Bid accepted for Pleasant Street sidewalk work

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Before the end of fall work is scheduled to be done on a section of the Pleasant Street sidewalk. During an Oct. 15 meeting of the Dover-Foxcroft Selectboard a bid of $107,350 by Hopkins Paving of Hermon was approved.

The bid was the lower of two, with the submission from Gordon Contracting of Sangerville coming in at $176,910.

“That would be Pleasant Street from the fire station up the hill to the new section,” Town Manager Jack Clukey said, mentioning Hopkins Paving had worked on this road’s sidewalks before.

Clukey said in the future sidewalk work and paving would be coordinated whenever possible but this year the town was unsure of how much money would be available until later on.

“It’s curbing, new sidewalk, and they are re-adjusting the bases,” he said. “It’s going to look like basically new sidewalk.”

The work is part of the Dover-Foxcroft sidewalk plan, with $100,000 for such improvements being included in the current fiscal year’s budget.

In other business, Elinor Reynolds was appointed by the board to fill a vacancy on the 9-member Mayo Mill Dam Review Committee as member Jake Arno had withdrawn. Arno was one of six members representing the public on the group.

Select Vice Chair Cindy Freeman Cyr said the administrative committee looked back at the committee applications and looked at a candidate who also was a longtime town resident. “We were mostly interested in balance and perspective, Elinor seems like she fits the bill,” Freeman Cyr said.

Select Chair Tom Lizotte said previously there were eight men and one woman on the committee, and now the numbers have been adjusted slightly.

Following last June’s vote to reject a referendum article concerning removal of the downtown Mayo Mill Dam on the Piscataquis River — indicating citizens were in favor of using tax money to fund studies, permitting, and repair costs for the structure — the Mayo Mill Dam Review Committee was formed to help determine the future of the site. By June 30, 2025 the town needs to make not only a decision on pursuing hydropower and a plan to carry this out, but also a plan for repairing the dam, making the structure safe, compliant with fish regulations, and more.

The Mayo Mill Dam Review Committee did formally approve an engineering study proposal from Kleinschmidt Associates of Pittsfield earlier in the month after the selectboard had authorized funding for the work during a Sept. 23 meeting. Kleinschmidt Associates bid $19,200 for the dam study.

The firm will look at previous studies and recalculate any potential for generating funds through hydropower and look at dam repairs. Kleinschmidt Associates will carry out its work over six weeks, 

While the financial implications are difficult to fully pin down at the present time because of variables such as the cost of repairs and length of repayment, the town could be faced with an $8-$10 million project.

The Mayo Mill Dam, acquired by Dover-Foxcroft in 2007, needs to be in compliance with all Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requirements. While Dover-Foxcroft will not be spending the money in the immediate future, information needs to be gathered to determine costs and how needed repairs would be funded such as through a bond.

FERC has jurisdiction over the dam because there are hydropower capabilities, but it has been non-operational for over a decade. It is a long process to have FERC relinquish oversight and this depends on whether there are hydropower capabilities or not and a plan is due to FERC by June 30 of next year.

The chances of restoring hydropower at the dam are remote due to a lack of economically viable options; the town has consulted with multiple engineers, turbine suppliers, and a private developer for years to try to identify a hydropower retrofit. When the Arnold Development Group of Kansas City, Missouri converted the former mill building into apartments and office space the consultants looked at restoring hydropower and had an application submitted to FERC about a half decade ago but did not pursue it further.

Fire Chief Brian Gaudet reported that a grant application to the Gloria MacKenzie Foundation was successful. The department will receive $28,500 to get turnout gear in compliance before this expires in January.

In his report Clukey mentioned several items. He said proposals were due that week for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plan to improve sludge removal. A recommendation will be brought to the Oct. 28 select meeting for hiring an engineering consultant for the project.

He said the Villages Project conceptual design is nearing completion. The project has incorporated suggestions for improving downtown traffic and mobility made at a spring public meeting. Both Gorrill Palmer and the Maine Department of Transportation representatives will be in attendance on Oct. 28 to present the conceptual project plan and another public meeting will be held within the next few weeks.

The town’s emergency communications platform is readying for subscribers, Clukey said. Subscribers will receive automated emergency notifications through various means such as text, email, and voice call for incidents including severe weather, road closures, and boil orders. A link is at www.dover-foxcroft.org.