Fort Kent Town Council approved resolutions to apply for two trail grants worth a total of $44,000 during its Tuesday night meeting.
Town officials also approved an excavator purchase and moved forward with a lease agreement with the Wesget Sipu tribe.
After a brief discussion, councilors and Town Manager Suzie Paradis agreed to move forward with the grant as there would be no required match and no downside to the town in applying for them.
The grants would be accepted by the town for its ATV club, the Valley ATV Riders. The grants will pay for a project to reroute an existing trail and rebuild a bridge that will connect with the trail systems.
One grant is from the Yamaha Grant Program, worth $34,000, and the other, which is through the Polaris Grant Program, is worth $10,000.
According to the Valley ATV Riders website, Fort Kent has roughly 38 miles of trails.
Officials also agreed to approve financing for a $351,213 2025 Volvo Excavator at 5.3% interest with payments of $46,000 per year, with $4,775.80 of that payment being taken from the public works reserve account.
Paradis also clarified in the motion that the town is still waiting to hear back from another leasing firm and that the motion is contingent on whichever firm offers the lowest interest rate.
Town officials also voted to move forward with pursuing a lease agreement that would allow the Wesget Sipu tribe to use a tax-acquired property near the town’s Riverside Park to store files and materials for their tribal organization.
A formal agreement was not approved, but some of the conditions would likely include continuing cleanup of the property and paying utility costs, Paradis said.
Councilors agreed to move forward with a long-term lease agreement, as it would help generate money for the community. Paradis said she would work with local attorney Richard Solman in crafting the lease and its wording.
