Ellsworth has awarded a $1.6 million contract to a local construction company for the road connecting High Street to the new Hancock Judicial Center.
The Maine Judicial Branch is building a $55 million judicial complex off High Street behind Merrill Furniture, which will replace the aging, nearly century-old State Street courthouse that state officials say does not meet modern technology and security standards.
Ellsworth is responsible for the extension of Merrill Lane, which now ends just past the furniture store. The Ellsworth City Council awarded the $1,633,545 road project Tuesday evening to RF Jordan and Sons, a three-generation family-owned contracting company that has operated in the city for just over six decades.
The city awarded the contract to the lowest bidder, according to Sara Devlin, deputy city manager. The city passed the proposed contract 4-1. Councilor Steve O’Halloran opposed, councilor Patrick Shea abstained and councilor Carol Patterson-Martineau was absent.
The state began construction on the center, which is expected to be operational by 2028, in July. The road could be completed by October 2027, City Manager Charlie Pearce told the council during Tuesday’s special meeting.
So far, the city has spent $606,462, on the project between consultants, land purchase payments, preliminary road construction materials and staff time, according to a city memo.
The state’s decision to build the modern courthouse off High Street follows a long and winding, multi-year process during which state and city stakeholders first eyed a Surry Road property for the new center.
But after significant pushback from local residents, who argued the Surry Road property would harm the mostly residential neighborhood by bringing more traffic and reducing property values, the state abandoned its plans for the Surry Road location, which it had already purchased in 2024.
Ellsworth, state officials and Alice B. Wardwell, who previously owned the High Street property, entered into a land-swap agreement last year. Wardwell gave the 18-acre parcel off High Street to the state in exchange for 18 acres next to Josie’s Country Store and Cafe.
Had the state opted for the Surry Road option, Ellsworth would not have needed to foot the bill for the new access road, according to Mike Harris, the city’s public works director.
Some city councilors and residents wanted the city-owned road to be built by city employees, though that plan was aborted after estimates for the highway department’s overtime and materials fell to around $2.1 million, according to a city memo.
That estimate didn’t include the cost of outside contractors for certain services the department isn’t licensed or trained to complete, like blasting and electrical work.
Ellsworth city councilors authorized up to $3.8 million in general obligation bonds in early September, about $1.75 million of which will be used on the access road. The bond’s proposed term is 20 years.
In mid-September, the Hancock County commissioners tabled a request from the city for funding assistance for the new access road.
At a mid-October council meeting, staff will propose awarding the engineering services contract to Andrew McCollough, who was involved in the engineering of the Church Street sidewalk and a parking lot and septic system for Surry Elementary School, among other projects, according to his website.
Bowman Constructors, of Newport, is the general contractor on the new 64,200-square-foot, four-courtroom complex.
The city granted a New England based electrical contractor, E.S. Boulos Company, a permit for $2.47 million of electrical services on the courthouse project.
“Change is happening in Ellsworth and change is hard because first what we see is what we lose before we see what we can gain,” councilor Nancy Smith said. “This is a spectacular example of change that can either happen to you or with you. With this two year process, and into the next two years, Ellsworth is choosing to be actively engaged in how the change is happening — it will happen with us, not to us.”