By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — Taking out a bond would cover the costs of the Casco Fire Department’s needs and allow the town to finish improvements to the Memorial Field in a safe, timely manner.

However, the idea of another bond doesn’t sit well with some local elected officials.

“Bonding has always put a bad taste in my mouth,” Selectman Grant Plummer said.

The interest amount adds up, especially when the bond payments are spread out over a decade or two, he said.

“I think we have got to figure out a way to remove some of the basic items that should be in our maintenance cycle like the generators,” Plummer said. “It is too much money to pay in interest in that time if we can find a way to fit it into our maintenance budget.”

“We need to come up with a creative process to do this within a few years. I feel like we are not doing a very good job in short-term planning,” he said.

“We should tap into the rainy day fund (Undesignated Fund Balance) a little bit to offset the investment in those long-term notes,” Plummer said.

On Tuesday, March 23, the Casco Board of Selectmen reviewed for the first time a $1.5 million bond proposal that was written up with the objective of helping the town purchase a new fire truck, one boiler for the fire station and three generators for town buildings.

The topic of bonding will be on the May 14 agenda as well.

During November, the fire department was forced to buy one boiler. The second boiler in the fire station is decades old and is showing its age.

Also, the proposed bond would cover the costs — not already covered by grants — to do the remaining improvements at the Memorial Field. The upgrades include but are not limited to: lighting, a second sports field behind the baseball diamond, a parking lot and an irrigation system for the multi-purpose field.

The bond proposal offered different time periods to pay off the loan — should the selectmen be interested, and if the residents support it through town meeting vote.

“This is for us to think about weighing the costs of the different lengths of payoffs,” Chairman Holly Hancock said.

The selectmen will have an opportunity to rehash the pros and cons of the bond proposal during their meeting on May 14.

If the proposed bond becomes a warrant article at Casco Town Meeting this year, it will be the second bond in three years.

In 2016, town residents approved a bond that was more than $3 million. That money went toward building a new town hall, purchasing acreage adjacent to the town hall, paying for half of the cost of the Pleasant Lake-Parker Pond Dam replacement and repairing and paving a half-dozen roads. The remaining bond money will go toward the reconstruction of Point Sebago Road this summer.

This year, the Casco Finance Committee proposed the idea of floating another bond, according to Casco Town Manager Dave Morton, who was not present at the April 23 meeting.

“There were two big ticket items,” Morton said. “The fire truck ($80,000) and the other was the completion of the memorial field ($69,800).”

“The finance committee recommended investigating bonding,” he said.

So, Morton moved ahead with

“Bonding is cheaper than borrowing. If we go to the bank and borrow money, it costs more. The bond is cheaper and it allows us to finish projects,” Morton said.

“It would be $2 on the tax rate if these things were accomplished out of this year’s taxes,” he said.

The proposed loan is about $1.5 million. The estimated cost for three generators is $6,000; and the boiler will likely have a price tag of $1,500.

On April 23, Chairman Hancock said that one idea was to stagger the purchase of the generators so that they don’t all need to be replaced at the same time in the future.

 “One of the boilers was replaced last year when it failed. The current boiler supplied hot water and survived the winter.”

Hancock explained the reason behind floating a bond to pay for all the Memorial Field upgrades instead of doing the work piecemeal. She said the piecemeal method is not only a challenge but also could pose safety issues to people using the area. 

“There is quite a bit of work that has been done. A lot of the debris was cleaned up last week. The old concession stand is finally gone,” Hancock said.

Town Manager Morton said much has been wrapped up through grant funding.

“There have been $250,000 in grants or in-kind donations — funding for the snack shack and utility hub building, the pavilion and the playground,” he said.