Boothbay Harbor selectmen took the next step toward the long-awaited new sidewalk on the western side of Atlantic Avenue Jan. 25. Town Manager Julia Latter said the reason for advertising the discussion separately from the meeting’s customary public notice, was to make the public aware of the board's intention to carry out the project and to field any questions and concerns.

The project will lay down six feet of sidewalk and three feet of shoulder from the footbridge to Fishermen’s Memorial Park. Board members and residents have endorsed the project in recent years due to pedestrians’ tendencies to favor the western side of the road despite a sidewalk on the opposite side.

“The next step after tonight's meeting would prepare an actual order with a survey description of what you have in mind ... I will be putting the order together with John Cunningham and the surveyor and bringing (the draft) back for you. When the time comes to actually put the sidewalk there, we will be having public hearings, public comments and going through that whole legal process.”

Vice Chair Tricia Warren said the broadband committee received a bid from Lincolnville Communications (LCI) for the remaining 2% of homes without internet access. However, the proposed installation of fiber cable for $81,120 overshot the estimate of $24,000 for copper cable. The estimate included all fiber buildout and equipment costs.

Warren said Spectrum notified the committee the company has a presence in the areas of the 11 homes Casco Bay Advisors reported as unserved. “The people on those streets who are unserved need to call and get service … We do have to revisit the Casco Bay Advisors report with Brian Lippold. There seems to be some kind of issue or misunderstanding …”

Warren said while the RFP did not specify fiber, the LCI bid is still useful for approximating costs given the town's likelihood of building out a fiber network. Selectmen rejected the LCI bid and directed Latter to contact Casco Bay Advisors to determine if the issue was due to a lack of information on Spectrum's part or a mistake by the survey crew.

Selectman Denise Griffin said while the board is thrilled to have had police and public works contracts finished and accepted before Christmas, the board still await the signature of the Teamsters Local No. 340 union representative. Said Griffin, “The final contract language was all typed up and ready and it's waiting for the union leader's signature. I don't understand why they haven't signed it, but they're holding it up and therefore the employees haven't gotten the pay raises that they are due … It is bizarre.”

In interviews Jan. 26 and 27, Teamsters Union Local No. 340 President Brett Miller said the first version of the police department contract had the wrong wages that were supposed to be memorialized on the wage appendix; he and the secretary-treasurer have to sign contracts at the same time, and with duties split between nearly 200 contracts stretching up through Aroostook County; he received the final version of the public works one Jan. 25 and was still awaiting the police one.

Latter announced the Route 27 sidewalk project will be bid out in two phases with initial bids opening Feb. 17. Latter also said the second installment of taxes is due March 8.