Dover-Foxcroft to vote on $2.5M bond for Lincoln Street bridge

DOVER-FOXCROFT — When residents attend the annual town meeting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 25 in the Morton Avenue Gymnasium they will be voting on moving forward a bond not to exceed $2,500,000 to be used for repairs and improvements of the Lincoln Street bridge by the intersection with North Street. 

If approved, the question would be moved to the referendum ballot on Tuesday, June 9, to be decided along with the municipal and RSU 68 budgets, to complete the two-part process.

Financing would be through the Maine Municipal Bond Bank, Town Manager Alsina Brenenstuhl said on Monday evening, which featured a public hearing on the warrant and an ensuing select board meeting. 

Over 20 years at a rate of 5.5% the debt service would be just over $4.1 million with $1,628,000 in interest for the $2.5 million.

Interest could be $1.3 million more over a length of 30 years, Brenenstuhl said, with the town having no penalty should payments be made in advance.

“The project has to be done,” Select Chair Steve Grammont said, saying many people may not realize the end of Lincoln Street is actually a bridge with a culvert going underneath the span for a small brook emptying into the nearby Piscataquis River. 

In the 2024 fiscal year $1.3 million in Congressionally Directed Spending was awarded for the replacement project. The $1.3 million needs to be used by September 2027 or else it will disappear, so the project needs to be underway before then.

The street is not in immediate danger of caving in, but this will happen eventually if steps are not taken. The bridge — built in 1960 — spans just under 17 feet and is made up of reinforced concrete slab on stone abutments. It features two-way travel lanes, angled parking on the south side, parallel parking on the north side and partial sidewalks on both sides of the street with businesses located on each side.

Town officials are unsure what would happen if the question is voted down, possibly with the municipality needing to cover the entire costs without the $1.3 million.

In June 2024 the select board approved a preliminary design for rehabilitation from Wright Pierce Engineers.

The bridge received a rating indicating a poor condition during a late 2022 inspection by the Maine Department of Transportation Wright-Pierce Bridge Lead/Project Engineer Westley Nuhn said.

“It’s actually pretty congested with businesses on both sides of the road,” he said. During construction pedestrians would still have access to these establishments.

“The project essentially sat for a little while and now we’re ready to go out to bid,” Nuhn said.

The bid would be awarded later in the spring and construction is scheduled to be complete by August of 2027.

The project would include alleviating existing conditions causing water to pool on the road so this could drain into catch basins, Roadway Lead/Project Engineer Owen Chaplin said.

The total for town operations would be $8,324,427 in the 2026-27 municipal budget, up from $7,383,770. 

Across the board nearly everything is more expensive, Grammont said. 

“Personnel and insurance, the major increases in that,” Brenenstuhl said. “Health insurance specifically with a 9% increase.”

“The estimated mil rate at this point is 0.01475,” she said, with this equaling $14.75 for every $1,000 assessed property. This rate would be down from 2025-26’s $16.41.

Going through some of the other articles on the April 25 warrant, capital equipment is up to $390,000 from $260,000. This includes $115,000 for EMS equipment, more than 11 times the $10,000 for 2025-26.

“With starting the EMS side there were a lot of items to be bought for that,” Brenenstuhl said.

Another article includes $150,000 for a municipal feasibility study to look at the town office and fire and police stations.

The funds will be for “looking into the future for what we need,” Breenstuhl said.

A portion of another $125,000 for local road improvements will help provide “a better look to see what is needed and what needs to be reconstructed and how to use our money more efficiently,” the town manager said.

Residents will be voting on floodplain management and shoreland zoning ordinances from the state.

“We have to approve of it and have it on record,” Grammont said.

Another land use ordinance is for the town concerning the issuance of permits by the code enforcement officer.

Should someone be known to be in violation with something on their property, then another permit can be withheld until the issue is resolved.

“It makes no sense to give a violator a new permit to violate,” Grammont said.

During public comment the board heard from resident Randy Soileau who over several meetings has expressed his concerns with the Dover & Foxcroft Water District practices and his desire to dissolve the district board of trustees and have everything be under the auspices of the select board.

In his talks with other residents none realized the water district has its own board, Soileau said.

Brenenstuhl consulted with legal counsel and found the town cannot dissolve the Dover & Foxcroft Water District Board of Trustees, this can only be done by the Maine Legislature. This would be done after votes by the board itself and the town which would take on all the infrastructure, personnel, liability and debt.

Select board member Cindy Freeman Cyr inquired about how traffic has been with the closure of the Essex Street bridge for construction and the addition of a 3-way stop at the intersection of North and Summer Street.

Brenenstuhl received most of the feedback on the stop sign soon after it was installed last month. She did spend a bit of time watching the intersection drivers seem to be more aware of the new need to stop on North Street.

She has talked with the MDOT about traffic going off the non-designated detour routes and how this will likely cause earlier deterioration of the road surface.