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February 9

Waterville council postpones final pipeline vote

By Amy Calder acalder@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

WATERVILLE -- City councilors on Tuesday postponed a final vote on a tax break for a natural gas pipeline to allow time to consider changes to the plan.

Kennebec Valley Gas Co., which wants to build an $86 million pipeline from Richmond to Madison, is asking for the tax break.

City Manager Michael Roy said Wednesday that the vote was postponed because the proposed changes will significantly change how the tax increment financing district, also known as a TIF, is administered locally.

The city's current proposal for a district and development plan for the pipeline calls for directing 80 percent of the property tax revenue for the first 10 years of the pipeline's use to the developer and 20 percent to the city; for the next five years, 60 percent would go to the developer and 40 percent to the city.

Roy said two amendments to that plan, proposed by Councilor Erik Thomas, D-Ward 4, are for the city's share of the TIF revenues to go into a dedicated TIF account instead of into the general fund; and the term of the TIF would be for 30 years instead of 15 years, but for the city only -- not for the developer.

In other words, the TIF agreement with the company would be for 15 years but the city would keep the TIF in place for its purposes for an additional 15 years, Roy said.

Councilors will host a public hearing Feb. 21 on the proposed changes before taking a third and final vote that evening, he said.

In other matters Tuesday, councilors voted to take $9,495 from the downtown TIF account and spend it to raze buildings at 41 and 43 Water St.

They voted to refer to the Planning Board, for public hearing and recommendation, a request to rezone 302 and 304 Main St., which are owned by Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area.

The council also voted to appoint the city clerk registrar of voters; and authorized Roy to complete paperwork to accept $100,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to provide job creation assistance to the Jobs for Maine Graduates program and the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com

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