I am a resident of Brunswick and live on a road off of Mere Point Road. While the ‘proposed’ addition of the tax default property at 946 Mere Point Road would have no impact on me or my property personally I would like to share some thoughts.

First and foremost I want to state unequivocally that I love (and use) the Mere Point Public Boat Launch, as do many, many of my Mere Point neighbors. I state this so emphatically because unfortunately there are some folks who in support of the proposed recreation area repeatedly characterize Mere Point residents as out of hand opposing any/all public water access on the road based on the NIMBY concept. While there may be some folks in this category, by painting most Mere Point residents this way is very inaccurate, unfair and unnecessarily pits neighbor against neighbor — most importantly destroying any healthy environment for real dialogue about the merits of this proposed project. Taking that “ad hominem” tack in any opposition is at best a “red herring.”

This project should be considered on its objective merits, period. What are the plans for the following?

1. Cost over time of removing property from tax rolls. By not selling lot at fair market and losing this tax base will result in at least $500,000 +/- lost revenue over just 10 years. That’s likely a conservative estimate given water front sale and taxation amounts. At a time when Brunswick taxes are already among the highest in the state and continue to go up to support many historically poor council fiscal decisions this seems imprudent.

2. Given its completely tidal location and very precipitous access a complex and very costly dock will likely need to be installed for safe use. Additionally the yearly cost to maintain the dock, including removing it each fall, storing it off site all winter and reinstalling it each spring needs to be financially factored in. Are there estimates for this? Additionally there are costs for home demolition and required landscaping/tree removal/road construction, etc. Has that cost been estimated? While mud flats have their own beauty, because of the extreme tidal only access, any practical and safe use of this site for swimming and non-power boating is at best, significantly limited.

3. Cost of ongoing yearly maintenance including mowing, plowing and patrolling need to be financially factored in. Have these costs been estimated?

4. I strongly support public access to the water. We are so fortunate that there are already over a dozen public water access sites in Brunswick, many significantly under utilized. For instance, on July 4th this year, at its peak, only 18 vehicles with boat trailers were parked at the Mere Point public boat launch. The lot can hold 55 vehicles! Brunswick is also lucky that its location makes for easy access to near-by water sites such as Winslow Park in Freeport, Popham Beach in Phippsburg and Thomas Point Beach in town. Additionally we benefit from the many, many local recreation sites (many with water access) that the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust generously share with the community. You can check these out on their web site. Perhaps reviewing the already existing public access sites in town with an eye to increasing their use via improvements (picnic/swimming areas, etc.) would be a much better use of the already scarce town dollars and resources.

5. Consideration for the safety and security of the neighbors cannot and should not be minimized or marginalized. I suspect it would be a very seductive “after-hours attractive nuisance hidden site” for some.

Highest and best use for this property, in my opinion, logically seems to demand it return to the tax rolls. I suspect few other Maine communities are so blessed with so many already local public use options. Perhaps we should be concentrating on helping many of our neighbors who are heavily burdened and struggling with local property taxes so they can remain Brunswick residents.

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Claudia LaBella Adams lives in Brunswick.