Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Brownfields Remediation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Caribou council authorizes manager to sign Brownfields loan paperwork for Birds Eye PCB cleanup
Summary
The council voted to let the city manager execute loan/grant paperwork under a DECD Brownfields revolving loan program to remove PCB soils at the Birds Eye site; attorney review was reported and council members said city reserves could cover loan repayment if needed.
The Caribou City Council authorized City Manager Penny Thompson on Jan. 27 to sign loan paperwork tied to a Brownfields revolving loan fund program (DECDRLF) that will fund removal of PCB‑contaminated soils at the Birds Eye property.
The city applied earlier for a combination grant-and-loan package: roughly half of eligible costs come as a grant and half as a low‑interest loan that the municipality must document and accept before work can proceed. Thompson told the council the project estimate has risen from about $33,000 (2017) to roughly $48,000 in recent estimates. She said the city retains reserves earmarked for Birds Eye that could be used to pay the low‑interest loan if necessary, and the city attorney, Rick Salmon, had reviewed the loan documents.
Why it matters: Executing the loan/grant paperwork removes a procedural barrier to remediation work at a contaminated site. PCB soil removal is an environmental and public‑health project that requires coordination of funding, contractor scheduling and oversight.
Council discussion and vote Thompson explained the earlier council authorization to apply and said the paperwork had been reviewed by the city attorney. A councilor moved to authorize the manager to sign the loan documents; the motion was seconded and carried with recorded unanimous votes (Bagley, Kelly, Lovewell, Smith, Terrio, Watson). Thompson said she would return the signed paperwork to the program administrator promptly.
Process and fiscal context The DECDRLF program provides a grant/loan split (described at the meeting as roughly 50/50); project costs and final loan terms will be governed by the executed documents. Thompson said the loan portion is low interest and described an example figure of about 1.5% over five years, but she framed that as the staff description rather than a final negotiated term. The council was told the city has a Birds Eye reserve account that could be used to cover loan repayment if the council later chooses to retire the debt from reserves.
Ending: With the manager authorized to sign, staff can finalize contracts and schedule remediation work; the council requested a copy of the executed paperwork when returned to the city.
