Dover-Foxcroft Select Board signs paperwork for 2026 county tax

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Dover-Foxcroft Select Board approved the necessary paperwork in order to pay its proportional share of the 2026 Piscataquis County tax during a meeting on Monday evening. The board also looks to be more involved in the budget process moving forward.

Dover-Foxcroft will pay $771,247 of the $6,286,966 county budget. The town’s figure is up 7.7% from 2025’s $715,505 and for this year is the second highest among 18 communities, behind only the $833,879 for Greenville.

The $771,247 is based on a 2026 $507,950,000 state valuation, up from $442,300,000 last year.   

“Your opportunity to influence this is before the bill is sent to us,” Select Chair Steve Grammont said.

The Piscataquis County Budget Advisory Committee meets in the early fall and works on finances for both the county and Unorganized Territories to bring forward to the county commissioners. A public hearing is held in mid-November and the commissioners approve the two budgets at a December meeting.

The commissioner with Dover-Foxcroft in their district, Andy Torbett of Atkinson represents District 2, could be invited to a select board meeting each year early in the process to discuss the budget, Vice Chair Jane Conroy suggested, as RSU 68 Superintendent Stacy Shorey and Foxcroft Academy Head of School Arnold Shorey do at least annually.

Greenville officials have also been concerned over the community’s high county tax bill, Selectperson Cindy Freeman Cyr said. “Maybe we should work together with the other communities,” she said.

Town Manager Alsina Brenenstuhl could reach out to other community leaders to see what they might be thinking in regards to the county tax, Grammont suggested.

“The county is representing all of us, so we all have a stake in it,” he said. “The intention is we will have a different approach next year.”

One way Dover-Foxcroft could have a different approach is with a new tax assessor. Matthew Caldwell of Caldwell Municipal Assessing and Consulting of Plymouth was hired to fill a vacancy for the town.

Caldwell has nearly a quarter century of experience, and he said he now has his own company with several employees and several more to start later this year.

“There does appear to be a pretty good need to get somebody in the office,” Caldwell said about the related paperwork accumulating in the town office.

Municipalities across the state are dealing with increased county taxes, Caldwell said as he offered his assistance in this area.

“Hopefully by this time next year you will have a better understanding of what’s going on,” he said.

Caldwell Municipal Assessing and Consulting will be paid $725 per day per agent, not to exceed 39 days or the $28,500 budgeted for assessing. 

“You’re only going to pay us for when we’re here and when the work is done,” Caldwell said.

In other business, the select board made a pair of committee appointments. 

Andrew Robinson, Dover-Foxcroft’s elected representative to the Thompson Free Library Executive Committee, is stepping down. The library recommends Jennifer Sylvain to serve as an interim replacement until the June election.

Joseph Grunin has been appointed to the budget advisory committee to fill an open seat.

The select boards admin committee reviewed two applications, Freeman Cyr said. Grunin’s was more complete and had a higher level of interest and preparation.

During open session resident Jake Arno asked about the status of the Mayo Mill Dam.

After years of research, including work by two separate dam committees, last June residents voted down authorizing the select board to borrow up to $9 million for the retention and repair of the dam via a 659-297 count. The select board was given the go ahead to work with external partners to remove the Mayo Mill Dam and restore the town’s riverfront. In August, the board formalized an agreement with The Nature Conservancy and the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

The dam surrender application is scheduled to be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the spring and review takes about 18-24 months.

Permitting should be complete by 2027 and then the removal project can go to bid with an eye on the summer of 2028 for work. The schedule is subject to change.

Leaving the dam as is was not an option. The structure was obtained by the town after a mill closure in 2007 and it has not complied with federal regulations for over a decade. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cited multiple structural deficiencies in a study. Ideas of retrofitting the dam and using it for hydroelectric power were deemed too expensive.

Had residents approved repairing the dam, the $9 million price tag would have been spread out across 25 years, with a 5% interest rate, putting the project cost at $14,107,600, including $5,107,600 in interest. The projected annual cost would have been $664,000.

“What has happened so far is preliminary assessments for the first surrender,” Brenenstuhl said, mentioning mussels and sediment as assessment examples.

The public will be able to comment on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission surrender application. Whether this is done by paper or electronically is to be determined.

“The dam committee was dissolved after the vote,” Grammont said. “It is anticipated that at some time we may need to make a new one.”

This would not happen until after the license is surrendered.

“We have finally got our pool up and running,” Piscataquis Area Community Center Executive Director Manda Stewart said about the restored aquatic area of the Park Street facility that formerly was the home of the Piscataquis Regional YMCA until the organization was closed in the fall of 2024.

When asked about hours, Stewart said it is best to check the organization website at https://paccmaine.com/ as there are only three lifeguards available and times can vary. 

“Now it’s whenever they can work,” she said.

There is a daily pool sponsor. People are excited to check this out each day on Facebook, Stewart said.

After hearing from resident Randy Soileau on his concerns with the Dover & Foxcroft Water District practices, Brenstuhl will compile information for the select board to review. This would likely be ready for a March board meeting.