MADAWASKA – A settlement, at least in spirit, has been reached between the Madawaska Board of Selectmen and former Town Manager Arthur Faucher, whose contract was terminated with one year left on it.

Selectmen have agreed to pay Faucher $148,470. Madawaska residents will get the final say at a special town meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, to ratify the agreement.

The breakdown of the agreed settlement was unavailable Thursday. Municipal officials said the town’s attorney, Lee Bragg of Bangor, would not release details until Faucher signs the agreement.

“Until the agreement is signed, it’s not final,” Bragg said Thursday afternoon. “There is an arrangement on the table that is acceptable to the board [of selectmen] and I believe to Arthur [Faucher].

“At this time, nothing is conclusive and until it’s final it is still negotiable,” he said. “I believe it will be final fairly soon.”

That had not been done by midafternoon Thursday.

“We came to consensus during an executive session Tuesday night,” Madawaska Selectmen Chairman Vernon Doucette said Thursday morning. “It’s the amount agreed to by both sides.

“We have not heard if Arthur [Faucher] has signed his end of the agreement yet,” he said. “It may still be in the mail between attorneys.”

The Madawaska Board of Selectmen terminated Faucher’s contract last April. He worked until June 30. He had one year remaining on his contract with the town.

The town has since hired Fred Ventresco as it town manager.

The town began negotiations with Faucher, through attorneys, in May.

The settlement includes salary for one year, unused vacation days, banked sick leave time and other incidentals.

Doucette said it is basically the same formula used for termination packages for other employees that have left the town’s employ in recent years.

“We [the board of selectmen] will be happy when this is all completed,” Doucette said. “It has been stressful.”

The amount of Faucher’s settlement will be taken from the town fund balance, if approved.

At the special town meeting in the Madawaska High School cafeteria, residents also will vote on a contract to authorize the Madawaska School Department to educate elementary and secondary school pupils from Grand Isle. The contract will run for three years, through 2007, if approved by residents.

Residents must also decide if the town will issue bonds or notes in the amount of $68,750 for special projects for the town’s Recreation Department.

The projects include installation of a furnace and hot water tank, electric ceiling heaters, lights at the multipurpose center, the purchase of a boom lift, the installation of new doors at the center and repairing damaged walking paths.

The town expects that the borrowing will carry an interest rate of 4.15 percent. During the term of the borrowing, the town would repay the principal amount and $5,706 in interest.