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Select Board signals support for waiving roughly $6,700 in permit fees for Bigelow Hill workforce housing
Summary
Western Maine Mountain Housing presented a 50-unit workforce housing plan for Bigelow Hill and requested a waiver of about $6,700 in permit fees; the Carrabassett Valley Select Board voted to signal support for waivers by the Planning Board and Sanitary District and the application will be presented to the Planning Board June 25.
Mark Green, executive director of Western Maine Mountain Housing, told the Carrabassett Valley Select Board on June 22 that WMMH is seeking a waiver of roughly $6,700 in permit and plan-review fees for a workforce housing project on Bigelow Hill. The project, started as a town initiative, proposes 50 units in two phases and carries an estimated total cost of $12,363,195; Phase 1 (one 12-unit building plus roads, sewer and water) is estimated at $5,949,195.
Green summarized the project’s financing plan for Phase 1: a $1,500,000 congressionally designated subsidy, $1,000,000 in bank financing, $1,000,000 from the Northern Border Regional Commission, and $2,449,195 to be raised through fundraising, with Demont Associates retained to assist the campaign. Predevelopment spending to date totals about $317,000 and earlier sources (TIF, Betterment, ARPA, board donations) total roughly $332,148, leaving a small predevelopment balance.
Green asked the board why WMMH should be charged fees for what he called “virtually a Town project,” noting the fees include $75 per unit (paid to the Town) and about $2,000 to cover plan review. Town Manager Garrett Corbin explained that under the Town ordinance the Select Board may revise the fee schedule while the Planning Board has procedures to consider waivers tied to demonstrated economic burden; Corbin also noted that planning staff require payment for an application to be accepted as complete.
Tim Flight, a member of the Planning Board, said he preferred that the Planning Board not be tasked with deciding these administrative fee waivers and stated his view that such financial-policy questions are the Select Board’s purview. Green said he would bring a check for the fees to the Planning Board on Thursday, June 25 when the application is presented, to avoid delaying acceptance of the application.
On a motion by Jay Reynolds, seconded by Lloyd Cuttler, the Select Board voted unanimously to signal support for the Planning Board and the Sanitary District waiving the fees. The motion passed with all attending members voting in favor; one member (Bob Luce) was recorded absent that day.
Votes at a glance: the board unanimously approved the motion signaling support for fee waivers; the same meeting also recorded unanimous votes approving the prior meeting minutes, a $500 contingency match for a recreation event, approval of an Outdoor Center wedding request, and adjournment.
Next steps: WMMH will present its application to the Planning Board on June 25; the Select Board’s vote was a nonbinding signal of support and does not itself waive fees that are under Planning Board or Sanitary District authority.
