Caribou Utilities District awarded river-crossing contract and gains roughly $1,000,000 in flexible grant funds; board approves minutes, financials and moves to

The Caribou Utilities District Board of Trustees on May 13 approved routine minutes and the districts financial statements and heard a managers report that the district has signed a construction contract for a river crossing and now has roughly $1,000,000 in additional flexible grant and loan funds to apply to water-system upgrades.

Manager (S4) told the board the district received a notice to proceed and has executed the construction contract with Soderbergh for the river-crossing work, and that a late-arriving Northern Border grant, together with an existing loan and a 35% principal-forgiveness provision on part of that loan, has left the district with "over $1,000,000 of kind of stretch goal money at this point," which he said could be applied to projects such as a telemetry upgrade and leak-location equipment to address high unaccounted-for water losses.

Why it matters: the district said water-infrastructure funding from the pandemic-era programs is declining and the newly available money could speed replacement of aging telemetry and meters or fund targeted main repairs. Manager (S4) flagged roughly 1,000 meters approaching the end of service life; he said per-unit replacement costs are in the low hundreds of dollars and that replacing many meters would be a sizable project.

In other operations news, Finance staff member Sue (S3) reported recent purchases and charges that affected the water account and cautioned that some expenses (two backflow devices, one costing about $3,000) will be charged back to a warehouse account. Sue said insurance premiums (general liability and workerscomp) are billed twice annually and that current premiums and expenses leave the district within budget. The board voted to approve the financial statements after a motion was made and seconded.

The manager also reported wastewater updates: the district issued an RFQ for engineering for generator projects, selected a firm from three applicants and is finalizing engineering contracts ahead of design and bidding. He said an application round for federal funds via the EPA is required for one program the district is pursuing and that he will begin the application process.

Separately, the manager said the districts 2027 funding package includes support from Collins and Kings offices for a redundant wastewater line crossing and related upgrades (pump stations, SCADA, security). If funded as described in the managers report, that project would receive an 80% grant to help cover construction and related upgrades.

Administrative notes: the manager said staff arranged a temporary three-month extension of the districts line of credit with Katahdin Trust and indicated Dave and, when available, Jay will sign the paperwork; he also said a stack of liens had been signed and will be filed. Board members set the next regular meeting for June 10.

Near the meetings end, a board member (S8) moved to enter executive session under MRSA 4056-C for economic development; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

The meeting record shows brief pre-meeting discussion about a July military exercise and circulating social-media posts; one participant urged that the public be told the activity is a drill. The manager said he will follow up on ballot-timing questions for a potential November fluoride measure and will provide deadlines to the board.

The board convened an executive session after the vote; no further public action is recorded in the transcript.