BRUNSWICK

Interim Town Manager John Eldridge has clarified whether or not Amtrak Downeaster engines will idle once inside a controversial proposed maintenance layover to be built in the West Brunswick neighborhood. Trains will be able to power down once inside the facility, Eldridge told the town council on Monday.

Confusion arose at a previous council meeting over whether the trains would still need to idle in order to keep the air compression brake system powered, even if an engine were connected to an external power source.

In addition to providing trains with electric power, the facility will have an air compressor that will allow trains to power down completely, according to Eldridge.

Eldridge met with representatives from the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority on July 18 to discuss what could be done to address idling Downeaster engines whose noise, vibration, and pollution are upsetting some neighbors in the Cedar Street area.

NNEPRA says its proposed maintenance facility would mitigate the problem. Neighbors in that area and the town council have asked NNEPRA to install a power supply that would allow the trains to stop idling, until such a time as the layover facility is built.

Councilor Jane Millett on Monday said idling trains represent a health and safety issue for Cedar Street area residents.

Eldridge said another meeting with NNEPRA will be held Aug. 4 to discuss the idling issue.

Meanwhile, Councilor John Perreault said he is waiting to hear from the Federal Railroad Administration as to what effect a superior court decision vacating an environmental permit has on the proposed facility.

“The FRA has not gotten back to us,” Perreault said, but added that updates will be made public once they’re made available to Eldridge.

Also at Monday’s meeting:

The council approved new parking restrictions for part of Park Row near Bowdoin College.

Under the revision, a two-hour limit is imposed between 8 a.m and 6 p.m except on Sundays and public holidays on the east side of Park Row, starting 135 feet north of South Street and continuing north to College Street.

Parking will be banned between 1 and 6 a.m. on the eastern side of Park Row north of Longfellow Avenue to College Street.

The change comes at the request of the college in order to have more turnover, and prevent students’ vehicles from taking up the spaces all day and night.

Brunswick Police Capt. Mark Waltz said his police were “trying to find the right balance” in parking enforcement. The department has one officer dedicated to parking enforcement.

Also, time will be of the essence for a task force created to find solution to Brunswick’s landfill problem, according to member and Town Councilor Steve Walker.

Ammonia emanating from three lagoons that discharge into the Androscoggin River is higher than the acceptable rate, and it may be cheaper to close the landfill altogether if Brunswick can take advantage of state funding before a December 2015 deadline.

Walker said the task force is moving on three fronts: To see if resolving the ammonia problem is feasible; explore alternate ways of disposing of Brunswick’s garbage; find a way to get relief from state and federal environmental regulations and deadlines.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com