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Selectmen Take Aim at Greenville Junction Wharf Repairs

April 16, 2008 - GREENVILLE -- For years, the Greenville Junction wharf has languished, it's cribbing rotting to the point where the facility is unsafe, according to engineering officials.

Two decades have lapsed since the wharf was last worked on, and that project did did just enough to keep the resource from going under water.

"Don't do the minimum this time. Do the highest quality you can afford and keep building on that," Al Hodsdon from A.E. Hodsdon engineers told the board last Wednesday.

The selectmen agreed and moved to bring an aggressive plan to the residents that could carry a price tag of $1 million.

However, if the town is to capitalize on funding options, officials must move fast and get voter approval in the next month.

The project is complicated, both in scope work and the financing package.

Several years ago the town received a congressional earmark in the amount of $121,000 to go toward rebuilding the wharf. A.E. Hodsdon has taken a chunk of those funds, $39,000, to engineer the work.

The Department of Conservation agreed last year to redo the south boat launch, a project that Hodsdon estimates will cost $40,000.

And the town will receive another another $8,000 through Project Canopy, if a grant now being shepherded through the works by Piscataquis County Economic Development Council's Ken Woodbury, is successful.

Those funds would restore amenities, especially tree plantings, to the wharf itself.

However, to do the job right and shore up all sides of the wharf, eliminate the north boat launch, improve a perimeter walkway, repave the surface and provide other amenities to support the daily use by boaters and fishermen, the price tag could climb as high as $1,537,500, according to figures Hodsdon provided the selectmen.

The good news is that a new grant has surfaced in the past month - the Municipal Investment Trust Fund - offered by the state on a one-to-one match. That match, however, must be in cash, not in kind, Hodsdon explained.

If the town use the cash amounts described above -- the $121,000 earmark, $40,000 from the DOC, and the $8,000 expected from Project Canopy -- it could leverage $169,000 into $338,000.

However, that would barely cover rebuilding the retaining walls with pressure-treated lumber, Hodsdon told the selectmen. In fact, to do the job with composite wood materials carries a price tag of almost $611,000 he stated.

And those figures are only to do the structural work to the facility. No amenities would be covered except trees provided by the Project Canopy grant.

However, if the town were take out a bond to add to the money it can already count on, it could leverage the project to meaningful level, town manager John Simko explained.

If the voters were to approve a $150,000 bond, the match would be $319,000 and the town would have $619,000 to work with. That would be the minimal amount to stay the decay at the wharf, Simko said.

The better choice would be to borrow $250,000, which would bring the total funds to $838,000, enough to work with sheet pilings and concrete fill on the north and east walls and composite wood cribbing on the Wiggins Stream side. The concrete fill would double as a perimeter walkway and there may be enough funds to do some of the essential amenities, including paving, Hodsdon said.

The best choice would be to seek a bond for $331,000, which would leverage the entire project into the $1 million range, Simko said.

"We know we want to do it right," Bonnie Dubien, chair of the Board of Selectmen said, adding that while she would support going after a $331,000 bond, she worried that the citizens would not want to commit to so high a number.

"We're looking at safety here," selectmen Bert Whitman emphasized. "We should be able to do quite a bit with $383,000."

"Realistically, the town will probably go for $250,000 but I would like to see us go at the $331,000 level," selectmen Bruce Hanson said. Why not give the residents a choice, selectmen Alan McBrierty suggested. If Hidsdon could lay out what each option would get the town at a public hearing, townspeople could give the board feedback and direction.

If the town borrows $250,000 over the course of 20 years, the annual debt service would be in the $19,000 to $20,000 range, Simko said. It is also possible that the Piscataquis County Commissioners will help out with those payments, because the wharf serves many residents from the unorganized territories. The county did reimburse the town for debt incurred to make improvements at the municipal airport based on that reasoning, Simko said.

There is no time to waste however. The application for the MITF funds must be in by May 9, Simko explained. That means a public hearing, a decision by the board on the direction they want to take, and a special town meeting must occur before that day, he emphasized.

The selectmen voted to schedule a public hearing at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, at the town office. At that hearing, Hodsdon has agreed to return to lay out what the different borrowing capacities could accomplish. Following the hearing, the selectmen will address the issue at their regular meeting.

There will be a second public hearing on Thursday, April 24 at the C.A. Dean Hospital board room at 7 p.m.. This is a requirement of the Municipal Investment Trust Fund, explain Simko.

Assuming they vote to move forward, a special town meeting will be scheduled on a date on or before May 8.

This article first appeared in the Moosehead Messenger, April 8, 2008.


Lakes: Moosehead Lake
Regions: Moosehead


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