LUBEC — Following a series of crowded, contentious town meetings on the Washington County budget crisis, Lubec’s final Board of Selectmen meeting of 2025 was sparsely attended, largely routine and brief.
The board considered how to use the remaining balance in two Certificate of Deposit Account Register Service funds, which had been drawn down to help prepay Washington County’s 2025 tax anticipation note, or TAN.
The two CDARS funds used had estimated payout values of $238,994 each, while a third, smaller account was left untouched. After paying the TAN, $48,692 remained in the two funds.
Because the CDARS do not mature until July 2026, the board voted to place the remaining funds in a six‑month certificate of deposit to earn interest. The money could then be combined with the third CDARS or reinvested when the accounts are eligible for renewal this summer.
The board also discussed a deteriorating marker on the breakwater at the city boat landing.
The Gun Rock breakwater, built in 1884 and expanded by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1956, is maintained by the Corps. But the Board of Selectmen was unsure who is responsible for the large white triangular marker that identifies the U.S.-Canada border. The board agreed to place the issue on the agenda for its Jan. 14 meeting.
Reached by telephone Friday afternoon, Ralph Dennison, the harbormaster in Lubec, said the large white triangular marker was installed by the U.S. Geological Survey, and that he has filed multiple reports over the years with the USGS and the Army Corps of Engineers, but has received no response.
Dennison said that with the advent of satellite GPS, the marker is no longer relevant to navigation and now serves only to mark the international boundary. He noted that the reinforced concrete pad supporting it is eroding and warned the marker could collapse into the water soon if nothing is done.
In other matters, the town has been paying wastewater bills for two adjacent properties: the old highway garage on Allen Lane, now used as a public parking lot, and the red house at Main and South streets. Because the town was being charged fees for both, the board voted to combine the properties into one to avoid double billing.
Treasurer Ruby Fry presented the Town Office with a large floor mat for the lobby, a prize she won in a raffle at the Maine Municipal Association Annual Convention in October. Fry designed the mat, which features the town’s latitude and longitude, year of incorporation and an image of the red‑and‑white-striped West Quoddy Head Lighthouse.
“We don’t exactly have a town logo per se, so I had to put in stuff that meant what Lubec meant to me,” Fry said.
Committee and board appointments were passed unanimously, with no discussion: Wanda Corey, Candy Phinney, Mark Olson, Susan Olson, Vanita Lyons, Shirley Brown, Sharon McGonigal, Mary Ramsdell, Danny Fitzsimmons and Wanda Reed to the Celebration Committee; Brannin Buehner, Ian Lookabaugh, Alex Henry and Jeremy Grandelesky to the Playground Committee; and Daniel Francis and Nancy Begley to the Board of Appeals.
The town tested a new video system to improve broadcasts of its meetings, using an Owl 360‑degree conference camera loaned from Machias. The device records speakers and the audience simultaneously.
The board voted to buy an Owl for Lubec, replacing the tripod‑mounted webcam now used for Facebook broadcasts, and a new laptop computer for Town Administrator Suzette Francis.
