Selectmen given update on Front Street culvert replacement

FARMINGTON — Selectmen received an update Tuesday night on the Front Street culvert replacement project.

Town Manager Richard Davis said he had met with Dirigo Engineering and engineers from Fairpoint.

“FairPoint has agreed to relocate their cables,” Davis said. “They’ll fan them out on top of the culvert rather than have them go through as a block as they currently are.”

He said Dirigo engineers are working to make sure the $75,000 DEP grant the town has received for the project is still available. Dirigo will submit a proposal to finish off Front Street.

“It makes sense to design it all at the same time,” Davis said.

The proposal is to rebuild the rest of Front Street to where it was left off near Narrow Gauge. A separate proposal seeks lighting and sidewalks.

“That’s a very busy street,” Selectman Stephan Bunker said. “There’s an amazing amount of pedestrian traffic and no good sidewalks or lighting.”

In other matters, selectman accepted donations to the Parks and Recreation Department in memory of Evelyn Jeannette Ferrari. Thus far, $290 has been donated.

Selectmen also wrote off $3,005 in personal property taxes. Two mobile homes were gone prior to 2017 and Sub Propane has no equipment in Farmington, Davis said.

The board voted not to financially support the 2018 Summer Fest. Two years ago, the board helped when the annual event took on a new name.

Selectman Michael Fogg said he was not in favor of ongoing support.

The vote was 4-0, with Selectman Scott Landry abstaining.

Selectmen also approved a request from Rick Hardy, a professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, to proclaim March as science month. The city of Bangor will host the Maine Science Festival March 15 to 18.

UMF is committed to the study of science and science education and is a partner and sponsor of the festival. Almost all events are free and thousands from Maine and beyond have attended in previous years.