WEST BATH

West Bath selectmen announced Monday that Regional School Unit 1 has agreed to pay the town’s cost to lift deed restrictions on the Wing Farm Business Park, helping to pave the way for a new high school to be built on the property.

RSU 1 has an option agreement from Bath to purchase property at Wing Farm to build the school as part of a state-funded school construction project.

Wing Farm straddles Bath and West Bath; the proposed school would be constructed on property within Bath. However, a school is not an allowed use in the business park under existing restrictions.

In 2009 the EDA, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, approved a 50-50 matching federal grant to the two communities, providing $1.7 million toward initial development costs for Wing Farm. The grant stipulates that the site be developed for economic growth purposes and create hundreds of high paying jobs.

West Bath Town Administrator Adam Garland said Monday that selectmen met with representatives of RSU 1, the city of Bath, the Bath Water District and West Bath Economic Development Corp. to discuss the parties signing off on releasing the federal EDA restrictions on the land at Wing Farm.

To buy out of the grant restrictions, the EDA requires an appraisal be done and for West Bath to pay EDA half of the current appraised value of the property.

In order to move forward, RSU 1 has agreed to pay for the expense of West Bath getting out of the EDA grant, Garland said, so it can proceed with the school construction process. Bath would pay its own half.

First, however, the EDA has to approve the paperwork that has been submitted, including the appraisals that were done. West Bath officials expect to hear back in mid- to late February.

Selectman Peter Oceretko said the move would only lift the deed restrictions on Wing Farm. The town retains the property with the ability to sell it restricted only by the town’s own zoning ordinance — which currently mirrors the EDA restrictions.

Garland said Tuesday that though the infrastructure sits ready, no development has occurred in West Bath’s side of the business park. If the EDA restrictions are released, he would be proposing to selectmen the town consider changing the allowable uses from industrial to commercial at the Wing Farm property. Any such changes would need to be approved by voters at a town meeting.

dmoore@timesrecord.com

Background

• IN 2009 the EDA, a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, approved a 50-50 matching federal grant to Bath and West Bath, providing $1.7 million toward initial development costs for Wing Farm Business Park. The grant stipulates that the site be developed for economic growth purposes and create hundreds of high paying jobs.