WINTERPORT – Selectmen have scheduled a special referendum aimed at expanding the borrowing power of the Winterport Sewer District and Winterport Water District.

The election will take place at the Samuel L. Wagner School on Mountain View Drive from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17.

Two articles on the ballot deal with separate borrowing issues for the two local utilities.

One asks to increase the sewer district’s borrowing power, or debt limit, from the current $400,000 level to $1.2 million. The second asks that the debt limit for the water district be increased from the $800,000 limit to $1.2 million.

Town Manager Leo LaChance said the increases are designed to enable the utilities to upgrade their subsurface collection and delivery systems in Winterport village. The upgrade is being funded in part by a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant and will be undertaken in conjunction with a state Department of Transportation project to rebuild and resurface Route 1A.

LaChance said the Route 1A project is expected to begin in September and be completed by next August.

He said the added borrowing power is being sought to help defray the cost of replacing sewer and water lines during the project. He said the town plans to replace and relocate sewer and water mains at the same time DOT is working on the highway. H.E. Sargent Inc. of Stillwater has been hired to perform the DOT and utility projects.

LaChance emphasized that the utilities do not expect they will need to expand their debt to the entire $1.2 million limit. He said authority to increase the debt levels would give them flexibility in the case of an emergency.