Damariscotta Municipal Parking Lot Project to Resume, Weather Permitting

With spring approaching, the renovation of Damariscotta’s municipal parking lot is set to resume once weather warms. Work began last in September and stopped in November 2024.

According to Damariscotta Town Manager Andy Dorr, the town is waiting to hear back from the United States Economic Development Administration about an extension on the project that would allow for construction until May 28. The extension from the current deadline of April 17 would increase the likelihood of favorable paving conditions.

“Chances that there are no April showers and temps that meet that criteria are pretty slim,” Dorr said. “To perform what we know is left we need an extension.”

In addition to paving, the remaining work to the back parking lot includes painting lines for parking spaces and directional traffic indicators, and the installation of a guardrail between the parking lot and Riverside Park, according to Dorr.

While there is no guarantee on when or if the extension will be granted, Dorr said there are additional project items the town would like see added to the initial bid for the scope of work in the parking lot.

Some of those items include paving the boat launch, paving Taco Alley, installing a generator for the public bathroom and pump station, sod for riverside park, and a visitor informational kiosk.

“We’d like to utilize the most amount of the development of the project,” Dorr said. “Regardless if we add those other components, we still need the extension, there’s no guarantee that the weather will cooperate, 40 (degrees) and warming for final paving.”

The municipal parking lot and waterfront park in Damariscotta underwent the second and final phase of a $4 million flood resiliency renovation, which began on Sept. 3, 2024 and continued through November.

Crooker Construction, of Topsham, led the renovation, which included installing a 150,000-gallon underground stormwater retention tank, new storm drain basins, upgrades to four existing drainage pipes, elevating sections of the parking lot, and repaving.

The parking lot’s flood resiliency plan is based on a 100-year storm scenario, which, according to Dorr, meant the infrastructure was designed to withstand flooding from a 5- to 6-inch rain event over a 12-hour tide cycle.

As part of the project, the parking lot’s lower areas along the waterfront were raised by nearly a foot.

The underground stormwater tank was installed beneath the boat trailer parking area on the western side of the lot, extending toward Taco Alley, past Y-Knot Gourmet Eatery on the Water.

According to Dorr, the project has been in the works for years. In 2015, the town’s waterfront committee identified the back parking lot as a critical area in need of flood resiliency improvements to protect downtown from rising sea levels and storm surges.

By 2020, funding for the renovation had been secured, with $2.8 million — 70% of the project’s cost — coming from grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The remaining $1.2 million was raised primarily through private donations.

The first phase of the parking lot improvement project, completed in July 2021, involved installing new sewer lines and constructing public restrooms.

The entire cost of the project was funded from grants from the Economic Development Administration and through private donations, according to Dorr.

Originally, the town had considered installing a permanent flood wall, but community discussions raised concerns about its aesthetics, effectiveness, and necessity.

In November 2024, Damariscotta Select Board members voted to purchase a MegaSecur Watergate deployable floodwall, which is approximately 840 feet in length and stand 39 inches tall.

According to Dorr, the design was best suited for the town’s location and requirements. The cost of the deployable wall is approximately $134,908.68.

Dorr said a significant reason for the prolonged nature of the project and having to ask for an extension is due to the long wait times while corresponding with the Federal Emergency Management Agency about the details of the flood wall.

According to Dorr, agency representative wanted a continuous, permanent wall installed which would have blocked off the boat access ramp.

Some of the additional projects have to do with improving Riverside Park, the strip of land between the parking lot and the harbor.

Those projects include making handicap accessible area near the boat ramp. Dorr said the idea is to lay compacted reclaim, salvaged material, or asphalt near the pump station “where a wheelchair could navigate to a table.”

Dorr said the goal of any park improvements done now would be to do work that won’t require getting another permit with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Permits are required from the agency to perform activities that could impact the environment, such as construction or renovations near waterways, according to the Maine DEP website.

“Anything we’re doing has to work without triggering the additional permitting process,” he said.

There are currently no estimates on how much the additional projects would cost, but they would be funded by the money already granted by the United States Economic Development Administration, according to Dorr.

With the prospect of completing the last phase of parking lot resiliency project and some additional improvements, Dorr said he has no reason to think the town won’t be granted the extension but he needs to hear back from the United States Economic Development Administration.

“A lot of these projects are low time commitments,” he said. “We just need to know.”

For more information on the parking lot project, go to damariscottame.com/home/pages/waterfrontparking-lot-project, call 563-5168, or visit the town office, at 21 School St., 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or 1-5 p.m. on Wednesday.