Whiting selectmen accept Harvey bid for dam work; permits in and bids closing soon

On Oct. 21, 2024, the Town of Whiting selectmen voted to accept a bid from Harvey for a dam repair project after hearing an update from James Jutras on project timing and permitting.

Jutras said bid documents should be completed by the end of the week and that bids would be due within two weeks; the town will advertise the bid in papers and online. He told the board that required permits from the Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are in, with a few follow-up questions. He also said the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has signed and sent its approval and the town still needs to sign that form.

Selectman Robert Curtis moved to accept Harvey’s bid; Selectman Janice Bronson seconded and the board voted "all in favor." The board discussed how to separate grant funding from town funds for the project; Jutras said he will review fund separation.

The board also noted a tree will be cut between Nov. 1 and April and that a contractor may be hired for that work. The project was described in the meeting as roughly 20% under budget, listed in the minutes as $37,000 under, though the minutes said some bills are still expected to come in.

The selectmen recorded the contractor selection and the motion to accept the bid in the meeting minutes; follow-up administrative steps include finalizing bid advertisement, confirming the signed historic-preservation paperwork, and completing the fund-separation review.

The board entered an executive session later in the meeting and reconvened; no further votes on the dam project were recorded at that time.