BELFAST - Front Street Shipyard will be laying out a proposal for a major expansion of its waterfront complex at the Belfast City Council meeting tonight. Below is a brief preview of this and other agenda items. The City Council meets at 7 p.m. tonight in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 131 Church Street.

More of a good thing, or too much? - The Shipyard's pitch for its largest addition to date is likely to include requests to use or build on top of one or more of the following city-owned properties: Front Street municipal parking lot, the former railroad building recently home to the Maskers Theater, and Thompson's Wharf. The Shipyard's rapid expansion has met little resistance to date and been the subject of much fanfare, but comments by several city officials in the past week suggest the latest plan won't be a shoo in. Read a more detailed overview of the plans here.

Three additional agenda items relate to Front Street Shipyard's proposal:

• An update on the city's Downtown and Waterfront Master Plan in light of the FSS proposal.

• A request by economic development director to update the city's Environmental Audit for the Front Street municipal parking lot and to do an environmental audit of the land and buildings formerly leased to the Maskers.

• A request by the city manager to have the same two properties appraised.

How big a bone (and what flavor) should Belfast throw to businesses? - Following the regular Council meeting, the Council will hold a work session on the use of Tax Increment Financing districts and other economic incentives to help businesses. The topic was suggested by staff members in the city planning and economic development offices, who are often the first point of contact for new or expanding businesses, according to City Manager Joe Slocum, who said the goal is to get a feeling from the Council on the use of different types of incentives.

The city currently has two TIF districts: one for the downtown commercial district and waterfront, and a second covering portion of Northport Avenue. Any additional property value (the tax increment) created in these districts through development is kept aside for a specific use. Money from the downtown TIF is earmarked for improvements to sidewalks and other infrastructure. The proceeds of the Northport Avenue TIF went to pay for a sewer extension related to the construction of the Mathews Bros. manufacturing facility on Perkins Road. "Credit enhancement" TIFs, which give the tax proceeds directly back to a company have been widely used as a carrot for drawing businesses to a community. TIFs can also shield tax value from inclusion the school funding formula.

Free property, tax breaks and new roads are among other concessions a company might ask of a municipality before locating there. Slocum said there are no pending requests of the sort, but he anticipates that there will be in the next couple years. When they come, he said, he wants to be prepared.

Other business - The Council will also consider: a recommendation to appoint a new Belfast poet laureate; a request to rename the access road to athenahealth's campus "athena way," a discussion with city tree warden on adopting a long-term plan for new tree plantings in the city, a request from city code enforcement officer to clean up a property at 3 Harvey Lane in violation of city zoning laws.

Penobscot Bay Pilot reporter Ethan Andrews can be reached at ethanandrews@penbaypilot.com