Skowhegan area voters asked to approve change of bus garage location
Sep. 27—SKOWHEGAN — Voters in the six towns served by Maine School Administrative District 54 are being asked to approve a new location for the district's bus garage, part of a state-funded project that comes at no cost for local taxpayers.
Residents of Canaan, Cornville, Mercer, Norridgewock, Skowhegan and Smithfield can vote on the proposal in a referendum Nov. 5.
A public hearing and presentation on the proposal is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Skowhegan Area Middle School, 155 Academy Circle.
The referendum asks voters to approve changing the location planned for the district's bus garage to the Maine Department of Transportation lot at 264 Canaan Road (U.S. Route 2).
Though the change is not expected to have an impact on local taxpayers, the referendum is going to voters in the district's six towns because they previously approved the funding and construction of the garage as part of the district's new consolidated elementary school.
The district has been using the lot and garage for its busses since spring 2023 when construction of the Margaret Chase Smith Community School off Heselton Street began, MSAD 54 Superintendent Jon Moody said.
The district previously had its bus yard and garage next to the Margaret Chase Smith school, but it was taken over by the new school construction project.
Original plans as part of the $75 million new school project, which is funded largely by the state with the remaining costs covered by local fundraising efforts, called for the bus yard and garage to be moved to the North Elementary School site on Jewett Street, Moody said. North Elementary School is one of the schools planned to consolidate at the new school, which would leave that parcel available.
Switching to the Maine DOT lot would free up North Elementary School for other uses. For example, the district is considering repurposing the building as a childcare center in conjunction with local businesses and organizations, Moody said.
The change in location, if approved, is also expected to result in a cost savings for the state-funded project, according to Moody.
Reached Friday, Moody said he did not yet have the exact cost comparison of using the Maine DOT lot versus the North Elementary School site available. But it is expected to be roughly half of the original budgeted cost, Moody said.
Moody said he expects district officials to have those figures available at Thursday's public hearing. Information about the referendum question will also be distributed to voters through other district communications, he said.
At a MSAD 54 board of directors meeting earlier this month, district officials recognized concerns from some directors about past flooding at the Maine DOT lot. The yard and garage flooded in December when the Kennebec River reached historic levels, damaging more than 20 of the district's vehicles.
During the December storm, district staff did not receive notice of the rising river levels in time to move the vehicles, Moody said.
Since then, the district has been fully added to emergency alert systems for Somerset County and the town of Skowhegan, he said.
"We've also made adjustments at the garage itself," such as elevating certain items off the ground, Moody said Friday.
If the Maine DOT site is approved, the district has no plans for major construction at the site, Moody said. The existing garage, though, may be renovated and expanded.
Meanwhile, construction of the new school remains on track, with a targeted opening of fall 2025.
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