Brunswick Councilors on Tuesday voted 8-1 to spend up to $70,000 to buy a 144-acres at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station from the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority for conservation and outdoor activities.
Councilor Chris Watkinson cast the lone dissenting vote, stating that the council did not do their “due diligence to solicit feedback from various stakeholders.”
“For myself as a councilor and as a representative of a certain amount of people in town, I can’t put my vote behind the idea that we’ve done everything that we should be doing,” Watkinson said.
In December, the parcel stirred controversy over whether to purse affordable housing development on the land.
The cost of the acquisition is $35,000, accompanied by a $28,000 required contribution to the Homeless Trust Fund, according to a memo from Town Manager John Eldridge.
Eldridge said the town does not anticipate needing to spend the remaining $7,000, and the money was included in the motion in case of unexpected fees.
The resolution allows the town to accept and use contributions and grants to pay for the property, as well as up to $35,000 from Recreation Impact Fees. If there is a remaining amount due, funds would come from the Town’s contingency account.
Councilor Stephen Walker and town staff have applied for a $20,000 grant from The Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund.
“I think it’s really going to help define this community,” Walker told the council. “It’s like our Central Park.”
The parcel includes cold war era bunkers, paved roads which could be handicapped accessible trails, off street parking and other ecological aspects.
“I am hopeful we will be able to partner with the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust to harness public support for trail building and maintenance,” wrote Councilor Dan Ankeles in a statement, although “those discussions are still in the works.”
The town will acquire the land in two parts.
“The first 105 acres would come to us immediately and the remaining 39 would come through the Navy later on at no additional cost,” wrote Ankeles. “The reason the acquisition is split like this is because the Navy still needs to do environmental work (testing and mitigation), especially in the quarry area.”
In December, The Times Record reported that the parcel was part of a 275-acre plot given to Bowdoin College in 2006. In 2020, however, Bowdoin gave over half of that land back to the Navy, which in turn gave the land to the redevelopment authority.
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