Wiscasset residents approved the article asking if they would reconsider moving the town’s wastewater treatment facility to where the public works site during the annual town meeting by referendum on Tuesday, June 9.
The article was approved 582-479.
Approval means the town will need to start looking for a new location to move the facility that is not the public works site. Town Manager Dennis Simmons said discussions for this will start right away.
This has been an ongoing discussion for almost two years. At a special town meeting by referendum in November 2024, voters authorized the relocation of Wiscasset’s wastewater treatment facility to the public works site on Hodge Street and the construction of a new public works site and salt shed on Fowle Hill Road with a vote of 1,416-832.
According to a July 2022 assessment by the Winterport engineering firm Olver Associates Inc., the current plant needs to be moved as it is in a particularly susceptible to rising sea levels. In total, the entire project – which encompasses construction of a new wastewater treatment plant on Hodge Street at the location of the current town garage, and construction of a new garage and salt shed on Fowle Hill Road – is estimated to cost $51,150,000.
In a December 2024 public meeting, Wiscasset Sewer Department Superintendent Robert Lalli said moving the plant was imperative.
In December 2025, the select board voted to put the relocation of the plant back before voters after receiving a citizens’ petition about the matter, despite the fact the petition was five valid signatures short of the required amount.
Voters failed to validate the $11,217,742 education budget by a 12-vote margin, 547-535.The proposed budget was an increase of $473,623 or 4.41%. The total amount that was to be raised through taxes for the education budget is $7,516,940, an increase of $557,269 or 8.01%.
The school committee will need to revise the budget and present it through a special budget meeting. The figures voters approve at the meeting will need to be validated on a special budget validation referendum. The process will repeat until a new budget is passed.
Residents did approve the authorization of a bond up to $793,311 to fund security improvements at Wiscasset Elementary School and Wiscasset Middle High School, 647-349. The bond will be issued through the state’s Schools Revolving Renovation Fund. The loan for this has already been approved by the Maine Department of Education through the rate/loan forgiveness project.
With approval, the bond will not exceed 10 years and the town will only be obligated to repay up to 65.06% of the total approved loan amount, which is estimated to be $516,128. The Maine Municipal Bond Bank would forgive up to 34.94% of the loan, potentially saving the town up to $277,183.
The proposed amendments for the town’s site plan review ordinance were also approved, 650-341. The amendment addresses ambiguity in the ordinance regarding the requirement for boundary surveys when reviewing an application and creates a more “flexible standard.”
Article 59, which authorized the town to change its plan for eligible emergency medical services employees to comply with the Maine Public Employees Retirement System, was approved, 771-267.
The town was also authorized the ability to appropriate amounts from the capital reserve accounts not exceeding $315,000 for the purchase of two trucks for the public works department. $125 of the total amount is for the purchase of a compact loader for public works and $155,702 is for the infrastructure bond payment.
Other capital improvement articles were approved, including $15,000 for the purchase in-car cameras for the police department, $50,000 for a secure storage systems for the EMS department, $175,000 for waterfront improvements including new commercial floats, and $200,000 for paving and road maintenance.
Voters also approved the $16,318,387 total municipal budget, an increase of $905,090 or 5.66% from last year.
The budget for town office operation totals $220,311, an increase of $2,448 or 2.17%; airport operations totals $115,462, an increase of $2,448 or 2.17%; cemetery operations total $178,268, a decrease of $160 or 0.09%; town clerk/excise tax collector/registrar totals $101,034, a decrease of $22,116 or 17.96%; code enforcement totals $91,417, an increase of $11,253 or 14.04%; and contractual services totals $242,725, an increase of $19,935 or 8.95%.
The budget for emergency medical services is $1,167,852, an increase of $71,457 or 6.52%; $207,690 for the fire department, an increase of $17,088 or 8.97%; $1,261,467 for parks and recreation, an increase of $35,278 or 2.88%; $1,071,453 for the police department, an increase of $133,691 or 14.26%; and a separate article seeking $68,025 for a school resource officer, an increase of $1,700 or 2.56%.
Other significant appropriations articles include $338,165 for public utilities, an increase of $800 or 0.24%; $866,184 for public works, an increase of $32,241 or 3.87%; $982,620 for the transfer station, an increase of $55,050 or 5.93%; and $1,012,938 for the wastewater treatment plant, an increase of $31,370 or 3.20%.
There were two contested races this year in Wiscasset.
For the three available seats on the select board, Sarah Whitfield was reelected with 668 votes. Newcomers Cassaundra Rose and Heather Jones will join the board with 516 and 508 votes, respectively. Incumbent William “Bill” Maloney received 484 votes and Clifford Hendricks received 374 votes.
The Wiscasset School Committee was also contested. John Merry, the district’s former facilities director, won the three-year term with 558 votes. Danielle Clarke received 431 votes.
James Crowley and Evan Goodkowsky were both elected for the water district. Crowley received 33 votes and Goodkowsky received 21.
The Wiscasset Select Board will next meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16 at the town office.
For more information, call 882-8200 or go to wiscasset.gov.
