By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — A team of planners from J.D. Irving addressed the Aroostook County Commissioners regarding the company’s Fish River concept plan during the commissioners’ meeting held on Aug. 21 at the Caribou Courthouse.
According to Anthony Hourihan, director of land development at J.D. Irving, the company owns 1.3 million acres of land in the state of Maine, including about 50,000 acres of timber and leased land on the Fish River Lakes Region, which includes Long Lake, Square Lake, Mud Lake and Cross Lake.
Hourihan explained that Irving does not wish to be in the lease business for a long term, so they have begun a concept plan on how they can implement future development in the area and ideally sell the land off to current leaseholders within a 25-year timeframe while still maintaining their timber operation.
The concept plan looks at potential uses for Fish River land such as recreational opportunities and community and economic development along with resource conservation. Irving will be identifying unique areas for resource conservation and gathering ideas for maintaining public access for recreation and expanding trail networks for activities such as cross-country skiing, ATVs and snowmobiling.
Using numerous aerial shots of the region, the team explained to the commissioners their many preliminary thoughts on future uses for the land, keeping in mind factors such as current occupancy and location of the land in proportion to populated areas such as Sinclair.
The Irving group highlighted the potential for the Gorfinkle Camps, a set of sporting camps located in the Cross Lake area currently owned by a family in Florida and in need of serious repair. With the right owners, Irving believes these camps could be fixed up and become a popular recreational destination.
The planners discussed with the commissioners the state’s cooperation with the company’s plan so far, the commissioners’ role in helping Irving implement their plan in areas such as municipal services and seeking approval of their plan from the Maine Land Use Planning Commission.
The commissioners advised the team that they thought what was presented to them seemed to be a feasible plan and that they would help in any way that they possibly could.
After the Irving presentation, the commissioners opened bids from Chester M. Kearney, Felch & Company and Davis CPA for audit services. Awarding the contract was tabled until the bids can be reviewed by County Administrator Doug Beaulieu.
The commissioners then approved the recommissioning of Cyr Martin of Eagle Lake as a part-time deputy sheriff at the recommendation of Aroostook County Sheriff Jim Madore.
The town of Hodgdon submitted a petition for a hearing regarding the closure of a road that the town approved and which the citizens are protesting. The commissioners set a date of Friday, Sept. 6 at noon for a hearing date regarding this matter.
During his administrator’s report, Beaulieu advised that the commissioner for the Board of Corrections approved all of the county jails’ impact statements and that the board voted to approve actual-need budgets for each of the state’s prisons instead of flat-funded budgets.
Commissioner Norm Fournier then updated his fellow commissioners on the continuing debate about whether probate judges are considered county employees and, thus, should be included in the state’s insurance coverage.
Fournier then recapped the Maine County Commissioners Association meeting he attended, advising that the association is still reviewing bylaws, they discussed strategic planning and goal setting for the executive director and they are looking for a host county for their convention in 2014. Fournier also advised that the governor would like to have a roundtable discussion with 16 county commissioners to discuss different types of services that could possibly be consolidated with cities and counties.
The meeting concluded with Beaulieu updating the commissioners on the unorganized territory fund balance, which, at $71,720, is quite low for the $1.3 million budget. He also reviewed the winning bids for two county vehicles and changes in the Maine state retirement plan.
The next County Commissioners meeting will be held in Houlton today at 4:30 p.m.
