BOWDOINHAM

Residents at the annual town meeting Wednesday night spent little time debating the proposed budget or new tax increment financing district but debated the creation of an interlocal governing board to plan for a new rail-with-trail from Augusta to Brunswick.

One hundred voters out of the town’s registered 2,292 voters — 4 percent — attended the meeting held at Bowdoinham Community School.

Voters approved the proposed $1,556,369 budget, an increase of 1.18 percent, plus an amendment increasing the town maintenance account by an additional $15,000 to replace the town office septic system, which failed after selectmen approved the budget. Based on four bids the town has received, the new septic system could cost between $20,000-$27,000.

With no discussion, voters approved a new comprehensive plan and land use ordinance amendments. After some questions about a new tax increment financing program, voters overwhelmingly agreed to designate 110 acres in town as the CMP/Riverfront Municipal Tax Increment Financing District Development Program.

CMP is rebuilding approximately 2 miles of existing transmission lines in the area of Brown’s Point Road where an existing set of double circuit towers will be modified to support two new lines as part of its Maine Power Reliability Program. A $1.4 billion investment statewide to modernize CMP’s bulk power system, the portion of project in Bowdoinham, when completed, will have an estimated assessed value of approximately $10 million. The new TIF district encircles the CMP project and three townowned properties along the Cathance River in the village.

Subject to approval by the state Department of Economic and Community Development, the 20-year TIF would capture 100 percent of new value generated within the district. An estimated $2.1 million in revenues would be available to help fund town economic and community development projects, and the TIF funds could also leverage outside funds.

Lynn Spiro asked officials if any of the potential projects the TIF could fund are on CMP property and was told by Nicole Briand, the town’s economic development officer and town planner, that no projects are proposed for the area where CMP work is happening after it is complete.

Another speaker told the town body he believes the TIF adoption would establish a public sewer system, and Dan Billings asked if specific projects to be funded by TIF revenue would have to come back to town meeting for approval.

“Number one, it doesn’t automatically create a sewer district or a sewer system in town,” said Town Manager William Post. “One of the projects proposed in the development program is to study a community or village septic system that would allow residents, businesses to have a community system and still be a septic system that has tanks and a septic leach field so it’s not a municipal or quasi-municipal sewer district.

“As for any projects that may need to come back or come through the TIF, not all of those would have to come through a town meeting,” he added. “It all depends on what other funding would be needed for those projects. So, if there was enough money within the TIF revenues to fund the project (such as the town’s annual Celebrate Bowdoinham festival) then that could be approved by the Board of Selectmen.”

Article 34 was debated for more than 30 minutes and three proposed amendments failed before the questions was moved and approved. The article asked voters to authorize selectmen “to enter into an interlocal agreement with the municipalities of Gardiner, Richmond and Topsham to facilitate the planning, construction and maintenance of a regional multi-user trail known as Merrymeeting Trail.”

Richmond’s town meeting last week approved this same language contingent on other towns approving it. Topsham voters did as well, but required the resulting agreement to come back to town meeting, while Gardiner’s city council is waiting to see what the other three towns do.

According to its website — merrymeetingtrail.org — the goal of the Merrymeeting Trail Initiative is to use the existing railroad corridor owned by the Maine Department of Transportation to create a 32-mile regional rail-with-trail from Topsham through Bowdoinham and Richmond to Gardiner. It would be the longest segment of the Capital to the Coast Trail System, extending from Augusta to Bath.

Billie Oakes asked who is paying for the planning, construction and maintenance of the trail and what are the town’s financial obligations through this agreement.

Briand said planning for the trail has been ongoing informally since 2008 and, to date, has been paid for through grants and with assistance through National Park Service.

“The interlocal agreement basically creates a board of supervisors, which all four towns would appoint two people to,” Briand said. “Any future spending on the Merrymeeting Trail would have to go through each municipality’s budget process.”

David Whittlesey said he’s watched the trail plan be developed over the last four or five years “and I do think it has tremendous potential for not only this whole town but the whole swath between Brunswick and Augusta. It’s hard to get towns to work together; it’s hard to get the kind of cooperation you need to make something like this work.”

In response to a proposed amendment to strike the construction and maintenance components from the article, Whittlesey said this “would totally send the wrong (message) to the other towns working on this and I would definitely not support this amendment.”

Following debate of whether selectmen should be given this authority and concerns expressed that the town could be required to ante up funds down the road by approving Article 34, Selectman chair Brian Hobart said, “All we’re doing in this article is setting up a board of directors and this is going to take years. This is going to be way down the road before any gravel is turned over. … Where the funding comes from, who knows, that’s way down the road and the people of Bowdoinham are not going to have to start writing checks to cover this project without going to town meeting.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com