A possible public safety building site left the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners split during their Tuesday, Dec. 16 meeting.
County Administrator Carrie Kipfer said 10 acres in the central part of the county seemed most viable for Lincoln County’s new public safety building, which would house the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Lincoln County Communications Center, and the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency.
“We have narrowed the list down … everything else that was on the list was eliminated,” she said.
She said the project remains in a “very, very preliminary” stage.
A 2024 comprehensive site and structural assessment of the building that houses the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Wiscasset determined nearly $8 million in repairs and renovations were immediately needed. According to previous LCN coverage, the report noted replacements or repairs were necessary for the building’s exterior masonry, roof, doors, windows, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, and sidewalks.
The county has since focused on developing a new facility on a centrally located site. As the county has assessed available land, proximity to Route 1 was a focus for officers, Sheriff Todd Brackett said.
Kipfer said the new building could also provide office space for the county’s community partners, including the addiction resource center and pretrial services.
Though there are still some questions about the possible site, Kipfer said the area seems like the best option for development. With the commissioners’ approval she said the county could move forward with placing a “contingent offer based on all the regulatory analysis” of the site.
“We don’t even know if this property is buildable for us,” Kipfer said. “As we look at this whole project, we want it to be a very transparent process.”
The commissioners voted 2-1 to move forward with the site.
Commissioner Evan Goodkowsky, who represents District 1, voted against moving forward with the proposed location. He cited the property’s distance from his district, which includes Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, Southport, Westport Island, and Wiscasset, and the likely longer response times that would result.
“There’s a lot of work that has to happen after we decide on a parcel, but until we can get to an agreement on where we’re headed, we can’t even start with that,” Kipfer said.
Commissioners David Levesque and William Blodgett considered retracting their votes and continuing the land search, but they ultimately decided to move forward due to the limited amount of viable land parcels.
“We don’t have a lot of other options,” Brackett said.
In other news, the commissioners approved allocating $285,000 from the unassigned fund balance for local tax commitment, which is $20,000 more than last year.
Finance Director Michelle Richardson said the tax commitment allocation will bring the county commitment for 2026 down to $15,039,218, marking a 1.5% increase instead of 3.42% for Lincoln County residents compared to fiscal year 2025.
The county budget for 2026 fiscal year passed on Tuesday, Dec. 2 with a $17,533,290 total, marking a $707,058 or 4.2% increase from the previous year.
The next Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026 at the Lincoln County Courthouse. For more information, go to lincolncountymaine.me or call 882-6311.
