CARIBOU, Maine — City Council candidates weighed in on the issues facing the city during an Oct. 24 candidate forum, discussing everything from Caribou’s strengths and priorities, to their take on arts and culture, the River Road damage and proposed $10 million public safety building project.
The forum featured three newcomers and one former councilor, two of which will be elected for a three year term during the Nov. 6 election.
The candidates are: Thomas Ayer, a Caribou native and University of Maine at Fort Kent graduate who currently sits on the city planning board and serves as recreation commissioner; Christine Lister, an active member of the Caribou Main Street Downtown Team who is a military spouse of 19 years and has homeschooled her eight children; Christopher Lydon, who moved to Caribou in 2003 and has decades of experience as a federal employee, as well as serving in his hometown of Milton, Massachusetts, as a “town meeting member;” and Jody Smith, who served on the Caribou City Council as recently as last year and currently works as the grounds supervisor at the Northern Maine Cemetery in Caribou.
Caribou resident Jessica Plourde, who serves on the city’s Economic Growth Council, moderated the forum and introduced the candidates as Caribou Marketing and Events Coordinator Christina Kane-Gibson ensured their responses did not go over two minutes.
The first two questions asked the candidates what they perceive as Caribou’s biggest weaknesses and greatest strength.
Lister said she felt that outward migration was the city’s greatest concern and that “it’s been no secret” that the population has been decreasing while deaths are outnumbering births. She said the city’s greatest need would be to “put our noses to the grindstone and start making serious developments in business.” As for Caribou’s greatest strength, she said she agreed with her fellow candidates that it is the people who live in the city.
Lydon said outmigration and an aging population are Caribou’s biggest concern, adding that Maine was recently ranked as the country’s oldest state. For the city’s biggest strength, he said, it’s “kind of a cliche,” but “it’s the people,” adding that he has lived in other parts of the country and has yet to find a small and vibrant community quite the same as Caribou. He noted the region’s striking sunrises and sunsets, which can be seen “for miles.”
Smith agreed that outmigration is a serious issue in the region, and that once the younger generation leaves the area for college or the military “it’s hard to get them back.” He said Caribou’s biggest strength is both its people and its infrastructure, and that it has “some of the best sled trails in New England,” as well as great community support for the library and Nylander museum.
Ayer said he agreed with the candidates that retention of young people is a serious issue, and brought up the old saying: “Aroostook County isn’t the edge of the world, but you can see it from here.” He said that while it’s difficult to list its strengths in just two minutes, Caribou has some great department heads, is “perfectly situated for tourism,” and is full of people you could “strike up a conversation with in a convenience store.”
Candidates were later asked if they would be comfortable lowering taxes, something nearly everyone wants, at the expense of cutting an essential service such as road maintenance, police and fire services, or the library.
Ayer said he pays “over $6,000 a year” in taxes and that while he would “really love to lower taxes,” it’s not wise to cut money only to have a problem further down the road. He said he would emphasize a well-balanced budget and ensure that the city plans ahead by conducting a risk analysis in potentially dangerous areas such as the River Road, adding that this could ideally lower the mill rate in the long run.
Lister said that Maine has some of the highest property taxes in the country and that, unfortunately, she is not sure if it’s a good idea to think about lowering them at the moment. She doubled down on this by adding that she is not at all interested in taking any money from essential city programs. Lister continued by saying that Caribou and surrounding communities need to have confidence that their tax dollars are being spent properly, and that she is also not in favor of raising taxes either.
Lydon agreed with Lister and Ayer, and said that when he gets his annual property tax bill, he usually thinks “Oh God, where does this money go,” but that he is aware that it all improves the overall quality of life in Caribou by keeping the streets open during the winter and keeping the city running. He said his main focus would be to maintain the mill rate as is and then look at any reductions as long as they don’t negatively affect business growth.
Smith said that Caribou officials have “done a good job over the last few years” of maintaining the tax rate, adding that there are three parts to local property taxes: the city, the school, and the county, and that one can easily affect the other and it falls to councilors to decide whether or not to make a cut or raise taxes. He said that while Caribou officials have kept taxes stable, they also have done some good work in terms of capital improvements and building maintenance.
Candidates also were asked if they felt that a $10 million combined police and fire building project is a wise use of city dollars or if other issues, such as the River Road, should be prioritized.
Ayer began by saying “this is a complex deal,” and that the police station is absolutely not in good shape, but the fire truck will eventually need to be replaced as well, since it has expanded to serve neighboring communities. He said that with the unexpected damage to the River Road thrown into the equation, it is best to focus on that issue so that when it “comes time to really look at the police and fire people, who really do a lot for us, we have the money and funds to be able to do something for them,” adding that they all practically live in their respective stations in order to ensure a quick response time.
Lister said she understands the need to consolidate the police and fire station so they can better serve the community, but that the River Road should be the main priority for the time being. She said there are “another 20 or so houses on that road feeling cut off from the community” who are not “going to sit by idly while we figure out what to do with the fire station.” However, since the new public safety building is still in a planning phase, she said she would feel more confident making a decision as more information becomes available.
Lydon also said the River Road poses a significant public safety issue, but it does not take away from the less than ideal conditions of the police and fire departments or their future needs. He said that the former Birds Eye vegetable processing plant is an excellent location for officers and firefighters to quickly respond to any issues in the city and that it has “plenty of room for expansion.” He said that he is hesitant about making one large building for both departments, as the police department currently has a greater need for a new space, but that a space on that site could easily be expanded to include the fire department in the future.
Smith said the River Road is “obviously the top priority, no question about that,” and that the new public safety building would have to go to a taxpayer referendum and be decided by the residents. While some candidates said the police department should be prioritized first, Smith clarified that the reason Caribou considered a building for both departments was because there were grants available for fire department projects, but none currently available for police departments.
The candidates all thanked Plourde and Kane-Gibson for their time hosting the event, before adjourning into an informal session in which they spoke individually to local residents present for the event.
