Carrabassett Valley town meeting set for Wednesday

CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Voters will consider the town’s application for another Economic Development Microenterprise Grant and two major capital projects during Wednesday’s annual town meeting.

Town elections will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 8 at the Town Office.

Selectman John “Jay” Reynolds, school committee members Earle Morse and Kimberley Kearing, and Sanitary District Trustee Robert Briggs are seeking re-election, Town Clerk Wendy Russell said. All of them are unopposed.

The meeting will reconvene at 7:30 p.m. at the Outdoor Center.

Selectmen proposed applying for a $50,000 Community Development Micro Enterprise Business Assistance grant to help Winterstick Snowboard Co. purchase new equipment and complete building renovations, Town Manager David Cota said. The grant would pay for two more full-time employees.

If approved, a public hearing on the grant will take place at 4:30 p.m. March 27 at the Town Office, he said.

The town received a $135,000 Microenterprise Business Assistance grant to assist four businesses last year, he said.

Capital improvement projects are proposed for the town’s Sugarloaf Golf Course and a two-year maintenance project at the airport, he said.

A $200,000 project at the golf course would reconstruct the practice range, purchase green covers and make improvements to the golf course cart paths.

The town proposes borrowing the amount over five years and paying it back at the rate of approximately $30,000 per year and Sugarloaf, $10,000 a year, he said.

A two-year project at the airport involves sealing cracks in the pavement and removing trees for safety.

The Federal Aviation Administration would fund 90 percent and the state would contribute 5 percent of the estimated $268,000 cost, leaving about $13,400 for the town to pay, he said.

Voters will also consider appropriating $80,000 for a reserve account to fund a mountain-area fire station. The town put $50,000 in the account last year, he said.

They will also consider $34,000 to continue mountain bike trail development and $15,000 to start a Town Office building reserve account.

The town is not expected to see a tax rate increase this year, although expenses are up from $2.47 million to $2.50 million, Cota said.

The school budget is expected to be about $100,000 less this year than last, and the town ended the year with a good undesignated surplus, he said.

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