SACO, Maine — Saco city planners and a developer proposing electric bus chargers at the municipal transportation hub reopened a public hearing Tuesday and then continued it to Aug. 19 after the board asked for more detail on a required decommissioning plan and a lease amendment.

Kimber Operating Company representatives told the board the electrical equipment would sit inside a fenced compound adjacent to the train station and that they would add an emergency shut‑off, a Knox/knock box for fire‑department access and motion‑activated lighting. The applicant said the company also proposes to slightly raise a concrete equipment platform approximately a foot to reduce risk from plowing and vehicle encroachment and would consider concrete or bollard protection on the parking‑lot side.

Matt from Kimber Operating Company described several changes the firm planned to make after a park‑and‑rail site walk: “There was a couple items, from the fire marshal. 1 was the, emergency shutoff, and we are okay going ahead with emergency shutoff. There's a panel, there's an electrical panel raised off the ground by the platform where the old windmill was, and we'll just put a shut off right on the backside of that, so there's no other visual discrepancies with it. It'll shut the whole thing off.”

Emily Cole Prescott, city planner, told the board staff had also requested a formal written decommissioning plan for the EV chargers and associated infrastructure, and that the lease the applicant holds for the city parcel would need an amendment so the decommissioning obligations are enforceable. Prescott said staff would coordinate with the city attorney and city administration on whether lease language should be completed before final Planning Board approval.

The board repeatedly asked for a clear statement of what “decommissioning” would include. In particular, members wanted to know whether buried foundations or bored piers for pantograph supports and charger equipment would be removed and how the site would be restored at the end of the system’s life. Jeff Bruscio urged the project team to define whether “concrete structures” would be removed to grade when decommissioning occurs.

Several members raised public‑safety questions about electric buses. Planning board member Jeff Bruscio cited national incidents and said the board should be mindful of the risks: “there was a SEPTA fire in Philadelphia, June 5… there was a Proterra bus that was caught on fire when it was charging. July 23… People were hurt in fighting that fire.” He asked the team to explain emergency access and suppression strategy in greater detail.

Applicant representatives said they were coordinating with the fire department on the emergency plan and had proposed Knox access, a clear shut‑off location and space for emergency vehicle pull‑up. The team also proposed additional security cameras inside the fence and said they would coordinate camera locations with the police department.

Site design items discussed included fencing location, the relationship between the fenced yard and pedestrian sidewalk, and a requested 20‑foot clearance from the pavement edge flagged by Public Works. The applicant said the planned fence could be pulled in where feasible and that plantings — low shrubs and a row of evergreen screening — could be placed outside the fence to preserve sight lines and to comply with right‑of‑way constraints.

The board also discussed the project’s timeline. The applicant described two parts of the work: taking down some out‑of‑service distribution lines this fall and the larger substation/charger construction. The applicant estimated the full program could begin in September 2025 and run into late 2026.

After the discussion, the Planning Board voted 6‑0 to continue the public hearing and application review to Aug. 19 so staff can confirm the public‑works setback, finalize peer‑review landscaping suggestions and clarify the timing and lease language for the decommissioning plan.

The board asked staff to return with draft condition language tying final plan approval to a decommissioning plan and to advice from the city attorney about how the lease amendment can be timed relative to final permitting.