KENNEBUNK — Construction of an open-air pavilion at 51 Main St. in Kennebunk, covering the lot currently serving as a skating rink in the winter, will likely begin next week ”“ or the first week of May at the latest ”“ even as some officials express reservations about the town’s means of funding it.

In fact, as the board of selectmen approved various items related to the pavilion on Tuesday ”“ including green-lighting the construction timeline and officially naming it “The Waterhouse Center” ”“ it was the funding mechanism that garnered the closest vote, passing by a narrow 4-3 margin, with Richard Morin, John Kotsonis and Deborah Beal dissenting.

While the $635,000 project will ultimately be paid for through donations, as well as advertising and rental revenue generated from the site, to date, only about $530,000 has been pledged by various business and residents.

That leaves a shortfall of approximately $105,000, and to fill it, the town will borrow money from the Route 1 Tax Increment Finance District, with future pledges and site revenues re-paying those funds back into the TIF over a five-year period. Town Manager Barry Tibbetts has said the project will be accomplished with a much lower price tag attached if it commences immediately, as opposed to delaying construction to secure more funding.

“It places the town in a five-year window of risk,” said Morin. “We don’t have a guarantee on getting it back.”

While stressing that he is in favor of the project conceptually, Morin said he would be more comfortable seeking a commitment to replenish the TIF funds within one year as opposed to five, due to the often unpredictable nature of the economy’s health.

“Five years is a long time for us to be out on a limb,” he said.

Kotsonis, meanwhile, said he was in favor of delaying the project until next year, claiming that having funds secure would mitigate the inconvenience of paying more.

Others on the board, including David Spofford, touted the immediate economic ”“ and aesthetic ”“ impact the pavilion would have on the downtown.

“With the donations that have been made, the risk for the town … in raising the taxes is basically nil,” said Spofford. “The only time (the lot) looks good is when there’s 10 inches of snow and a lot of ice, and I hate both of those things.

“I’m just amazed that we’ve been able to raise this amount of money. This project has a lot of potential.”

Another decision made Tuesday was to sole-source the project to locally owned Benchmark Construction as opposed to putting it out to bid.

The reason for that, said Tibbetts, is that sourcing locally has resulted in projected savings of 30 to 40 percent on labor and materials ”“ one of the reasons the pavilion is as inexpensive as it is.

“Putting it out to bid wouldn’t really work, the way this has been set up … as more of a grassroots project,” said Tibbetts.

If started on schedule, the project is estimated to be complete by the last week of July. The name “Waterhouse Center” is an homage to the Geraldine Waterhouse family, who last fall established a $1.5 million endowment fund to create a skating rink on the site, with regular maintenance and upkeep of the site coming from the endowment.

Tibbetts said the pavilion will extend that site into an all-season facility, and in fact, a preliminary schedule of events has already been drafted for the late summer heading into next winter, including a magic show, a BMX bike demonstration and a performance by musician Rick Charette.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.