Businessman Paul Coulombe and Danielle Betts of Knickerbocker Group held a community meeting at the Boothbay Region YMCA on Aug. 10 to discuss the upcoming ballot measure on the Route 27 corridor improvements, as well as the proposed Boothbay Village Square retail development.

The corridor project would feature a rotary, also called a roundabout, at the intersection of Route 27 and a newly moved Corey Lane, bike lanes, and sidewalks from the school and the YMCA to the town hall and the common. The roundabout is designed to slow traffic down, making it safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and motor traffic alike. There would also be a 40 to 50-vehicle parking lot east of the common on land owned by Coulombe. The parking spaces would be leased by the town, and the lease arrangement would be reconsidered every ten years.

The project would be financed jointly by the Department of Transportation, a tax increment financing program approved last year by the voters of Boothbay, and a private donation from Coulombe. Each would contribute a third of the funding. No new tax dollars are expected to be needed.

This funding arrangement does not include the proposed Boothbay Village Square plan. That plan is to be a market-driven retail and dining project that would be financed by Coulombe and the entrepreneurs.

About 160 people turned out to hear more about the two projects.

Coulombe first pointed out that the local school enrollment has declined 32 percent annually over the last ten years. He said Lincoln County also has the highest median age in the United States, and as the county and the peninsula ages, it is important to bring in more young people and families. He also said it is important to extend the season beyond the traditional summer season, beginning early in the spring and continuing through the holidays.

According to Danielle Betts, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens has a plan that would expand its season by adding early spring and late fall attractions, but said the Corey Lane intersection is a “failed intersection” according to the DOT, and the Gardens would not be able to increase its season without correcting the deficiencies at that intersection.

The tax increment financing (TIF) arrangement, approved by voters last year, would include the golf course area, the proposed village square, and the industrial park.

A TIF diverts new taxes in a particular area for infrastructure to improve business opportunities. The new revenue can be spent on capital, financing and real property acquisition costs including road improvements, landscaping and plantings, lighting and property or easement acquisitions, sewer and water or other utility infrastructure, administrative costs, professional services, such as engineering, legal expenses, and more, and economic development planning and marketing studies. Only new tax income is affected, but a TIF has benefits to the town at large because the state and county do not consider those new taxes part of what is owed to the other taxing authorities. The town benefits additionally with more school subsidies and municipal revenue sharing subsidies because the TIF area is not being considered as part of the town’s income. The 30-year TIF is expected to save the town about 15 percent over the lifetime of the TIF, according to Shana Cook Mueller of Bernstein Shur. She is Boothbay’s TIF attorney.

Betts said there would be many benefits to the corridor improvement plan. In addition to traffic-calming measures at the roundabout, there would be turning lanes and median strips with attractive vegetation. Betts said those steps would also slow traffic along Route 27.

The squaring up of many of the side street intersections will improve sight distance for exiting motorists and will have a positive impact on safety, she said.

The intersection of Route 27 and Country Club Road is scheduled to be redesigned to accommodate the town’s large transfer station trucks, eliminating their need to use the whole roadway to turn north on Route 27.

The Gulf gas station property has been acquired and the gas tanks will be removed. The apartment building north of the station will also be demolished. Betts said this will improve sight distance for cars on Chapel Street.

Parking along Route 27 near the common will be eliminated. That will improve safety, but will require that additional parking be made available, which is why Coulombe is offering to lease a parking lot on the east side of the common.

The monument will be made part of a larger lawn at the town hall. The initial plan, to have the monument at the center of the roundabout, was unworkable because Knickerbocker was unable to secure all the rights to the properties around the monument, according to Betts.

Questions about water use and runoff came up during the question and answer session that followed. Betts said certain parts of the golf course already have pipes underground that accept runoff and release it slowly so it doesn’t swamp the Harbor, where there is a danger of flooding periodically. She said plans are in place to do the same under the proposed parking lot so stormwater doesn’t run off into nearby Adams Pond, which is one of the main sources of drinking water for the peninsula. A question about permeable pavement was asked, but Betts said that the permeable pavement, such as is used in certain places in Freeport, don’t meet Maine Department of Environmental Protection standards.

Asked about alternatives if the measure fails, Betts said, “There is no plan B.”