’t able to staff the hot dog cart enough to make a profit.

“We had way too many time conflicts,” she said Wednesday.

Alfiero said she managed to keep the beach clean, which she described as a task that was “sometimes awful but for the most part it was OK,” and said she believes a private venture could succeed at what is one of only two public-access points on Sebago Lake.

“I think that if somebody was up there every day and used the right signage and just really promoted themselves and got the attention of the boaters and really put full-time effort into it, I think they’d do well,” she said.

According to the town, the new beach operator wouldn’t necessarily be required to run a business, although the option would be there should the proposal pass muster with the selectmen.

“Just as long as it’s consistent with shoreland zoning and they meet the criteria in order to get a peddler’s license if that’s what they want,” said Danielle Loring, executive assistant to the town manager. “The goal is to keep the E. coli count down so we don’t have to close it again.”

According to Charley Leavitt, a Raymond selectman who has long touted the benefits of a public-private partnership to keep the beach open, Alfiero’s exit was expected.

“She did a great job,” he said. “She had a lot of enthusiasm for the project. But it’s the same as what happened to Jeff Pomeroy, probably the revenue stream from just doing the food concession, may not be unto itself enough to pique someone’s interest in the short-term.”

Leavitt said the private entity would need enough startup capital to handle several slow years before people became familiar with the concession. He said the town would likely be open to developing further plans, which would allow the vendor to “turn the corner” on making a profit at the location that is popular with beach-goers as well as boaters using the adjacent state-owned boat ramp.

Nonprofits are welcome to apply, as well, Leavitt said.

“I could see something like the Boy Scouts down there, or some other nonprofit agency such as small employment project for youth, partnering through other potential funding sources such as a foundation, or grant,” Leavitt said. “There’s still a lot of room there, I believe.”

Leavitt said the town has learned from two failed partnerships, “and we’re building upon that experience. It’s going to take three or four or possibly five years to find the right fit for that area.”