The land on the banks of the Aroostook River is a site of a campground that Troy Haney is in the process of developing. It is a place he hopes to name after his stepdaughter, Kacie Haney, who died in a car crash last year, a report said.
According to the report, the plot east of Limestone street is enclosed by thick trees and dense underbrush that runs toward the road. The Aroostook River flows by at the foot of this land. It’s not far from the highway but it’s still quiet — Haney claimed he’s seen nesting bald eagles nearby.
Haney also stated that “[Kacie] loved to go to the water, at the lake or at the river.” This place would have been a dream come true for her.
Haney has been working on the land to create a seasonal campground for the past several months. The Caribou City Council approved an alteration to the land-use code on June 14 to lower the total acreage needed to establish a campground, allowing Haney to move forward with the project, said the report.
There will be nine spots available for campers, which can be rented for the entire summer season.
Haney has also been granted the green light by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The land Haney is developing floods for a brief time each spring when there’s ice out. He plans to cap the plumbing and sewer lines each spring and to build any electric lines on posts that are too high for floodwaters to reach, the report added.
Haney claimed that he has been lobbying the town for years to use the land adjacent to the Aroostook river to develop small and recreational businesses.
He said that the town’s most valuable waterfront property is the one on Limestone Street.
Haney built his campground on land that was once an auto salvage yard. He still collects the scrap metal from that venture. He said that tires and scrap metal would wash into the river during the spring flood season, the report stated.
Haney hopes to find an oasis beneath all of this. It will be a place where vacationers can relax, and it could even become “Kacie’s Place”.
Haney is working hard to develop the lot and hopes to open it for next season, the report concluded.