New roof planned for Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Renovations to the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department building in Houlton are in the works.
    Numerous leaks have been reported in the building, according to County Administrator Doug Beaulieu. Commissioners reviewed bids to replace the roof at the Sheriff’s Department during their Wednesday meeting. The work will be scheduled sometime this summer.
    Commissioners received four bids for the project — $35,629 by Williams Roofing in Brewer; $79,840 by Roof Systems of Maine, which is based out of Bangor; $64,999 by McLaughlin Builders of Medway; and $69,800 Buildings Etc. of Houlton.
    About $65,000 was budgeted for the project, Beaulieu said. The existing roof is constructed of slate, which might be able to be salvaged, he added. There are no plans to replace the roof with a new slate format.
    As is the normal process for the Commissioners, approval of the bid to the lowest bidder was tabled so that Beaulieu can review the bids individually to make sure the company meets all of the spec requirements.
    In other agenda items, the Commissioners gave their approval to a utility pole permit in Molunkus Township for Maine Genlead, LLC, which relates to the Oakfield First Wind Project. According to Beaulieu, everything with the permit application was “in order.”
    “This particular utility line would run across the Aroostook Road,” Beaulieu said. “It is not in the right of way.”
    “The point of connection for our Oakfield Project is in Chester, Maine,” added Alec Jarvis, project manager for Oakfield’s First Wind. “The transmission line runs from Oakfield to Chester. This permit allows for the line to cross a portion of Aroostook Road. It will be fairly discrete.”
    Commissioners also agreed to change the way it calculates mileage reimbursement for civil processes, such as serving subpoenas. A request to raise the rate to 55.5 cents per mile was made by the Sheriff’s Department.
    “The last time we looked at this issue was in May, 2008,” Beaulieu said. “At that time we increased it to 50.5 cents per mile for deputized individuals serving papers. That was the federal rate at that time. Prior to that raise, we paid 40 cents per mile.”
    The state of Maine has a reimbursement rate of 44 cents per mile. Only Penobscot County uses this rate for reimbursement, Beaulieu said. He added the cost of paying for mileage does not come out of county funds. Instead, the money is reimbursed by whichever entity is asking for papers to be served.
    Commissioners unanimously agreed to set the mileage rate at whatever level the federal IRS rate was set at, which is currently 55.5 cents.
    The Commissioners also approved Steve Wallace as a full-time dispatcher for the Sheriff’s Department to fill a vacancy left by a resignation and learned that Barry McCrum of Mars Hill was going to be appointed as the new county treasurer to fill the position following the death of Wilfred Bell.
    The next regular meeting of the County Commissioners will be Wednesday, June 6 at 5:30 p.m. in Fort Kent.