Boothbay selectmen voted, 3-2, Aug. 14 to assess a $1,000 per day fine to McGee Construction of Gardiner for missing a construction deadline. McGee was hired this spring to finish a municipal sewer and water project to aid Boothbay Region Housing Trust’s affordable housing project. A May 17 deadline was instituted for the project’s completion encompassing Country Club and Butler roads.

But the project was delayed by an unexpected ledge problem, a rainy week and the contractor’s staffing problem. On July 24, selectmen voted, 5-0, to set a new deadline of Aug. 1 to encourage McGee to finish its work. Selectmen proposed instituting a financial penalty if the second deadline was missed.

The new deadline came and went without the project’s completion. Selectman Steve Lewis was one of three selectmen who supported the financial penalty. “The only thing that bothers me is after we set the new timeline, they took the following Friday and half of Monday off,” he said. Selectmen Chuck Cunningham and Dale Harmon also voted to assess the fine. 

Selectman Russ Pinkham voted against the fine. “I think it’s excessive. I know the struggle in staffing facing businesses,” he said. Selectman Julie Roberts initially supported the fine, and later agreed with Pinkham in opposition. Last month, selectmen voted to withhold a payment due McGee. This month, selectmen agreed to pay July and August. The board reached a consensus to assess McGee a $75,000 ($1,000 per day) fine subtracted from the final payment.

In other action, selectmen discussed Lincoln County receiving a $6 million Maine Connectivity Authority Grant to expand broadband. Consolidated Communications is working with Boothbay and seven other Lincoln County towns and Woolwich in a partnership being matched by $24.3 million in private and public investments. The project will serve 14,436 homes with broadband fiber expansion in Boothbay, Wiscasset, Woolwich, Alna, Dresden, Edgecomb, Waldoboro, Whitefield and Nobleboro.

Selectmen plan on using $297,800 in American Rescue Plan Act funds as part of their grant match. The town has until year’s end to spend remaining ARPA dollars. Selectmen plan on holding a special town meeting to approve the expenditure. The meeting won’t be part of November’s federal election as a referendum, due to time constraints. Instead, selectmen are planning a public vote prior to an upcoming board meeting this fall. 

Boothbay Region Ambulance Service Chief Dan Gardner expressed his “unending gratitude” on behalf of himself, staff and the entire community for actions taken June 29 by the fire department. Firefighters in Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor assisted in saving a 5-year-old boy’s life. “When your firefighters arrived on scene, they encountered the worst call that any of us will ever experience: the lifeless body of a child,” Gardner said. “Once everything was in place, your firefighters assisted my crews with carefully moving what now was a child with a pulse and respirations. My career spans over three decades and I have seen lives lost, and lives saved. It’s a terrible feeling in the hearts of First Responders when we have to stand and watch the family of a loved one cry when we tell them that we have done all that we can. On the other side, is the wonderful feeling that fills our hearts when a life is saved and seeing the joy on the loved ones’ faces. Having been involved in an uncountable amount of cardiac arrest situations, I have been able to witness how different groups work together. I want to say that the Chief (David Pratt) who stands here before me is by far, one of the best leaders of a group that I have had the privilege to work with.” Gardner later presented Boothbay Fire Chief David Pratt with a plaque commemorating the event.

Selectmen meet next at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28 in the conference room.