Hallowell councilors expect to take a final vote on a $2.36 million bond package and address the Stevens Commons master plan application during Monday’s meeting.

The bond includes $600,000 for developer Matt Morrill’s mixed-use project, $585,000 for a Water Street reconstruction project, $535,000 for work on rural Hallowell roads and $300,000 for downtown parking improvements. If approved by council, it will go to the voters sometime in the spring.

Stevens Commons in Hallowell is the site where a developer wants the city to invest money as part of a public-private partnership. Staff file photo by Joe Phelan

For months, the council debated how to structure the bond package. Councilors discussed whether there should be one bond including all the different funding elements or multiple proposals. Ultimately, finance committee chairman George LaPointe said one bond package was the right choice because “the various components of the bond fit together to support the continued economic vitality and development” of Hallowell.

Morrill, of Grand View Log and Timber Frames in Winthrop, acquired the 54-acre Stevens Commons property from the state in April for $215,000. He asked the city for help fixing the roads and sidewalks on the campus, which he said would make the property more attractive to other developers and tenants. His proposal includes turning over ownership of the roads to the city, which then would oversee all maintenance.

Most of the people who have spoken publicly about the bond proposal oppose the Stevens Commons component. Ken Young, who has written about the subject in the Kennebec Journal, said he doesn’t favor subsidizing infrastructure improvements that are typically the responsibility of the developer.

Morrill, however, said the property isn’t marketable without infrastructure improvements. He said his vision of turning the former girls’ boarding school into a “mixed-use centerpiece of Hallowell real estate” can’t be realized without the city’s help, and he estimates completing the redevelopment of the campus with the vision laid out in the master plan would cost $20 million.

City Manager Nate Rudy said if the council approves the bond proposal’s final reading, a referendum would occur in late April or early May.

The council will decide on the next step in the Stevens Commons redevelopment by voting to approve, approve with conditions or deny the master plan application, which was recommended for approval last month by the Planning Board.

Morrill envisions a mixed-use development including affordable senior housing, commercial and retail space, and small, clustered subdivisions. The master plan application has been scrutinized by the city’s code enforcement office, the Planning Board and the council during more than a dozen meetings, hearings and workshops since it was submitted in September.

In other business, the council is scheduled to vote on a resolution by Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, to designate Hallowell as a “welcoming city.” Warren’s resolution comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s controversial order that banned immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Last week Warren was one of the speakers during a rally in opposition to the ban at a new Iraqi-owned grocery store in Hallowell. She said she moved to Hallowell 21 years ago because it was known as such a welcoming community, and she wants that to continue.

The resolution states “the City of Hallowell welcomes immigrants and all new residents and visitors to our community, and supports their paths toward citizenship, recognizing the extraordinary efforts and resilience of the individuals who move to our community under the most difficult of circumstances, and who face barriers including unfamiliar language, culture and divisive political rhetoric.”

The council is also expected to approve Rudy’s appointment of Farmingdale firefighter Jim Owens as the city’s interim fire chief. Owens has more than 40 years of firefighting experience and would takes over for Mike Grant, who has retired after 31 years as Hallowell’s fire chief.

Jason Pafundi — 621-5663

jpafundi@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ

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