FORT KENT – Residents will get a chance to air their feelings next month and vote on a proposal to close three streets branching off East Main Street.

A public hearing will be held at the town office at 7 p.m. Monday, May 14, on the proposal to close River, Martin and Alfred streets. All three are in the area of the revitalization of East Main Street project. The project started last year and will be completed this summer.

The special town meeting on the proposal will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, June 7, at the town office.

Town Manager Donald Guimond said the land involved in the three short roadways most likely would revert to abutting landowners in the area.

The two special meetings were decided upon Monday night at the Town Council meeting.

Also on Monday, the Town Council gave wastewater service users a break. The council increased the amount of wastewater users may dump into the municipal system and decreased the per-cubic-foot cost when users go over the maximum amount allowed.

In effect, the change allows users to dump about 9 percent more wastewater for the same money it previously cost them.

Present rates have been in place for some time, and the system is collecting more money than it needs to operate. During the past year, collections have surpassed expenditures by $100,000.

Wastewater-user rates are based on actual water usage. A large percentage of users also are municipal water customers. Readings from the water use meters is used to calculate both the user’s water and sewer bill.

For people who use the sewer utility but who are not on town water, there is a flat rate, an average rate for an average house.

Users get billed every two months. The new billing system began in January, about the same time the utility became a municipal department.

The council agreed to increase the minimum cubic feet of water used from 800 to 900 cubic feet, allowing users more input into the system at the same cost. Councilors also decreased the per-cubic-foot cost for those going over the 900-cubic-feet minimum.

Until a year ago, the Fort Kent Utility District was a quasi-municipal organization with its own directors. The district included the services for both municipal water and sewer utilities. In January 2000, the district was dissolved and the two utilities became a department of the town. Its operations are overseen by the Town Council and Guimond. The sewer utility has 1,150 users.

The sewer budget is $461,000, almost $100,000 less than the year before the water meters were installed on most users.

In other business, the Town Council approved a contract for pool deck renovations at the municipal pool. Kutch Construction Co. of Fort Kent received the $34,680 contract.

The work must be done before June 1. The deadline was included so that the municipal pool can open on time when schools recess for the summer.