CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou officials once again decided not to vote on assuming ownership of the Water Street property that burned in a fatal fire last winter.
City councilors opted Monday to not vote on accepting a quitclaim deed for 7 Water St. The property, which previously housed apartment units, has sat vacant since the fire in January, with leftover rubble from the blaze still visible.
Owners Brian and Sharon Bickford owe three years of unpaid taxes totaling $5,051, said Carl Grant, the city’s finance director. The Bickfords filed for bankruptcy in March but Maine’s bankruptcy court has since released the property back to the couple. Their attorney, Chris Leger, presented the city with a quitclaim deed earlier this month.
The 7 Water St. building is one of several blighted properties within downtown Caribou that burned as a result of fires within the past year. Others include 15 Prospect St., which burned in September, and 273 Sweden St., which burned the same day as 7 Water St.
Councilors declared 7 Water St. a dangerous property in July after the Bickfords did not present a plan for cleaning up the site.
City Manager Penny Thompson had recommended that the council delay voting on the quitclaim deed so that she could attempt communicating with the Bickfords on paying back at least some of their taxes. Thompson told councilors Monday she has not received a response.
Councilors feared that if the city assumed ownership of 7 Water St. without yet knowing an estimated cost for engineering fees and clean-up expenses, they could be making an ill-informed decision.
“I think we need to know what the price tag might be and if there’s a way to do this without so much cost to the taxpayers,” Councilor Dan Bagley said.
If the city assumed ownership of 7 Water St., they would need to hire an engineer to inspect the property before any clean-up efforts could begin. Doing so could help ensure that there are no negative environmental impacts on the nearby Caribou Stream and adjacent properties at 3 and 9 Water St., Thompson said.
Angela Gagnon of New Sweden owns 3 Water St., the former location of Lavender Puff Hair & Tanning Salon. Since the fire, Gagnon has been unable to fully inspect the property herself because of the extensive damage next door.
“No contractor wants to touch it because of all the garbage that is still there,” Gagnon said.
Gagnon suspects that there has been damage to a fire wall that existed between her building and 7 Water St. Water that firefighters sprayed damaged the ceiling and top floor, which housed apartments, she said.
Both 3 and 9 Water St., the former owned by Caribou-based R.L.W. Management, have been unoccupied since the fire, which displaced 21 residents. The building at 1 Water St. remains occupied by Roads to Recovery Community Center downstairs and apartment units upstairs because it was not damaged in the fire.
The building at 1 Water St. was constructed in 1918, with the other three built within that decade. Since the buildings have their own foundation, that will complicate any clean-up process.
Councilors agreed to table their decision on 7 Water St. until Thompson could research potential grant funds related to mitigating the environmental impact on Caribou Stream, which flows just below all four buildings.
Councilor Lou Willey wondered if the city could use some of the federal funds designated to rebuild the dam on Caribou Stream to also partly fund a Water Street clean-up project.
Gary Marquis, Caribou Parks & Recreation superintendent, was uncertain. The reconstructed dam is not slated to go as far as Water Street, he said.
The council will take up the issue of 7 Water St. during its next meeting Nov. 14. At that time, 7 Water St. will be on the list of properties set to foreclose on Nov. 20 unless councilors waive foreclosure.
If the council approves foreclosure for 7 Water St., Caribou would still assume ownership and could accept the quitclaim deed at a later date, Deputy Mayor Courtney Boma said. But delaying the decision until Nov. 14 will allow city officials more time to explore the potential consequences of a city-run clean-up, she said.
In other business, councilors voted to award three $4,166 facade improvement grants to three downtown businesses: Ruska Coffee and Thrive Body Spa on Sweden Street and Godin’s Service on Herschel Street. All business owners plan to install new siding on their buildings.
Councilors also set a public hearing date for changing the name of Caribou’s riverfront committee. The committee, which formed in 2021, was previously known as the Caribou Riverfront Renaissance Committee. The members recently voted to call themselves the Caribou Riverfront Redevelopment Committee after seeing both names in their bylaws.
Since the name change involves updating the committee’s bylaws, the council needs to hold a public hearing before approving the change, Mayor Jody Smith said. He set the public hearing for Nov. 27 during the council’s meeting.
The next regular council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Caribou Municipal Building, located at 25 High St.
