Dover-Foxcroft will allow Central Avenue lot to be used for public parking
DOVER-FOXCROFT — A lot owned by the town on Central Avenue will be open for public parking in the coming weeks, the Dover-Foxcroft Select Board decided at a meeting Monday.
After receiving several inquiries from townspeople about using the space for parking, Town Manager Jack Clukey brought the proposal to the board.
The lot is accessible off of Winter Street and North Street, Clukey said. Local businesses, organizations and others have asked to use the space for additional parking. The town’s public works crew could regrade and place gravel over a 70-foot by 90-foot space in the coming weeks, Clukey said. Select Board members voted unanimously to approve the proposal at Monday’s meeting.
CENTRAL AVENUE — A lot at Central Avenue, owned by the town of Dover-Foxcroft, is pictured Tuesday.
This would leave areas untouched for the purpose of a person or business leasing a small section of the lot, Clukey said. He was approached several years ago and again recently from people interested in leasing.
“It would be easy to convert back to another use because all we’re talking about is a gravel path,” he said.
The board also approved a price increase per square foot for space that the town leases annually. The price changed from $8.50 per square foot to $9.75 per square foot.
“We have not really looked at pricing for the spaces since we started leasing,” Clukey said. “We know things are costing more and that we should be keeping up with those costs.”
The town’s promotion and development committee is meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at the Dover-Foxcroft Municipal Building to discuss concepts for improving traffic flow at Monument Square.
Several townspeople spoke during the open session portion of the meeting. They asked when crosswalks are scheduled to be painted and shared thoughts on the playground at Morton Avenue that will undergo renovations in the coming months, along with other ideas.
Town resident Robert Olszewski Jr. called a recently approved marijuana ordinance as prejudiced. The ordinance would require medical marijuana caregivers to have a local permit. The town doesn’t have ordinances pertaining to the smell of food, exhaust pipes and other odors that could be disruptive, he said.
“I noticed that people were complaining as they drove around that they smell things that bother them,” he said. “They’re using this as a basis to restrict people from growing marijuana in town.”
The rule that townspeople approved at the annual town meeting Saturday is not an odor ordinance similar to a noise ordinance, and odor was only one of the factors that was considered, Clukey said. The ordinance outlines standards related to ventilation and odor management, lighting, waste disposal and other factors.