LIMESTONE, Maine — Following a public hearing Wednesday night, residents will get to vote to approve or deny merging the Tri-Community Landfill with Presque Isle.
The public hearing portion of the meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Limestone Community School auditorium. Mark Draper, Solid Waste Director of the Tri-Community Landfill will be present to answer any questions regarding the potential merger.
A recent draft of the agreement is available on the Caribou City website. Some aspects of the merger include changing the name “Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill” to the “Central Aroostook Waste Management Corporation.” However, the final agreement is subject to change.
Current member communities of the Tri-Community Landfill are Caribou, Limestone, and Fort Fairfield. At this point, the city of Caribou has two votes regarding future decisions made by the organization and the towns of Limestone and Fort Fairfield each have one vote. If Presque Isle were to merge, it would have two votes in future decisions.
Larger decisions, however, such as whether or not to welcome a new community into the organization, will need approval from all members communities.
In addition to Draper, Limestone Town Manager Matthew Pineo, Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker, Presque Isle City Manager Martin Puckett, and Fort Fairfield Town Manager Jim Risner are scheduled to attend, along with members of the Tri-Community Landfill Board of Directors, to answer any questions about the merger.
Pineo said the panel should be large enough to answer any questions from the audience. Though some panelists may not even speak, they are “coming here for support, since we’re working as a team.”
The public question and answer session is tentatively scheduled to end around 7 p.m. and, after a short recess, residents will vote on the interlocal agreement at 7:15 p.m..
