Board provides support for water company

The Lubec Select Board met in an unannounced session on April 15 to discuss an ongoing situation involving the Lubec Water Company's request for a letter of support for a grant application. The water company, in an effort to replace the 120-year-old pipes supporting North Lubec Road, is seeking a federal grant through the offices of U.S. Senators Angus King and Susan Collins. The select board has requested but not received financial information supporting that application.

Since 1949 the water company has operated as an entity separate from the Town of Lubec and is governed by its own board of directors; these officers are elected by Lubec voters during the annual municipal election. The wastewater system is operated as a department within the town; wastewater billing is provided by the town, while the water company provides its own billing.

According to a letter dated April 11 and signed by members of the water company board, that board has elected to withhold the meter reading information needed by the town to determine wastewater usage and compute appropriate billing. The letter states that this action was taken "due to the non‑support from the Town of Lubec for a 'letter of support' for grants to upgrade the Lubec water system," prompting critical comments from the select board, one of whom termed the action "childish." Selectman Nancy Harrison accused the water company of not complying with the law regarding financial reporting. Other board members made similar comments about the "argumentative" stance taken by the water company board.

It was also noted that the water board has in the past been requested to supply a letter and financial information for the annual town report; the information provided by the Lubec Memorial Library was cited as an example. This information has not been provided in recent years, as far back as 2010.

Ultimately, the select board voted 5-0 to issue the requested letter, following Selectman Mark Kelly's suggestion that "we should not penalize the people of North Lubec." He pointed out that one water company individual was "on a learning curve" and suggested that ultimately "cooler heads would prevail."