Newcastle Town Administrator David Bolling said the town will take civil action against the owner of the Newcastle Harbor House if the building exterior is not complete by Nov. 1.
Newcastle Publick House LLC owns the building and property at 75 Main St.
“We’re going to go to court and seek fines,” Bolling said. “Everyone wants the end result to be the completion of the project,” he said, but the Newcastle Board of Selectmen feels it is necessary to “defend the town and its ordinances.”
The town might not have to take any action. Town attorney Peter Drum, at an Oct. 9 meeting of the Newcastle Board of Selectmen, said the building contractor has the materials necessary to complete construction and plans to start work immediately.
The highly visible condominium project has suffered a long string of delays in recent years.
Newcastle Superintendent of Roads, Buildings and Grounds Steve Reynolds said the town should expect to spend up to $65,000 for the work. Marriners submitted the lowest bid of four.
Reynolds described the spot paving as a Band-Aid or temporary fix for the road until the town can afford to completely rebuild it.
He estimates the cost of rebuilding North Newcastle Road at $1 million.
The Damariscotta contractor had the contract last winter with a town option to extend. The town never extended the contract, however, as officials were unaware of the status of the contract following the retirement of the former town administrator in March.
The base cost of the one-year contract, at about $36,800, is about $1800 more than the contract for the previous season.
Reynolds said the town would actually spend less, as Hagar agreed to increase the fuel “circuit breaker” in the contract from $4 per gallon to $5.
The stipulation allows Hagar to bill the town for whatever it might spend on fuel above $5 per gallon. For example, if the price of diesel fuel rises to $5.099 per gallon and Hagar buys 100 gallons, it could bill the town for $9.90.
The average price of diesel in Maine is $4.158, according to AAA.
Selectman Ben Frey abstained from the vote. He did not state a reason for doing so.
Bolling said the town did not have enough time to provide the necessary legal notice after the selectmen approved the ballot question at its Sept. 24 meeting.
In other business, the selectmen appointed Nick Buck to the Land Use Ordinance Review Committee to fill a vacancy left after the resignation of Maureen Hoffman. They also appointed Steve Dixon to the Finance Committee.
