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Votes at a glance: Caribou City Council actions, Oct. 20, 2025
Summary
The Caribou City Council took a series of routine and programmatic actions during its Oct. 20 meeting, including awarding a QEP contract for a Brownfields cleanup, authorizing a vehicle purchase, allocating façade grants, appointing housing board members, adopting an ordinance on general assistance, and approving participation in a MaineDOT planning study.
Here are the formal motions and recorded outcomes from the Caribou City Council meeting on Oct. 20, 2025. This roundup captures the text of each motion as recorded in the meeting, who moved or seconded when stated, and the recorded vote.
1) Acceptance of minutes (June 16, June 30, July 28) Motion: Move to accept the minutes listed (June 16, June 30, July 28). Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes: Bagley, Kelly, Lovewell, Smith, Terrio, Watson).
2) EPA Brownfields cleanup — QEP selection (former Caribou Steam Power Plant) Motion: Accept proposal from CVMayer Engineers for qualified environmental professional services and cleanup oversight for the steam plant project; fee proposal $95,000. Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes). Staff noted only one RFQ response was received and a review panel recommended acceptance.
3) Parks Department vehicle purchase Motion: Authorize purchase of a 2026 GMC 2500 from Gonyea Auto and RV Sales for $52,000. Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
4) Fall 2025 Façade Improvement Grant awards (TIF-funded) Motion: Allocate fall-2025 façade funds per the review committee recommendations, totaling $34,200 (conditional awards requiring receipts/cost-estimates for some projects). Outcome: Motion carried; one abstention recorded (councilor abstained because of involvement with the Children’s Museum); remaining councilors voted aye. Award list summarized in staff memo: Powers Building (46 Sweden St.) $7,500; Aroostook County Children’s Museum (52 Sweden St.) up to $7,500 conditional; Magic Scissors (147 High St.) $1,000; Fireside Café (46 Fourth St.) $7,500 conditional; Rotary Club plantings citywide $3,200 (conditions on locations); Jim’s Auto Care/U-Haul (38 Access Highway) up to $7,500 conditional.
5) Caribou Housing Authority appointments Motion: Appoint Steven Wentworth (term to 12/31/2027) and Roger Susie (term to 12/31/2028) to the Caribou Housing Authority board. Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
6) Public hearing and adoption — Ordinance No. 4 (2025 series), Chapter 17 (General Assistance) Motion: Approve Ordinance No. 4, 2025 amending Chapter 17 (General Assistance) to adopt the annual maximums provided by the Maine Welfare Directors Association; council noted option to adopt higher local maxima but chose to align with state guidance. Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
7) Accept third-quarter financials Motion: Accept financial report as presented by the finance director (quarter 3: revenues and expenses year-to-date, CD renewals, cash balances reported). Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
8) Waiver: Spud Speedway EMS fee Motion: Waive EMS fee for Spud Speedway for the Sept. 27/28 event (7.5 hours at $60/hr; total $450). Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
9) MDOT Planning Partnership Initiative (PPI) match Motion: Allocate $52,684.80 (40% match) from RC2 TIF account G471-00 to participate in a MaineDOT PPI study (independent government estimate of $131,712 total cost; city match responsibility 40% per valuation threshold). Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
10) Election logistics (November municipal election) Motion: Set polling start time at 8:00 a.m.; appoint Daniel Brissett as election warden, Christina Drinkall and Amber Madore as deputy wardens. Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
11) CDBG inquiry — BVR Theme Park (BVR theme park application support) Motion: Authorize the City of Caribou to apply for 2025 CDBG business assistance funds to assist BVR Theme Park (initial request cited $30,000; staff/NMDC to assist with application preparation). Outcome: Motion carried (recorded ayes).
12) Executive session: economic development (Nylander Museum) — council voted to enter executive session per statute; public portion adjourned.
Notes: Vote tallies reported during the meeting showed recorded “aye” votes by councilors Bagley, Kelly, Lovewell, Smith, Terrio and Watson on routine motions unless otherwise noted. Where a councilor explicitly abstained, staff noted the abstention in the minutes (example: façade grant allocation abstention). If the meeting transcript did not provide full mover/second attribution for a motion, the article lists the motion text and recorded outcome and marks mover/second as “not specified” in the actions provenance.
