MACHIAS, Maine — Washington County commissioners on Thursday gave permission for Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. to install a new guide wire on a utility pole in front of the county building, but with one caveat: Don’t touch the trees.
Jack Rawcliffe of Bangor Hydro told the two attending commissioners, John Crowley and Kevin Shorey, that the installation can be accomplished without trimming the trees.
However, a future project could jeopardize a whole row of maple trees that graces the front lawn of the county building and the Sheriff’s Department next door. That project involves moving all the utility poles along Court Street.
Rawcliffe explained that the poles are between the roadway and the edge of the sidewalk on the street, which is very narrow and are constantly being hit by plow trucks.
Bangor Hydro wants to move all the poles behind the sidewalks, part of a bigger project throughout the town. Rawcliffe said some trimming of the trees might be required at that time.
Although no one was on hand to speak for FairPoint, Jim Lucas of the county’s buildings and grounds department said the telephone company, which also uses the utility poles, wants to cut down the trees completely.
“We’ve discussed replacing the trees with something slower-growing, such as apple or pear [trees] and giving them a chance to grow before the existing trees are cut down,” Lucas said.
The commissioners, however, weren’t entertaining removal of the trees.
“I’d like to hold a public hearing and see what the public has to say,” Shorey said. “We need to see a plan from FairPoint. We need to have a representative here.”
Crowley said, “We need to bear in mind that this is a historical building.”
The board set a public hearing on the tree removal for 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6.
In other business, the commissioners held three public hearings on accepting a Community Development Block Grant for renovations and expansion of the Indian Township fire station, and on creating Pine Tree Zones of 25 acres in Marion and 4.65 acres in Trescott. Both zones are county-owned property.
Based on finding sufficient funding, the commissioners also approved a $19,000 upgrade to the county facility’s alarm system. The system includes four alarms in the court system and seven alarms for county offices and will cost the county $16,000 and the state court system $3,000.
This project, Lucas explained, is part of an overall upgrade of the county buildings’ electrical systems.
The commissioners also awarded the contract for audit services to Hollingsworth Associates, who have had the job for the past three years and was the lowest bidder at $29,700.