WATERVILLE — The City Council tonight will consider selling six city-owned properties, including the Parks and Recreation Department’s operations building at 140 Western Ave.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in council chambers at The Center downtown.

Mark Turner, director of the Public Works Department, said the parks and recreation staff — which consists of two full-time employees and eight seasonal workers — soon will be sharing space with 24 public works employees at 6 Wentworth Court.

“They’re in the process of moving right now,” Turner said Monday. “It should be concluded by the end of the month.”

Despite the shared quarters, Turner said the two departments will remain independent of each other.

“It’s just an advantage to have everybody together,” he said.

Before the end of the year, the building’s utilities will be disconnected, except for electricity. City Manager Mike Roy recommends that the property be listed for sale sometime after Jan. 1.

Roy said he’s not sure what the listing price will be.

The building was constructed in 1972 as a fire station, according to City Assessor Paul Castonguay. The city does not have a record of when the Parks and Recreation Department moved in, he said.

The council also is scheduled to consider the sale of a Water Street lot seized because the owner failed to pay taxes, two homes on Water Street and Pine Street acquired the same way, property on Webb Road and a vacant lot at the site of the former Eden Inn on Main Street.

Councilors also may decide to buy two abandoned buildings on Water Street for demolition and resale of the lots.

Roy said he’s not sure how much revenue the properties could generate if they’re sold. The recommendation to sell is purely practical, he said.

“We’re not set up to be landlords,” Roy said of city government. “That’s not what we’re built to do, so we’re trying to recognize that and put these properties back into taxpaying status.”

In other business, representatives from Kennebec Valley Gas Co. will present information on the proposed formation of a tax increment financing district during a 7 p.m. public hearing. If approved, the TIF district would help fund the development of a natural gas pipeline from Richmond to Madison. A 12.5-mile segment of the line is scheduled to run through Waterville.

The city’s TIF Advisory Committee has voted to support the project.

After the public hearing, the council is expected to vote on the matter. The TIF arrangement needs approval in three council votes to be authorized.

Ben McCanna — 861-9239

bmccanna@centralmaine.com