SACO — A zipline is not in the cards for Cascade Falls.

The city council Monday night voted unanimously not to have City Administrator Richard Michaud negotiate a lease with Monkey Trunks, a zipline and ropes course amusement park.

The suggested lease would have allowed Monkey Trunks to expand its rope course with a zipline over the city-owned Cascade Falls. In exchange, Monkey Trunks would have allowed participants in the city’s summer recreation program to use the park for free at a designated time.

Monkey Trunks opened in 2011 on Waterfall Drive off Cascade Road. The property, according to city records, is about 15 acres and abuts city-owned property.

The city acquired the Cascade Falls waterfall and the surrounding 17 acres through a contract zone agreement with developer Elliot Chamberlain in 2008. The city, in conjunction with local nonprofit Saco Bay Trails, has been working to develop a trail system on the property, with the first trail, a quarter-mile loop, completed in 2011.

Councilor Leslie Smith said he received several letters, emails and calls from people with “everyone treasuring the quiet and tranquility of the area around the falls” and no one in favor of the proposal.

Councilor Eric Cote said he didn’t approve the current lease proposal on the table, but thought members of Saco Bay Trails, city officials and representatives from Monkey Trunks should sit down and work out a deal that would be acceptable to all parties.

Cote made a motion to pursue further negotiations with the company, which failed to garner a second.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.