By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Hooking into the new wastewater system seems like a no brainer, especially for those property owners who suspect their septic systems could be faulty or have little life left.

Initially when the idea of building a wastewater system was proposed, engineers pegged the cost for homeowners to hire a contractor to dig and install piping from the residence to the roadway to be in the range of $1,000 to $1,500.

Three years later when the wastewater system opened for business, contractors like Bill Mead said homeowners experienced sticker shock when they received quotes in the $4 to $5,000 range.

For some, the price is way out of their budgetary means.

So, the town is lending a hand to low-income folks who meet eligibility guidelines of the Wastewater Connection Program.

The Town of Bridgton will provide financial assistance to those individuals “who own a single-family dwelling in which they reside as their primary residence and meet the criteria (total household income) established by this program.”

Assistance will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

An application is available on the town’s website under the “wastewater” category or can be picked up at the town office.

The applicant is asked to submit an estimate from a contractor.

If the applicant meets income guidelines, the applicant could be awarded 100% of the hook-up cost or 75% or 50% (all based on income). Funds will be paid directly to the contractor.

The town manager or designee will submit the application to the Select Board at its first meeting of each month for approval.

The number of applications to be funded will be based on whether sufficient monies exist in the Wastewater Connection Program. The account presently has about $50,000.

“Payments under this program shall be conditioned upon the existence of sufficient monies in the program fund for the year in which participation is sought. If there are not sufficient monies in the program fund to pay all qualifying applicants under this program per the calculations set forth,

payments shall be limited to the amounts available in the fund and may be prorated accordingly. In the event that a lack of funding results in no payment or less than the full payment to a qualifying applicant, the payment shall be considered final with no unpaid balance being carried forward.”

Program funding could be a budget item from the town’s Annual Water Reclamation Budget or approved by the Select Board from the Wastewater Unassigned Fund Balance, or possible grants.

Only one application per homestead is allowed.

At the Oct. 8 meeting, the Select Board approved one application, totaling $5,236.10.

Public Services Director David Madsen reported that 28 new connections to the new wastewater system were made since it went online in January 2024. Of those, 10 are businesses and the remainder are residential.

“We also have 15 permits pulled for new connections, of those seven are connected outside but need the internal plumbing rerouted and then the final connection to the system can be made,” Madsen said.

With the South High Street extension completed, the question that some residents have asked is whether the wastewater system might be extended in other areas of town, such as Highland Road?

“We have looked into doing a sewer extension on Highland Road, but we were unable to secure funding for the project. We will continue to look for funding opportunities for sewer extensions in the future,” Madsen said.

The rough cost to install sewer mains in the street is around $350 per linear feet — which includes costs associated with design, Geotech, survey, permitting, and installation.

In other board notes:

UTV over ATV — In Bridgton Fire Chief Glen Garland’s opinion, a UTV (utility vehicle — side-by-side) provides great flexibility when tackling a woods fire or rescue than an ATV (all-terrain vehicle).

And, he had a good deal lined up.

Chief Garland received Select Board approval to purchase a 2013 John Deere 855D side-by-side UTV from the Naples Fire Department for $6,000, as well as an enclosed trailer to carry the UTV (Chief Garland will need to shop for one) and fire equipment along with a set of tracks (new or used) that can be mounted on the UTV to use the machine in the winter snow or on muddy ground.

The ATV, which is limited to transporting just two people, was donated to the BFD.

“It does not allow for any patient transport capability,” the chief said in his memo to the Select Board. “With these limitations, the machine has seen limited use since donated.”

The deal seemed to be a good one for both towns. Naples Fire was looking to upgrade to a new unit that is more suited to road traffic — to be used along the Causeway, etc. And, the diesel-powered UTV fits what Chief Garland sees as a need here.  Naples offered to sell the UTV to Bridgton based on a figure the dealership planned to offer as a trade-in, $6,000.

Chief Garland said the UTV would be used in off-road searches and rescue, transport of medical personnel to a scene and transport of injured people from remote locations, as well as wildland firefighting. It has less than 100 hours of use, “which is extremely low, and it’s in extremely good condition,” Chief Garland noted. “There’s no cracked plastic, there’s no rips or tears. That’s the reason I’m bringing that forward.”

“There’s places we can get on the mountain with this, and it’s much more versatile than the ATV,” he added.

He added that the UTV would be made available to the Bridgton Police Department, if needed.

“The department does have a donated rescue sled for winter use, but does not have an adequate tow vehicle (snowmobile or tracked UTV). We have long relied on volunteers, either from the snowmobile club or ATV club, to respond with personal machines,” Chief Garland wrote. “The issues with this arrangement are that as a department, we are unsure about both the machine and the operator’s capabilities. The other issue that has been raised by club members is that of liability if they are volunteering in an emergency and something happens, can they be held personally liable?”

Chief Garland wanted to alleviate those concerns and questions by purchasing the UTV. The Select Board agreed.

The Fire Department’s donation account stands at $16,300.63.

“In this past year’s budget review, I was asked to spend the donation account balance,” he noted. “I firmly believe this would be the most beneficial use of those funds.”

The Select Board approved the purchase.

“I think this is a serious improvement to our emergency services,” Select Board member Carmen Lone said. “I can see where along with the drones that we have that this really rounds out our ability to do search and rescue and keep people safe in Bridgton.”