The Wiscasset Primary School and Mason Station will go on the market, Wiscasset selectmen decided at their Tuesday, July 21 meeting. Real estate agent Sherri Dunbar, of Dunham Realty, was instructed to aggressively pursue their sale.
Following an executive session to discuss the terms of the primary school sale, selectmen voted to institute a six-month listing period for the property and make a leasing option available for the six months prior to the property’s sale.
Interested buyers and leasers are already lining up to express their interest in the property. Desiree Bailey, owner of Possibilities Salon in Gardiner, attended the meeting armed with a floor plan for the school’s potential future as a health, fitness, and beauty facility.
Patrick Parson, director of operations for Lincoln County Healthcare, was present to express interest in leasing the property. According to the process established by selectmen, interested buyers should contact Dunbar and interested lessees should speak with Town Manager Marian Anderson.
A short time later, selectmen also voted unanimously to ask Dunbar to aggressively pursue Mason Station’s sale. Mason Station was given a one-year listing period. The decision was made following a discussion of collection of back taxes on the property.
Town attorneys requested to meet with selectmen to determine the direction the town would pursue for Mason Station following the Supreme Court’s judgment. The Supreme Court upheld the Superior Court’s 2013 ruling that Mason Station LLC owed Wiscasset approximately $850,000 in back taxes.
Selectmen were unanimous in their desire to receive the unpaid taxes and voted to authorize town attorneys to pursue legal efforts to collect them. With the Supreme Court’s ruling also an indication Wiscasset is the official owner of Mason Station, selectmen voted to authorize Dunbar to pursue its sale.
“Mason Station is one of the most valuable pieces of property in town,” Selectman Bill Barnes said. “There’s a lot of opportunity there.”
The real estate listing of Mason Station and the primary school properties brought selectmen one step closer to accomplishing the goals they established earlier in the meeting. Following a previous discussion of the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen’s goals for fiscal year 2015-2016, selectmen developed a personal list of goals.
Collecting back taxes on Mason Station and transforming the failed development into a property with an economically viable function was a goal shared by all. Selectman Jeff Slack named the sale of the primary school as one of his goals as well.
Rines named reducing the mil rate by 2 percent, convincing the Federal Aviation Administration to repave the airport runway without destroying the Chewonki Campground, developing an ordinance to protect the town common from unnecessary clutter, convincing the Maine Department of Transportation to uphold the Federal Street weight limit, and convincing the federal government of the grave dangers involved in the nuclear waste stored at Maine Yankee as his primary goals.
“They’ve been promising to take care of this for 40 years,” Rines said of the spent nuclear fuel. “Midcoast Maine is in danger if anything goes wrong down there.”
Vice Chair Judy Flanagan agreed with many of the goals listed by other selectmen and added maintenance of sewer lines, collection of sewer bills, and a review of the comprehensive plan to the list.
While selectmen’s action on Mason Station and the primary school has already brought them close to accomplishing their newly announced goals, the ability of selectmen to maintain the weight limit on Federal Street is in question.
According to Anderson, the Maine Department of Transportation sent communication to the town stating the commissioner is drafting a decision on the Federal Street weight limit and the timing of the change. The DOT recommended waiting until the decision was received before holding a public hearing on the matter.
According to Rines, the purpose of the public hearing was for DOT to hear what residents had to say before making a decision. Changing the weight limit would have a major impact on Federal Street, Rines said. “I’m shocked they want to pull the rug out from under the town,” he said.
Rines suggested holding a public hearing attended by DOT before a decision is reached and inviting representatives from Alna, who also support maintaining the weight limit, to speak. Rines asked if it was possible to limit the ability of representatives from other towns to speak in opposition to the weight limit at the hearing.
Selectmen voted 3 in favor to 2 abstained to schedule the public meeting. Anderson said she will look into the rules governing who is allowed to speak at public meetings and report back to the board.
