By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — A grant that put $212,500 toward rehabilitating 14 houses in Sinclair received praise from the Aroostook County Commissioners during their last meeting on Dec. 21.
Funded through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Development Block Grant, the project’s final public hearing will be held on Jan. 10 at the senior center in Sinclair.
The initial grant award was for $250,000; the Aroostook County Action Program, which managed home inspections, the bidding process, close-outs on the properties and other administrative duties, received $37,000 of that award and the county kept $500 to advertise the program.
Aroostook County Public Works Director Paul Bernier re-capped the program for the commissioners.
There were 21 applications for participation in the grant, of which 16 applications qualified (five were disqualified for over-income). One individual unfortunately died prior to being able to begin the project and another requested that funding be diverted to others in need.
The commissioners also received a request by Hon. James P. Dunleavy, the judge of probate for Aroostook County to increase the probate judges’ stipend from $2,500 to $5,000 so that he could attend both of the National College of Probate Judges meetings.
“Right now it’s been costing me more than $2,500 to attend one meeting; this is why I’ve asked the Aroostook County Commissioners to increase the stipend for the probate judge to $5,000, so I could attend both of these meetings,” Hon. Dunleavy said. “I don’t get paid to go to these meetings, but I’m interested in the development of probate law.”
The next meeting will be held in Tucson, AZ.
Hon. Dunleavy informed the commissioners that he could be elected onto the executive board of the National College of Probate Judges if he begins attending both of the year’s meetings.
The commissioners informed the judge that the 2012 budget is already set.
The next meeting of the Aroostook County Commissioners is scheduled for Houlton on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m.
