The Gardiner City Council will meet on Wednesday to see a presentation outlining a design under development for the planned Cobbossee Trail in town.

The proposed trail project, which is expected to extend the Kennebec River Rail Trail, was envisioned as a city effort more than a decade ago.

But city officials have opted to turn over a portion of trail development to the Maine Department of Transportation, which is also working on a project to replace both the Bridge Street and Maine Avenue bridges, for efficiency and cost savings.

The changes are the result of public input collected in August at a meeting hosted by the city of Gardiner and the Maine Department of Transportation. In the meantime, some of the ideas have been incorporated into the trail project plan, and the Cobbossee Trail Steering Committee is expected to discuss them at the meeting.

The Gardiner City Council meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Gardiner City Council chamber at 6 Church St.

City officials adopted a plan in 2005 that called for commercial, residential and mixed-use development and recreational options in the Cobbossee Corridor, the area along the stream from New Mills Dam to the Kennebec River. Both building a trail along the stream and redeveloping the Summer Street area near the stream were also long-range goals in a 1999 downtown revitalization plan by the city.

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City staff are expected to give an update on the project’s budget, time line and progress.

Interim City Manager Anne Davis said not all the suggestions made at that public meeting were able to be incorporated, and city elected officials may wish to consider if they want to dedicate funding to include additional ideas.

The City Council is also expected on Wednesday to consider:

• allowing the Gardiner Area High School Entrepreneurship Class to use Waterfront Park;

• accepting the proposed 2018 fees for library services;

• a request by Lisa’s Legit Burritos for a liquor license;

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• sewer abatement requests;

• granting an automobile graveyard, automotive recycling business and/or junkyard permit for Brown’s Exit 27 Salvage; and

• City Council meeting dates for 2018.

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @JLowellKJ


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