LINCOLNVILLE — Lincolnville leaders are hoping to expand a cramped town office, pending approval at the polls on Nov. 6, and they want to citizens to know how and why the $690,000 project could be accomplished, and funded. Tonight, the selectmen will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. at the Lincolnville Central School on that referendum question. Following the hearing, the selectmen will proceed with a regularly scheduled meeting to discuss other town business, including the sale of an older town fire truck.

Proposed improvements include an improved lobby and sitting area, with more privacy; a new assembly and meeting space for boards and committees; a map room; public restrooms; and a more efficient and effective work space for employees.

At tonight's hearing, Municipal Building Committee Chairman Jay Foster will present an overview of the project. Amanda Austin, of 2A Architects, will describe issues of the existing building and explain what the project entails.

The Municipal Building Committee anticipates that the cost to taxpayers would break down as follows: "A property owner with property assessed at $200,000 pays $14.50 per year in taxes to support the Town Office renovation in the form of the Town’s $30,000 annual contribution to the Capital Investment Reserve Account. If the project moves forward as proposed, the $30,000 set aside for the Town Office will not be sought. Instead, the Town will take on an annual debt payment. The annual debt payment on borrowing $220,000 has been estimated to be $15,998 over a 20-year period. Therefore, the same property owner will be contributing about $7.73 in taxes per year for debt service. The net result is an overall savings of $6.77 per year."

The warrant article
“To see if the Town will vote to appropriate $470,000 from the Capital Investment Reserve Account and to authorize the issuance of up to $220,000 in general obligation bonds or notes for the renovation and expansion of Town Office and to pay for costs of engineering, survey, design and other related costs of such construction, hereby authorized and appropriated, all as determined to be appropriate by the Board of Selectmen, with the dates, maturities, denominations, interest rate(s) and other details of the bonds or notes to be determined by the Board of Selectmen (including provisions that the notes or bonds may be prepaid or subject to call for redemption with or without premium); and to accept gifts or grants from non-Town sources for this purpose.”

Board of Selectmen recommends a “YES” vote

Budget Committee recommendsa“YES” vote

Municipal Building Committee recommends a “YES” vote

Plans are available for review at the town office website, or at the town office itself.

According to the committee, the existing town office: "has serious legal and practical deficiencies that need to be addressed. The building is not accessible to the disabled, and does not meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Moreover, its small size, limited lobby space and service area, and existing floor plan does not allow employees to work efficiently or residents to conduct business privately and confidentially. Quite simply, the town has outgrown the facility.

"Twice before, Lincolnville townspeople voted down more expensive options for a new town office. The selectmen and the Municipal Building Committee heard you, and since those votes, have continued to work on finding a more cost-effective solution. We are now recommending that the town keep the existing Town Office, using it for general office space, while adding a new wing that will meet accessibility requirements and provide better, more functional space for public use."

The project is anticipated to cost $690,000, of which the town has set aside $470,000, leaving $220,000 to be financed.

"Through the competitive bidding process, the Municipal Building Committee is hopeful the total cost will be less than $690,000," the town said.

Lincolnville has been wrestling with the future of its town office, constructed in the 1980s just west of Lincolnville Central School on Route 235 in Lincolnville Center. While it was spacious two decades ago, the meeting room was subsequently appropriated for police and town manager offices, and storage room. The building is too small and unable to meet building and compliance codes, according to a 2009 Municipal Buildings Committee report, which recommended expansion.

But with a recession and skeptical town sentiment, the selectmen opposed placing more fiscal strain on taxpayers and chose not to place the $522,188 project before voters.

In March 2010, the selectmen asked the committee, which had been busy requisitioning contractors for a new fire station, to turn attention back to the town office project. The selectmen figured that lower interest rates and recession-priced construction costs signaled the right time to jump-start the process. They asked the committee to reexamine options for the town office.

This year, the committee said that 10 years of discussion has been long enough and the town should pursue making its town office compliant with federal regulations, and serve community needs for the next 20 to 25 years.

"Given the present low interest rates and the number of qualified contractors who are looking for more work, now is an opportune time to improve the Town Office," the committee said in its flyer. "By seeking competitive bids, the Municipal Building Committee hopes the project will actually come in less than the total amount estimated, which would mean the total amount to be financed would also be less.... If voters approve the project on November 6, bid packages will be sent out and a contractor selected this winter, with construction to start in the early spring. The renovations and new addition would be completed by fall 2013."

In other town business

The town’s newest fire truck, a 3,000-gallon capacity tanker, will soon be delivered. Engine 3, according to Fire Chief Peasley, will become surplus, according to Town Administrator David Kinney, in his newsletter to the selectmen.

"The department would like to sell the truck for $1 to an island town or deep woods town in need," he wrote. "The truck is a 1981 Ford F800 with a 1,000 gallon tank and 500 gallon per minutes pump. The town by vote at town meeting gave theselectmen the authority to dispose of town-owned personal property that has a value in the board’s opinion of $1,000 or less under any terms and conditions that the board deems advisable. If the board believes that the vehicle has a value greater than $1,000 permission to dispose of the truck from the voters will need to be sought. Assuming the Board believes the value to be less than $1,000 it might be beneficial to see if another town in our area could use the truck as a fire truck so that Lincolnville might benefit (but hopefully not) in the future from the truck via mutual aid. If no area towns are interested than it could be offered to other fire departments."

Kinney suggested the selectmen declare the 1981 Ford F800 fire truck as surplus, with a value as a fire truck of less than $1,000, and that the Fire Chief and Town Administrator be authorized to dispose of the fire truck by sale for $1 to another fire department, "preferably in our area and if not in our area in the state of Maine; and if no fire department is willing to purchase the vehicle that the matter be brought back to the board for additional direction."

PenBayPilot.com Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached by email, or call 706-6657.