TOPSHAM

Topsham Selectmen Thursday unanimously hired a consulting firm for a comprehensive plan update, though the cost will exceed the $70,000 budgeted for the work.

The comprehensive plan update committee unanimously recommended hiring Maine Design Workshop at cost of $87,000, according to that committee’s chairman, Larry Fitch.

The committee needs to engage the community in a true conversation and deliver a real plan, Fitch said.

Of four firms interviewed by the committee for the job, three met the $70,000 budget.

However, Maine Design Workshop was the only one that branded the project as a community effort, according to Fitch.

“It was clear that Maine Design Workshop far and above presented a proposal that really did engage this community,” Fitch said.

Town Manager Rich Roedner said the $17,000 has been included in the contracted services in next year’s budget. The town can use tax increment financing district revenue to fund the work.

Other business

Selectmen Thursday also voted to accept a grant from the Department of Environmental Protection for a culvert replacement on the River Road, within the Topsham Fair Mall Stream Watershed.

Selectman Chair David Douglass said the grant is for $102,000. The town’s portion is $29,000 — which includes $19,000 for in-kind services, which is work done by the town.

Town Planner Rod Melanson said the hanging culvert causes major stream issues. The road created a dam which is a wetland now. It`s something the town would have to fix regardless.

The board received an update from Tom Errico of TY Lin on a traffic study looking at the feasibility of converting Winter Street into a one-way street heading toward Main Street. The current two-way traffic pattern leads to bottle-necking when cars try to turn left onto Winter Street from Maine Street.

The Lower Village Development Committee has met in workshops with selectmen to see if the board would support funding the development of engineer plans for the change, to determine how much the work would cost.

Selectmen Thursday were in favor of testing the traffic pattern change, which can be done by temporarily blocking the uphill lane of lower Winter Street.

There was also some discussion about changing the Elm Street Extension to a two-way road.

dmoore@timesrecord.com