LUBEC — The Board of Selectmen heard a report Wednesday from Chair Carol Dennison on the town’s harbor upgrades, including the Safe Harbor project and nearly $50 million in federally funded improvements underway for almost a decade.
Dennison said the state has accepted a bid for a scaled‑down version of the project.
The Safe Harbor project is designed to give fishermen, recreational boaters and the Maine Marine Patrol protected moorings and new infrastructure on Johnson Bay, behind the Lubec Historical Society.
Voters launched the effort in 2017 when they approved the land purchase. Backed by both of Maine’s U.S. senators and led locally by Dennison and Julie Keene, the initiative now has more than $46.7 million in available funding. That includes grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration and additional support from the Maine Department of Transportation.
The Maine Department of Transportation took over the project in 2021 after bids from Prock Marine Co. and Sargent Corp. came in too high, and it put a scaled‑back version out for bids earlier this year.
The town received two bids for the updated project: $25,727,634 from Gordon Contracting Inc., and another from Sargent Corp. that was nearly 4 percent higher. Dennison said the final paperwork has not yet been signed, but the Sangerville-based contractor has already announced that the state has accepted its bid.
The new version of the plan still includes a 625-foot breakwater, a boat ramp, a floating dock for the Marine Patrol, bathrooms and a large parking area. It no longer includes a two-way road atop the breakwater or the hoists that were part of the original design.
Andrew Gobeil, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, told The Quoddy Tides earlier this year that the new design “allows for the possibility of additional features in the future if funding and operational needs support them.”
Reached by telephone, Dennison said she hopes further improvements can be added once the first phase of construction is complete.
Work is scheduled to begin July 1 and is expected to take two years.
Dennison also reported that Prock Marine has completed repairs to the commercial pier, which was damaged earlier this year by a subcontractor for Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
Lubec marine lease agreement
Dennison also provided background on the marina building and wharf at 31 Johnson St., which she and her husband, Ralph Dennison, Lubec’s harbormaster, lease for their business, Downeast Charter Boat Tours.
According to Bangor Daily News coverage, the Lubec marina was built in 1997 with about $1.65 million in federal and state funding and originally included moorings for both recreational and commercial vessels. The project used wave attenuators, a then‑new breakwater technology intended to make the dock more resistant to wind, tides and currents.
After the first winter, the Bangor Daily News reported that storms had already severely damaged the marina, cracking one of the wave attenuators in half, though it was “still doing its job.”
By 2003, the marina was essentially abandoned after the town declined to pay matching funds for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for additional repairs.
Dennison said the building had been vacant for years by the time she and her husband began operating the business there in 2024. She said she applied for a series of grants to restore and improve the wharf, resulting in more than $200,000 in upgrades.
During public comment Wednesday night, residents Birgitte and John Delaney again asked the board to review the Dennisons’ lease, noting that the 2023 warrant that introduced the proposal did not specify the lease amount.
With Selectman Dan Daley acting as chair, the Delaneys, Dennison and other audience members discussed the agreement.
Birgitte Delaney also questioned why Dennison was not paying all utilities for the property. Under the lease, tenants are responsible for internet, telephone and cable, and half of the electricity.
Dennison accused Delaney of violating the lease by “harassing” her and said she will not pay the electric bill until the town installs a separate meter that does not include the public bathrooms.
Selectwoman Joanne Case attempted to move the board into executive session with the Delaneys, but audience members insisted the discussion remain public.
The lease held by the Dennisons, which is up for renewal in 2028, requires an annual payment of $1,800 for use of the wharf and marina office. The agreement allows the town to terminate the lease for just cause with a 90‑day notice.
Lost Fishermen’s Memorial update
Annie Sokoloski, chair of the Lost Fishermen’s Memorial Committee, told the board that the committee is expected to vote on two names to add to the memorial. Engravings cost about $600 each, and donations will cover the expense.
The committee will not have access to the memorial’s existing accounts, which total about $17,000, unless voters approve the town’s administration of the memorial in August.
Sokoloski said the Lubec Garden Club plans to work with the St. Croix Valley International Garden Club to maintain the memorial plot.
She added that a gathering at the memorial is planned for July 21, which is Maine Commercial Fishing Remembrance Day.
