BELFAST - City Point Station is on track become a permanent southern terminal for the excursion trains of Brooks Preservation Society. It is also expected to be the northern end of a rail-to-trail conversion spearheaded by Coastal Mountains Land Trust. The city has a stake in both projects, and on Tuesday took steps to align some of the many interlocking pieces.

“In the end, we have almost a three-way agreement,” City Manager Joe Slocum told the City Council, noting that he has been working on details of the rail and trail overlap at City Point for around six months.

Brooks Preservation Society started using City Point Station as a base for its excursion rail service this summer and is currently in the process of buying the property from owner Mack Page.

Slocum proposed that the city contribute $37,400 toward the purchase and pay BPS $5,000 per year for 15 years in exchange for rights to construct a parking lot, bathrooms and install other utilities related to the rail trail.

The money would come from a fundraising campaign currently under way and being managed by Coastal Mountains Land Trust. Slocum said the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the city and CMLT provides for the money to acquire the property and convert the rail corridor from City Point Station to the Route 1 bridge to a recreational trail.

Slocum declined to comment on how much had been raised to date but said he was confident that if CMLT had not already raised the initial $37,400 the organization would be able to reach that goal soon.

In an added complexity, the CMLT-raised, city paid contribution toward BPS’s purchase of City Point Station is contingent upon pending approval of the rail-to-trail conversion by the Federal Transportation Administration.

The Council approved the expenditure and finalized a 25-year lease to BPS of a portion of the city-owned rail corridor extending from City Point Station to the Waldo town line. The lease was discussed and approved pending final draft language at the Council’s last meeting.

Under the terms of the agreement with BPS, the city would be the beneficiary if the rail group defaults on the mortgage to buy City Point Station. Additionally, the lease of the rail corridor would be scrapped if BPS becomes financially insolvent or ceases to exist.

Slocum acknowledged the many contingencies but was optimistic about the prospects for City Point Station as a hub for rail and trail users alike.

“I think we’ve got good partners,” he said. “I know we have great partners in Coastal Mountains Land Trust and I think we have good partners in Brooks Preservation Society.”

In other business, the Council:

• Recinded approval to transfer the city-owned property most recently used by the Belfast Maskers theater group to the Belfast Development Corporation. The corporation was created as a way for the city to be eligible for federal grant money for environmental assessment of the property. Belfast Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge said the EPA since reversed its ruling that Belfast was responsible for any pollution at the site, which would have disqualified the city from applying directly. Kittredge said the workaround was no longer necessary. The Council rescinded the transfer and approved applying for the relevant brownfield assessment grant, but did not dissolve the corporation.

• Approved purchases of a new heavy duty truck along with dump body and plow gear for the Public Works Department. The Council also approved buying an ambulance and fire rescue truck.

• Heard an update on the Belfast Harbor Walk from City Planner Wayne Marshall. Marshall said several additional expenses have come up since the last Council meeting, including a requirement by the Maine Department of Transportation to connect a sidewalk on Front Street across the entrance to the storage yard of Front Street Shipyard and additional expenses related to tree plantings. The project is still projected to be under budget, Marshall said. Before construction started, the city allocated $1.6 million in grant funds and money from the downtown tax increment financing district (TIF) to the project. Marshall said current figures suggest the Harbor Walk will cost roughly $1.5 million. 

• Heard from City Planner Wayne Marshall about lighting concerns on the Harbor Walk. Marshall said the project lighting engineer is currently testing a different kind of reflector on one light near Steamboat Landing. Some residents had previously complained these lights were unnecessarily bright. Changing reflectors would be less expensive than replacing the bulb and ballast assemblies, but Marshall said it remained to be seen if this would be enough. When asked which light was being tested, he said, “If we can’t tell, it’s probably not a good fix.”

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com