BRUNSWICK

A Brunswick resident opposed to construction of a proposed train layover facility between Church and Stanwood streets recently discussed the issue with the governor.

Looking for information and maybe some clout, Dan Sullivan, of Bouchard Drive, recently met with Gov. Paul LePage.

Sullivan said he had been having trouble getting facts about the maintenance building proposed by Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, or the environmental effects it would bring with it.

He belongs to the newly-established Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition, many members of which believe the train garage will disrupt the neighborhood and drain property values. Sullivan claims residents have been denied access to information about the project.

At 60,000 square feet, Sullivan and his neighbors complain the building is too big and unsightly for the area. They worry its presence won’t solve the problems of fumes, noise and vibrations that they say have plagued more than 300 trackside residents since the Downeaster began service to Brunswick last November.

In March, after more than a year of planning and searching for a funding source with which to build the long, low structure, NNEPRA’s executive director Patricia Quinn finally got the news the agency had been waiting for: The agency would get $12.2 million in federal funds for the facility.

A design-build contract, likely to take 18 months to complete, was awarded to Portland’s Consigli Construction Co.

The building is intended to be long and wide enough to accommodate three complete Downeaster train sets. The heated space will eliminate the need to idle the trains in cold weather, Quinn has said, and would allow the trains to overnight in Brunswick, rather than shuttle back and forth to Portland at the beginning and end of each day.

Residents of Cedar and Weymouth streets, Bouchard Drive, Hennessey Avenue and Country Lane remain unconvinced.

“The governor seemed very interested, so getting a meeting was not difficult,” Sullivan told the The Times Record in an email Wednesday.

David Bernhardt, the state’s commissioner of transportation, also sat in at the meeting.

“We simply laid out our concern that locating a huge industrial facility in a quiet, established neighborhood is a bad one, particularly when other, more suitable locations exist in Brunswick and elsewhere,” Sullivan added.

He said that the group did not ask LePage specifically for help to thwart the layover building.

“The governor was very interested in what we had to say, he asked very good questions of us and the commissioner, and seemed very knowledgeable about the entire matter,” Sullivan added.

“We neither asked for nor received any commitment from him. But we were very grateful that he took the time to listen to our concerns.”

Other grass-roots groups in the area are aware of the complaints.

“There’s no crossover other than we’re sympathetic to another neighborhood association and their plight,” said Laura Leinert, vice president of the similarly-named Northwest Brunswick Neighborhood Association. “But we’re certainly aware of the (issues).”

BWNC created a website, www.savebrunswickwest.com, to generate support and distribute information — and complaints — about the project.

The layover building falls under jurisdiction of the Federal Rail Administration, which has the final say on its location and suitability.

Numerous phone calls to the governor’s office and staff seeking comment were not returned.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com