BRUNSWICK
Does a $6 million, 300-vehicle parking structure make sense for Brunswick?
The first step to answering that question may be taken tonight, when councilors consider funds to pay to study a potential location and its feasibility.
In a memo to councilors, Town Manager John Eldridge said Brunswick is working with the state to develop the Cedar Street lot. In order to have a project ready to go — should potential federal funding be available to help pay for a structure — the town is ready to move forward with a study.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump called for $200 billion in spending to leverage $1.5 trillion, and Linda Smith, Brunswick’s economic and community development director, has said a parking structure would likely rely on federal funding.
“What the town is trying to do is get someone who can help us do a site selection analysis and, based on what makes the most sense, move forward with a concept plan,” she told The Times Record in March, “so that if — if — the federal government administrative infrastructure dollars start to materialize, we may have something that is close to shovel ready to be competitive.”
In November 2017, town staff offered some options for downtown parking, including purchasing and developing a lot on Weymouth Street, leasing the Maine Department of Transportation lot on Cedar Street, as well as exploring the feasibility of a parking structure.
Last month, the town received seven proposals to conduct the study, ranging in price from $28,000 to $126,000.
Initially the town’s budget was $40,000 of Downtown Tax Increment Financing revenue to pay for it. Town staff, however, is recommending the contract go to Becker Structural Engineers of Portland, Eldridge said, whose proposal was priced at $73,000. The council is being asked to approve using up to $75,000 from the TIF revenue.
Councilors will also discuss sending a letter of support for the Maine Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the Frank J. Wood bridge, as well as the designation of the Brunswick and Topsham’s joint design advisory committee to provide local input regarding historic mitigation and other design elements.
The public is also invited to speak tonight to proposed changes to the zoning regulating marine activities, which adds a definition for aquaculture, and adds criteria for the winterization of mooring buoys to remove navigational hazards.
The town council meeting starts at the Town Hall tonight at 6:30 p.m.
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