Safe Streets project at ‘20 percent completion’

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    MILO — Those driving through Milo will notice the bright orange barrels along the roadside, sections of pavement removed and other signs of construction as the downtown Safe Streets project at the intersection of West Main, Park and Pleasant streets is now under way.

Observer photos/Stuart Hedstrom

    MAKING MILO’S  STREETS SAFER — Construction is under way on the Safe Streets project in downtown Milo. Pictured is work on Park Street near the intersection with Pleasant and West Main streets.

    “Today we hit 20 percent completion,” Town Manager David Maynard said during an Aug. 20 selectmen’s meeting. “All of the underground drainage work is essentially completed.”
    “There are numerous field adjustment issues,” he said, with differences arising between the plans and what can be done. Maynard said there have been 21 field adjustments so far on the Safe Streets project, with 17 of these being minor and easily fixed.
    He said one of the four other field adjustments concerns the material used to build the sidewalk from Camden National Bank up to the Pleasant Street. Building the walkway with concrete instead of asphalt would give the sidewalk a longer lifetime — such as 25 to 30 years compared to 12 to 15 years — but could increase project costs by about $21,000.
    Maynard said town officials are not authorized to go above and beyond the agreed upon project cost, and the board passed a motion to approve a contract modification to use asphalt in the stretch of sidewalk instead of concrete. He said a meeting was scheduled for later in the week with the engineer, contractor and Maine Department of Transportation where the project changes would be discussed.
    Speaking of the remaining non-minor field adjustments, Maynard said, “The other three have to do with service grade heights of some of the catch basins.”
    A short way up the road from the Safe Streets project on Park Street is the Eastern Piscataquis Business Park, and several weeks prior bids went out for construction work on the property. Three companies submitted bids, consisting of approximately $326,000, $460,000 and $542,000.
    The low bid was submitted by Lou Silver, Inc. of Veazie, but this was still several thousand dollars above the targeted budget. Maynard said he and Barney Silver of Lou Silver, Inc. have negotiated to bring the price down, such as going with some types of less expensive water lines and adjusting the scope of paving work.
    The selectmen decided to approve an initial contract price of $323,696, with the work not to exceed $326,000. The project is to be completed by Sept. 23, and Silver said work could start the next day once bonds were in order and signed during the morning hours.
    Another project in Milo is the downtown Heritage Building on West Main Street, which in one half houses Elaine’s Cafe and Bakery. Earlier in the month a public hearing was held on a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding proposal for both Elaine’s Cafe and Bakery and Bill’s Beef to support the expansion of the bakery and the development of the meat market in the remaining portion of the Heritage Building.
    Maynard said owner Elaine Poulin has decided not to pursue CDBG funding, saying she was going ahead more as a favor to the town than to have more business space, and a loan component for the meat market was not approved. He said the proposal presented earlier in the month has been postponed indefinitely and “that means the building space is available.”
    With the SAD 41 pre-kindergarten program moving from the Derby Community Center to the Milo Elementary School, the town-owned building will no longer have a tenant in the fall and into the winter. A proposal had been made by a daycare provider to use the center, but the plan was withdrawn.
    With no line items in the town budget providing the utility funds to keep the Derby Community Center open during the winter, the building will be closed down until it is ready to be occupied again.
    “I would like to know what people want to do with it,” Selectman Jerry Brown said about a potential long-term plan for the structure.
    Town Clerk Betty Gormley said ideas for the Derby Community Center could be asked for at a special town meeting, as Milo officials are also looking to have a similar session concerning the town budget in the fall.
    A $60,000 CDBG grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development has been awarded to Milo Taxi and Delivery for the purchase of additional taxis, a 7-passenger service van, construction of a service garage, hardware and software systems and improved signage, website and GPS monitoring to improve customer contacts. A public hearing and special town meeting on the Milo Taxi and Delivery grant will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at the town hall.
    Maynard said grant funds are available for income-eligible Maine residents and businesses, with applications submitted by the municipality in which the property owner resides, to replace malfunctioning septic systems that are polluting a body of water or causing a public nuisance. More information on the grant program is available at http://www.maine.gov/dep/water/grants/scgpara2.html.