Dexter Town Council OKs bathhouse renovation project at Wassookeag beach

DEXTER — The bathhouse at the Lake Wassookeag public beach will be remodeled to include four separate bathrooms, new doors and windows and fresh paint in the coming months.

“The building is concrete and it’s in decent shape,” Town Manager Trampas King said. “It just needs a lot of work.”

The town originally planned to demolish the bathhouse built in the 1980s and construct a new one, he said. After receiving quotes and suggestions from contractors, it made more sense to preserve the concrete structure and mold it into a usable space, King said. New doors are needed to make the bathhouse wheelchair accessible, and plumbing and electrical work will also have to be addressed.

At a meeting Thursday, the Dexter Town Council approved a $59,000 bid for Dexter-based J. Langlais Builders to complete the project. The renovation is expected to be completed by early July.

Town councilors allocated $58,500 of its first round of American Rescue Plan Act funds to tear down and build a new bathhouse in February, along with other improvement projects to beautify the town. Dexter will receive $195,706, its second round of funding, in August or September, King said previously.

A public hearing was held to discuss a new three-year lease for the Dexter Municipal Golf Course that is owned by the town.

Ryan Wilks — who has worked at the golf course for more than eight years and has experience at one in Massachusetts — will run the business under the new lease, King said. Jim Costedio oversaw operations at the golf course since the early 2000s, he said.

Marcia Delaware, who used to serve as chairperson of the Town Council, was the only meeting attendee who spoke during the hearing. She asked to modify language in the lease so that the space above the clubhouse could not be used as an apartment, King said.

Councilors accepted the contract as written, with the intention of making an amendment before the next regular Town Council meeting.

Councilors also accepted a $19,500 bid from Wyman Construction, based in Dexter, to demolish the property at 6 Mechanic St. It was the only bid that came in for the project, King said.

The tax-acquired property is considered dangerous, and it has been abandoned for more than five years, he said. The structure should be demolished by early July.

Andrew Bermudez, chairperson of the Town Council and lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Dexter, received the town’s 2022 Spirit of America Award.

The award comes from the Spirit of America Foundation, a nonprofit public charity established in Augusta that encourages volunteerism. The award honors a person or group that goes above and beyond in their community, King said.

Bermudez moved to the Dexter community 10 years ago and “cares for us more than most of us care for ourselves,” he said.

Bermudez is the founder and director of the Heart of Maine Resource Center, which gives free food to those in need each month, in partnership with the Piscataquis Regional Food Center. He is also a substitute teacher at School Administrative District 46 and is involved in other school and community activities and projects. In years past, he co-sponsored and coordinated a group of volunteers that made repairs to homes in Dexter.
Last year, Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis received the award.