BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford City Council initially adopted a declaration of official intent to move forward with the development of a downtown parking garage on Tuesday.

The council voted 6-2 Tuesday to adopt an order for the design, construction, furnishing and equipping of a downtown parking garage — expected to be located in or near the city’s Mill Redevelopment Tax-Increment Financing, or TIF, District — in its meeting Tuesday.

Biddeford City Councilors Michael Swanton and John McCurry voted against the measure, while Councilor Marc Lessard was absent from the meeting.

The order calls for the city to finance some or all of the costs of the project through issuance of the city’s tax-exempt bonds in an amount not to exceed $14 million, the order reads. That figure includes reimbursements on the bonds. 

City Manager Jim Bennett said during the meeting that the declaration would not authorize all funding for the garage, but would rather outline a funding mechanism for the project.

“You’re not voting to authorize (the) level of expenditure,” Bennett said. “It’s really a mechanism to make sure we can borrow the money and pay ourselves back and not pay cash for things we’ve already done.”

Bennett said the council would still look at separate items as they arise while the project progresses.

In March, the council voted 5-4, with Mayor Alan Casavant breaking a tie, to authorize the first reading of a $425,776 contract with the out-of-state firm Desman Design Management for the site evaluation and design of a downtown parking facility.

City officials have stressed building a parking garage is necessary for furthering the city’s economic development opportunities.

In December, Bennett said the lack of available downtown parking at the time resulted in two unidentified, large-scale businesses — which he said could have provided upward of 650 new jobs — being discouraged from moving into the downtown district.

He and other officials stressed at the council’s March 21 meeting that tax rates would not be affected by construction of the parking garage.

According to the declaration, city officials plan to take out a revenue bond to fund the “original expenditures” of the project, with funds advanced from the city’s TIF account, if necessary. The bond would be paid back through user fees from the garage.

While promise of no effect on taxpayer dollars was enough to garner just enough votes to approve the engineering contract at the council’s March 21 meeting, some still weren’t swayed Tuesday evening.

Swanton — who has voiced his opposition to constructing a parking garage — expressed his disapproval with the project again Tuesday, saying he hasn’t heard enough support from the public to take on such a large undertaking.

“I’m still not in favor of funding the parking garage or any part of it until the public is behind it,” he said. No one from the public spoke before the council on the matter.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.

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