Staff Writer
While the rain pelted the windows, thunder boomed and lightning flashed outside, members of the Caribou City Council were hard at work in the council chambers Monday night, discussing and voting on matters important to the city. Council members approved notes from past meetings, and proposed amendments to charters, concerning the definition of two specific kinds of council meetings, the workshop meeting and council committee meetings. They also voted to discuss certain matters at a later date, after more information is made available.
One of the three major topics of discussion was that of the steadily increasing price of asphalt and chip sealing used in repairing the roads this summer. The council had already approved a price bid made by Sunrise Applicators, but with increases in costs, vendors and construction companies would end up losing money if no changes to the contracted price were made. The public works director said he had never seen the prices of these materials so high, and hoped that they would be coming down soon.
After much discussion of the topic, it was decided that the public works director, city manager, and vendors would meet to discuss possible solutions to the problem. They will present their findings to the council as soon as possible, at which time the council will decide how to resolve the issue. Until this time there will be a temporary hold on all further road projects.
Michael Fitzimmons, of the National Weather Service’s Caribou station, made a special presentation about making Caribou a “Storm Ready” community. Being a “Storm Ready” city means that Caribou will have a more advanced system of storm warnings. It also helps strengthen local safety programs.
Fitzimmons said that there are 1,300 “Storm Ready” locations across the country, two of them located in Maine. Fort Fairfield and the University of Maine at Presque Isle are both “Storm Ready” communities. By going “Storm Ready,” UMPI now has the ability to notify students of class cancellations through a number of communication avenues, the newest being via text messages to students’ wireless devices, like cell phones. This system is also available if an emergency were to occur on campus.
Fitzimmons says the first step is to make sure that the area has procedures established for emergency situations. An application must be filled out and sent to an advisory board for review. If the city meets all the requirements, then a ceremony will be set, proclaiming the city “Storm Ready.” Once it has been declared, Caribou will be able to receive 25 Community Rating points, which will lower National Flood Insurance Premium plans.
Following the presentation, Chief Roy Woods of the Caribou Emergency Management Agency, presented the emergency operations plan that has been developed over the past few years. Council members were able to read the first few pages of the plan, which included a table of contents and a general plan for emergencies. The document is very detailed, and spans hundreds of pages, which are kept in a large binder.
Included in the document are step by step guidelines for every type of possible emergencies, such as flooding, severe winter and summer storms, fires, hazardous material incidents, terrorist acts and disease epidemics. There are also procedures included to help in the event of an evacuation, or a situation requiring mass care.
Woods said that they already have two locations in Caribou, which are prepared to be used as shelters if they are required. Teague Park Elementary School and the United Baptist Church are already stocked with blankets, cots, food and back-up power in the event of a serious emergency.
A council member asked Woods if these shelters could be used during the coming winter months, with fuel prices being so high. Woods said that they could definitely be used as warming shelters during extremely cold weather, so that no one would freeze.
“There’s a huge concern about this winter; it’s extremely serious,” Woods said.
Woods plans to make weekly press releases during the cold months, giving people cautionary advice on how to properly run their pellet stoves or wood stoves.
The Caribou City Council’s next meeting will be Monday, September 8, at 7 p.m. with a workshop set for Monday, September 15.
