LIMESTONE, Maine – Limestone officials are proposing that the town purchase a former mechanic shop and turn it into a public works garage, but voters will have the final say.
On Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m., Limestone will hold a public hearing and special town meeting to lay out suggested plans for the new garage, as well as vote on reserve funding for the recreation department. The meeting will be held at Limestone Community School.
Limestone’s current public works garage on Burleigh Avenue is nearly 60 years old and beyond repair, said Interim Town Manager Alan Mulherin. The building’s support walls are slanted and have begun to crumble and the roof is at risk of collapsing, which led to Maine Municipal Association dropping its insurance for the garage last year. There are numerous holes in the siding, cement floors are “cracked and heaving” and a rear overhead door needs replacement.
But building a new garage would likely cost the town $1.3 to $1.7 million and take years to raise the funds. There are no grants available specifically for public works garages or similar buildings, Mulherin said at Wednesday’s selectboard meeting.
“If we raised taxes enough to place $100,000 into a reserve account, it would be 15 to 20 years before we could hope to construct a building, let alone purchase land,” Mulherin said.
Caldwell’s Auto has offered to sell their mechanic shop at 72 Long Road in Limestone to the town for $650,000, plus $24,000 to cover the installation of two 14 foot high by 24-foot-wide insulated overhead doors for the front and back of the garage. The purchase would include 6.4 acres of land.
Caldwell’s plans to move its mechanic operations to Fort Fairfield and no longer needs the space. They are willing to leave behind some equipment in the Limestone shop, including a vehicle lift, air compressor, heating system, tire changer and balancer and a 48-foot storage trailer, Mulherin said.
Residents would need to approve the town using $700,000 for purchase costs and authorize the selectboard to pursue a purchase and sales agreement with Caldwell’s.
The town would use the public works reserve account’s $50,000 total and $7,509 that Caldwell would owe for 2024 real estate and property taxes to make the initial payment. The town would set aside an amount every year in its budget to make annual payments for 10 years, Mulherin said.
“I think this is the only way we’re going to get a new highway building,” said selectboard chairperson Randy Brooker.
At the special meeting, the board will also propose transferring $4,000 from the recreation department’s reserve account to its regular budget for program support and equipment purchases.
In June, voters approved a $86,933 budget for recreation. Though that total included a new full-time director’s salary, Mulherin and town officials were unsure whether they would hire someone, so they did not include extra money for programs and equipment.
The town hired Corin Cooper as the full-time director in July and she has since been offering regular activities for children and adults.
Currently there is $8,000 in the recreation reserve account. Transferring $4,000 would bring the regular budget to $90,933 but would not increase the town’s mill rate, Mulherin said.
Cooper will hold a public hearing prior to the vote on September 18 to gauge community input on current and future programs.
That evening there will also be public hearings on the upcoming townwide tax revaluation and a proposed ATV ordinance.
Code Enforcement Officer Brandon Saucier will update residents on his timeline and methods for completing the revaluation, which will include in-person visits to properties.
The ATV ordinance would allow people to ride those vehicles only on the extreme right of public way to not interfere with other traffic, but prohibit ATVs in the school parking lots, except during drop-off and pick-up times; town parks and ball fields and in cemeteries.
Riders would be banned from going within 200 feet of nursing homes, extended care facilities or churches during services. They also would not be allowed at Trafton Lake Campground between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and could only ride under five milers per hour the remainder of the day.
After the public hearing, the selectboard will have final say over whether to pass the ordinance, Mulherin said.
