Bangor Finance Committee approves sewer project, robot sidewalk survey

The Bangor Finance Committee approved a $975,000 fund reallocation to complete the Cumberland Street sewer separation project and awarded the contract to Blue Silver. The committee also authorized a sole-source contract with Daxbot to use robots for an ADA sidewalk assessment and received an update on the 2026 property valuation timeline.

Key points

• Committee voted unanimously to reallocate $975,000 from Ohio Street and Cumberland Street projects to fund the Cumberland Street sewer separation, which is required by a 2015 EPA consent decree.
• The sewer separation contract was awarded to Blue Silver for $2,803,618, with the city's local share calculated at $1,309,432.
• Councilors approved a waiver of the bid process to hire Daxbot, an Oregon-based company, to deploy robots for assessing 150 miles of city sidewalks for ADA compliance.
• City Assessor reported that residential property values are nearly complete and meet accuracy targets, but commercial and industrial valuations are delayed and will not be ready for the original June deadline.
• The committee discussed the timeline for impact notices, noting that residential notices may go out in early July while commercial values are finalized, with a formal review meeting scheduled for June 10.

Next steps

• City staff will schedule the Daxbot robot deployment and coordinate a public marketing campaign to inform residents about the sidewalk assessment.
• The City Assessor will provide a status update on the 2026 property valuation project at a meeting on June 10.
• Finance Director Stephanie Kimball will hold meetings with department heads to establish new financial procedures and month-end processes for the upcoming fiscal year.

Read the full transcript