Damariscotta, in partnership with the Twin Villages Downtown Alliance, intends to lease a 40-space Water Street parking lot for use by employees of downtown businesses.
Damariscotta’s municipal attorney, James Gallagher, is working out the details of the lease with the Plummer family, David Atwater, the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said.
Damariscotta would lease the property for July and August, when downtown parking is at a premium and traffic is at its most congested.
The inaugural year of the lease would serve as a trial period, Atwater said, although, if all goes well, the town hopes to extend the agreement.
The town also intends to negotiate a right of first refusal clause, which would give the town the option to buy the property in the event the family decides to sell.
Downtown businesses would purchase parking permits from the Twin Villages Downtown Alliance, Atwater said. The alliance and the town would split the cost of the lease.
Details of the lease, including the expense to the town, will be available after all parties sign the lease, officials said.
Damariscotta has long sought a way to provide additional parking in the downtown. The town previously considered the Water Street lot about eight years ago, Atwater said.
The selectmen plan to sign the lease at their Wed., June 6 meeting, Atwater said. The public may comment at that time or call Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus at 563-5168 with any questions.
Lutkus said the agreement is a credit to the selectmen and to the alliance.
“This has been a goal [of the selectmen] for quite some time, to address the parking issues downtown,” Lutkus said.
As for the alliance, “If we didn’t have an organized group to work with, there’s no way we could have made it happen,” he said.
Lutkus also addressed some potential resident concerns. “The parking lot will not have a lot of coming and going during the day,” he said, because employees will simply park at the beginning of their shift and leave at the end.
The parking lot is also adjacent to The First’s employee parking lot. “It’s not going to be a major change in what the area looks like,” Lutkus said.
The Damariscotta Highway Dept. will spread gravel to prepare the lot, Lutkus said.
The agreement will provide a significant benefit to the downtown, Lutkus said. “For businesses, for citizens, we will see up to 40 additional spaces available in the municipal parking lot and downtown streets during the summer.”
