Gray residents will set the track for the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum.

On their Nov. 8 ballots, voters will consider a proposal to grant the nonprofit museum nearly $500,000, which would be seed money for its move from Portland to Gray.

A digital rendering shows the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co.'s proposed facility in Gray, which would include a museum, an engine house, a car barn and over 3 miles of track. SMRT Architects and Engineers/Courtesy Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad

“Let the folks have a choice in it,” Chairman Matthew Sturgis said at a town council meeting in September. “When you’re talking about spending half a million bucks, let people lend their voice to it.”

The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad offers rides in a historic passenger trail along Portland’s eastern waterfront during the summer and holiday season. The museum has a lease on its space in the Portland Co. complex on Fore Street through 2017, but the landowners are planning a redevelopment at that property. So the nonprofit has been working for several years to build a new home on a parcel next to the Gray Plaza shopping center on Route 100.

The board hopes to open at its new location in 2018, but fundraising has been slowgoing. Executive Director Donnie Carroll has estimated it has raised less than $500,000 in funds and in-kind contributions for the multimillion dollar project, though he is in conversation with a number of private funders.

If Gray voters approve this grant, town officials would like to dip into cash reserves to build up a new attraction. If it’s defeated, the museum would need to dramatically scale back its plans.

When the museum originally announced its move to Gray, Carroll wrote a letter to the Portland Press Herald promising taxpayers would not pay for the project. But town officials have hoped to jumpstart other fundraising efforts with the $498,000 grant, which would cover startup costs like land acquisition, design work and permitting fees.

“The springboard really becomes this grant that the town is looking at for us,” Carroll said last month. “That clearly adds legs and credibility to the project.”

Supporters of the idea have argued the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad would be a boon for other businesses in Gray. An economic impact study conducted by the museum estimated visitors would spend $1.2 million annually in the town. Opponents have said the money shouldn’t come from the town, and they have speculated the museum will not be as successful when it moves miles inland from Portland’s East End.

Town Manager Deborah Cabana estimated the town’s unassigned fund balance is about $768,000 over its target amount, so that surplus would likely be the source of the money. By using those cash reserves, the railroad grant would not have a direct impact on the property tax rate. Gray’s mill rate is $18.05 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

While the museum is a nonprofit, Carroll has also said he would set up a payment in lieu of taxes.

The town council voted 3-1 to send the question to the ballot. Councilor Lynn Gallagher – the “no” vote – said she wants to see the museum come to Gray, but she is concerned about the lack of a draft agreement between the town and the museum. Officials have said that written agreement with more details wouldn’t be drafted unless voters approve the idea on their ballots. That document would be required to return to the council for a final public hearing and a vote.

The referendum question is the only item on the municipal ballot for Gray residents.

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