The Pharmers Market is looking to move to an adjacent zoning district. The business at 638 Wiscasset Road is in the C-2 District and wants to move into the nearby industrial park zone. At the Dec. 13 Boothbay selectmen’s meeting, Jan Martin, owner of the medical marijuana caregivers business, requested changing a portion of C-2. 

The Pharmers Market opened in July. Martin and his business consultant Darrell Gudroe told selectmen and planning board members during the application process,  they planned to expand in 2018. Martin is seeking a zone change because the industrial park has more permitted uses than C-2. Martin previously consulted with the planning board about a zoning change. He reported planning board officials had no objections.

“I spoke to the planning board during one of their recent workshops and they have no problem with it, and recommended I talk to you,” Martin said. It seems the selectmen don’t have a problem with the proposal, either. The selectmen directed Town Manager Dan Bryer to begin drafting warrant language seeking voter approval.

The business’s location was in the industrial park zone until a zoning change was made for a used car lot, which is prohibited in the industrial park zone.

Selectmen also received a proposal regarding current industrial park businesses. This request came from board member and Mid-Coast Machine owner Mike Tomacelli whose business is in the industrial park. Tomacelli proposed adding 31.7 acres to the tax increment financing district which would include several businesses in the industrial park.

State law limits TIF districts to two percent of the municipality’s acreage. Boothbay has three businesses under credit enhancement agreements allowed through the creation of TIF districts. According to town officials, only three acres are available for TIF district expansion. But the town could create more acreage by replacing areas with businesses, in TIF zones, not utilizing tax benefits through economic expansion with ones seeking to expand.

Bryer plans to consult with municipal tax assessor Michael O’Donnell, Tomacelli, and possibly others to identify businesses and locations which may benefit from being in a TIF district. Once locations are identified, residents could vote to change the composition of municipal TIF districts.

In other action, selectmen are supporting Alna Third Selectman Doug Baston’s efforts in petitioning the Maine Department of Transportation to allow neighboring towns a voice in the U.S. Route 1 Redevelopment Project in Wiscasset. Earlier this month, Boothbay selectmen joined boards in Alna, Boothbay Harbor, Newcastle and Edgecomb in sending a letter asking State Sen. Dana Dow (R-Waldoboro) requesting him to withdraw a bill to slow down MDOT’s implementation of a plan to reduce traffic congestion and reconsider eliminating Main Street parking.

Baston has communicated with Boothbay and other neighboring towns by email about the project’s impact on the region, but on Dec. 13, he spoke directly to Boothbay selectmen asking them to join in another letter. This time, Baston wants surrounding towns to ask MDOT directly to allow Boothbay, Alna, Boothbay Harbor, Newcastle and Edgecomb input in redeveloping U.S. Route 1.

“It’s a regional problem so it should have a regional solution,” Baston said. Selectmen agreed to sign a letter after reviewing a draft Baston wrote. But the selectmen will go a step further and send their own letter. “I think the more letters the better. One letter signed by 15 elected officials is one thing, but if you have a stack of 10 then that makes a more powerful statement,” said Selectman Steve Lewis.

Selectmen also appointed a seventh person to the new Landscaping Committee. The board unanimously appointed Linda Redman who was one of two applicants. Redman is a member of the Boothbay Region Garden Club. “She comes to us a highly qualified candidate,” Bryer said. “The committee is so impressed with her that at the last meeting they provisionally elected her chairman.”

Selectmen created the committee Oct. 27 to make recommendations for roundabout landscaping. The other applicant was Dawn Gilbert. Selectmen didn’t appoint her because they preferred an odd-number committee composition. Bryer reported one member had missed all three committee meetings and the selectmen should hold onto Gilbert’s application for a future appointment.

The selectmen will meet next at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27 in the municipal building’s conference room.