This story appears as part of a collaboration to strengthen investigative journalism in Maine between the BDN and The Maine Monitor. Read more about the partnership.
MACHIAS, Maine — Washington County commissioners were prepared last Thursday to authorize full payment of the remaining 2025 tax anticipation note debt, but agreed to wait a week to see whether more municipalities will make prepayments.
Grace Falzarano, the county’s provisional treasurer, told commissioners the county is still waiting for payments from municipalities that agreed to prepay their portion of the 2025 tax anticipation note, or TAN, before she can set a payoff figure ahead of the Feb. 20 deadline.
She asked if commissioners would agree to full payment, even though the amount has not yet been calculated, to avoid having to call a special meeting next week.
“We don’t want to be in default,” Falzarano said, urging commissioners to authorize county staff members to make the final payment even though the figure might not be known for several more days.
David Burns, chair of the Washington County Commission, said, “I would think the sooner we do it, the better. Every day is interest” the county accrues.
Falzarano acknowledged that interest accrues daily, but said the county is concerned about maintaining sufficient operating funds and would be more comfortable holding the payment until closer to Feb. 20.
“We don’t want to miss that deadline,” Burns said, pushing for a general motion without a specific payoff figure.
“I say we pay it by Wednesday,” Commissioner Billy Howard said.
The Feb. 18 payment date gives the county a two‑day cushion before the deadline, a suggestion commissioners approved unanimously.
Later in the meeting, commissioners reviewed a commitment letter from Machias Savings Bank extending a TAN offer for 2026 once the county pays its 2025 debt to the bank in full. The 2026 TAN will be capped at $7 million, and the county will be able to take out loans as needed.
The first loan amount is approved for $5 million, with an additional loan option available July 1 only if the county has hired a full‑time finance director and completed its 2023 and 2024 audits.
If those requirements are not met, the bank may decline to loan the remaining $2 million.
The bank may also decline the additional loan if the county files for bankruptcy or seeks similar financial protection under “any present or future statute, law or regulation,” according to the commitment letter.
Burns said the commitment letter was accompanied by a long list of stipulations the county must satisfy to qualify for the loan.
The list was not unexpected, he said, but it does hold the county to specific requirements to be eligible for the 10‑month loan. They include allowing Machias Savings Bank to review and approve the county’s 2026 expense and revenue budget, and maintaining a deposit banking relationship with the bank for the duration of the TAN.
The county will also be responsible for paying $9,823 in attorneys’ fees and expenses that Machias Savings Bank incurred while restructuring the county’s 2025 debt. The 2026 TAN is scheduled to close March 1.
Commissioners also approved the job description for the new finance director position and authorized county staff to begin advertising.
Mill Stream Bridge replacement cost is up
Commissioners also held a public hearing Thursday on replacing the Mill Stream Bridge in Centerville. The Maine Department of Transportation has determined the bridge, built in 1948, is structurally unsound and needs to be replaced.
The bridge, which spans 22 feet, is to be replaced by a new structure with a 52‑foot span just east of the current bridge.
The current bridge is expected to remain open to traffic during construction.
There were few questions at the hearing, during which Heron Weston, supervisor of the county’s unorganized territories, reported that most of the preplanning has been completed — including all bridge design work — and that rights of way have been obtained from abutting landowners. The county is now waiting for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to approve permits.
The project, which was originally expected to cost about $1 million, has grown more expensive since planning began and is now estimated at $1.24 million. The state will pay $500,000 of that cost, with Washington County covering the remainder.
Weston said that although the state Department of Transportation has determined the bridge is not sound, he is not concerned about its safety at the moment — “but it does need to go.”
According to a 2019 bridge inspection report from the state Department of Transportation, there is heavy leakage through cracks in the bridge surface, collision damage to portions of the guardrail and “significant loss of abutments at water line,” including cracks in the abutments.
Weston said that because state Department of Transportation funding for the project expires at the end of 2027, the county has until then to complete the work if it wants to receive the state’s share of the cost.
“It will be a stronger bridge and a straighter bridge,” when finished, he said.
Conservancy bids for Broadway parcel
Just before their regular meeting Thursday, commissioners opened the single bid they received for the purchase of a 15‑acre property at 73 Broadway, which the county has leased to Healthy Acadia since January 2023 for $30 per year.
The request for bids set the minimum at $140,000, but Downeast Coastal Conservancy submitted a bid of $95,000.
In moving to sell the land to the conservancy, Howard said he wanted the money from the sale set aside rather than deposited in the general fund until the county decides how it will be used.
Healthy Acadia has been growing food on the land for the county jail and local food banks. The gardens produced between 1,700 and 1,800 pounds of food for the jail last year.
Colin Brown, executive director of the conservancy, defended the lower‑than‑asked‑for price, saying it was based on an appraisal of the property.
“I have no issue with the appraisal,” Burns said. “It’s hard for me to release 15 acres of prime property that the county owns, but that’s just me.”
County Manager Renée Gray said the conservancy is willing to work with Healthy Acadia on the lease so the county can continue to benefit from the garden produce.