A business owner hoping to relocate his metalworking foundry to Punkintown went before the Planning Board Aug. 5, trying and failing a second time to get approval without the expense of major road work.
Josh Dow, who lives at 8 Punkintown Road, runs Green Foundry out of a small space at Sanctuary Arts in Eliot and wants to expand the business at his 18-acre property behind the Punkintown Business Park off Route 236.
Dow requested some latitude for improving the road access to his property, hoping to be able to relocate and get to work before paying for expensive road work. He had suggested at the July 15 Planning Board meeting that improvements could be made as the business grows.
Board members expressed enthusiasm for the business concept and agreed to continue preliminary review, but made no decisions at that time.
Sounding frustrated and discouraged, Dow told the board last week that the “project will be dead if he has to pay for major road improvements.”
At the Aug. 5 meeting, Town Planner Jeff Brubaker said the application would be deferred until plan drawings for the septic system are added, along with resolution of other items that arose during a third-party review.
After a long discussion, Planning Board members rejected Dow’s suggestion for a phased plan to make the improvements.
Two dozen elements of the plan were highlighted in a review by JBL Engineering, according to a document sent to Brubaker from Andrew Schluntz of Attar Engineering, hired by Dow. Of those, six elements already have been addressed and 19 need to be changed on the plan drawings, a third of them less expensive options.
“I don’t know how you protect the Town if we allow this to go forward for now, [saying] ‘we’ll take care of it down the road,’ but you may not be here in six months,” said board member Tony Palazzetti.
The paved part of the Punkintown access road is owned by the Town and was paid for by Tax Increment Financing funds. The road continues beyond that as gravel, leading to Dow’s property and providing access to the Great Works Regional Land Trust Rocky Hills trail, two residences, and some undeveloped properties.
Brubaker noted board concerns about adequate width for two vehicles passing, and said a 90-degree turn will need to be improved for passage of various sized vehicles.
Improving a gravel section of the access road could potentially be covered by TIF revenues, he said, as ownership consists of a mix of responsible parties.
Dow’s property abuts but is not within the Punkintown TIF district, and he asked the Town Council at its Feb. 24 meeting if his parcel could be included. The Town Council approved adding the property, and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, which oversees any TIF project, is now reviewing the proposed addition.
Hydro company amends fish ladder plan
In other business Aug. 5, Green Mountain Power, owner of the South Berwick Hydroelectric Project, received approval from the Planning Board to change an access road surface from porous to concrete, amending the previous plan for the property on the Salmon Falls River next to Counting House Museum.
The utility wants to install 200 square feet of concrete to protect the pipes that deliver water to the turbines at the dam, where large gray concrete barriers are currently restricting movement of vehicles.
The initial request for concrete on a 400-square-foot area was a mistake in the application, according to Brubaker, who provided an updated plan to the board.
Green Mountain representative Eric Lahr, attending via Zoom, agreed to further conversation about problems with the company’s other access to the property that runs through the Counting House Park parking lot.
Also in other business, the Planning Board gave Berwick Academy permission to house 15 boarding students at its dormitory on Academy Street, three more than the 12 approved by the Planning Board in 2017 when the school converted the former inn at 15 Academy St. into a dormitory.
Head of School Scott Erickson requested the number of allowable students be raised to 15 as B.A. has seen increased interest for student enrollment in the residential program. One adult would continue to live at the address and no interior changes are needed to house additional boys, Erickson said.
After asking a few questions about parking capacity and limitations put on resident students’ use of vehicles, the board voted to allow three additional boarding students.
