Wiscasset’s wastewater treatment plant, at 69 Water St. Voters will consider moving the wastewater treatment plant to the town’s public works site on Hodge Street at a Tuesday, Nov. 5 special town meeting by referendum. (LCN file)
Wiscasset voters will decide if they would like to approve the relocation of the town’s wastewater treatment plant – a roughly $51 million project – during a special town meeting by referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 5 held concurrently with the general election.
The Wiscasset Select Board voted unanimously in July to explore relocating the town’s wastewater treatment plant to the current public works site.
The need for the plant’s relocation stems from a report submitted in July 2022 by Olver Associates Inc., an engineering company based in Winterport that evaluated the town’s wastewater collection system. The report showed highlighted that the current wastewater treatment plant sits in a designated floodplain and, due to rising sea levels, it is at significant risk of flooding during major storms.
The town has been considering relocating the wastewater treatment plant since 2023, working alongside William Olver, president and senior managing partner of Olver Associates Inc., to analyze the costs associated with different sites around town.
The select board considered two sites the town already owns – the public works site and a parcel of land on Federal Street – as well as two it would have had to consider purchasing – a parcel of land on Churchill Street and The Morris Farm on Gardiner Road.
Select board members chose the current public works site because the town would be “getting more bang for its buck,” Town Manager Dennis Simmons said.
If approved, at a cost of $51,150,000, the town would relocate its wastewater treatment plant to the public works site on Hodge Street and build a new public works site and salt shed on a parcel of land near the transfer station on Fowle Hill Road.
Of that total, $4 million would be devoted to building a new public works building and salt shed.
“If you’re going to spend $50 million to get a new wastewater treatment plant, or you can spend $50 million to get a new wastewater treatment plant and a public works building, it’s kind of a no-brainer,” said select board member Pam Dunning during the July 30 meeting.
The development of a new wastewater treatment plant is estimated to cost $39 million, according to documentation provided to the town by Olver Associates Inc.
During the select board’s Oct. 15 meeting, Simmons said voter approval of the wastewater treatment plant relocation will open up more opportunities for the town to pursue funding for the project.
“(The article) authorizes us to use that site to get moving, because we can’t start applying for grants until we have a site chosen,” said Simmons.
Voters will also consider changing the retirement plan for the town’s police officers and amending two ordinances at the polls on Nov. 5.
Simmons said the new police department union contract asked that the town approve a change in the retirement plans. Town employee retirement plans are through the Maine Public Employee Retirement System.
The current plan allows officers to retire after 25 years of service and receive half of the average of their three highest years of wages.
During labor contract negotiations, the union requested to switch to a new plan to align with most other towns and counties in the region, according to wiscasset.org. The proposed plan offers employees two-thirds of the average of their three highest years of wages instead of half, but requires a higher contribution rate.
For the town, switching plans would mean a 1% increase in the employer contribution rate – from 11.8% to 12.8% – resulting in an additional $4,200 in contributions. However, the union agreed to offset most of this increase by raising its share of the town’s health insurance premium from 15% to 20%, covering all but $470 of the additional cost.
If approved, effective Dec. 1, the town will provide the new plan to its police officers who regularly work 1,000 hours or more per year for service rendered after Saturday, Nov. 30.
Two articles address amendments to two ordinances, which would allow nonresidents to serve and vote on committees and boards in Wiscasset.
The town began considering this action because of the Wiscasset Municipal Airport Advisory Committee’s goal of attaining voting privileges for member Steve Williams, of Georgetown, who is a taxpayer in Wiscasset, said Simmons.
The town currently bars nonresidents from serving on the board of appeals and budget committee, and allows the airport and waterfront committees one nonresident, non-voting member. Additionally the planning board can have one non-resident with voting privileges.
The warrant articles propose pulling language from the town officials ordinance and port and harbor ordinance so that nonresidents can serve and vote on these committees and board. According to Simmons, the Maine Municipal Association advised him that local residency requirements are not enforceable; therefore, barring any member from voting could result in legal action against the town.
The last question voters will consider on the special town meeting warrant asks for approval for the town’s treasurer to waive foreclosures.
Last year, the town was forced to dispose of two mobile homes because tax liens automatically foreclosed them, according to Simmons. The town did not receive the taxes they were owed and had to pay to dispose of the mobile homes, as they were on rented lots. Simmons said the only way to stop foreclosures is for voters to authorize a waiver.
If approved, this article will appear on future annual town meeting warrants as a “housekeeping” item, said Simmons.
The Wiscasset Select Board approved the six-article warrant during a meeting on Sept. 3.
Wiscasset residents will cast their votes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at the Wiscasset Community Center, at 242 Gardiner Road.
