HOULTON, Maine — An offer to sell the Temple Cinema parking lot to the town was met with lukewarm reception Monday evening by members of the town council.
Charles Fortier, owner of the Temple Cinema, approached the town with an offer to sell the parking lot for its assessed value of $32,700. Fortier also offered the town could pay $4,500 per year over a seven-year, interest-free period.
“I read in the newspaper the week that I got here that there was a parking problem in the town, so it [selling the lot] seemed like a good fit,” Fortier said.
In January, some merchants complained about a lack of parking in the downtown, claiming that other store owners and residents of apartments above Main Street were monopolizing the spots in the downtown. There is already one municipal lot located next to Sadie’s Bakery on Water Street.
KeyBank leases 10 spaces for its employees in the Temple lot. Some of the other spaces are used by residents in apartments in the area.
Councilor Jane Torres stated she was in support of purchasing the lot and wondered if the town could then make it a “parking by permit” lot to supplement revenues. The town currently receives less than $1,000 per year in taxes on the property.
“I am all for another parking lot downtown,” she said. “It is very desireable to live downtown and people want a sure thing to park without being ticketed.”
Town Manager Butch Asselin said if the town were to purchase it and make it a paid lot, it would be the only such lot in the town and difficult to police. He also said the town would then be responsible for removing snow and painting the lines.
The parking lot has been something bantered around by the council for years, dating back to 2012 when Doug Hazlett was Houlton’s town manager. In March 2014, during Eugene Conlogue’s tenure as town manager, then-theatre owner Mike Hurley attempted to sell the parking lot to the town for $91,000.
In 2004, Hurley purchased the Temple Building, with the exception of the third floor, which is still owned by the Masons, and the adjacent parking lot. A portion of the lot was sold to developers of the Market Square Commons housing project and a right of way exists to that property.
The remainder of the lot belongs to Fortier. Area businesses and the general public have used the parking lot for several years, even though it is technically a private lot. The previous owner had placed a chain link across one of the openings to the lot, stating it was private property. Fortier has not used that chain since acquiring the business in March.
Councilors John White, Wade Hanson and Rosa McNally expressed reservations about purchasing the lot due to liability and maintenance concerns.
“In my opinion, the town should not be a landlord and the property should be privately owned and maintained to benefit the property owner,” Hanson said. “Parking is an issue downtown, but the town owns the majority of the parking lot on the other side of Market Square and that is under utilized.”
No formal vote was taken on the request.
