WATERVILLE — The City Council on Tuesday will consider taking final votes to accept a donation for parking enforcement, increase parking fines and discuss a proposal to change the venue for council meetings.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Bill & Joan Alfond Main Street Commons at 150 Main St.

Colby College has offered $10,000 to help the city hire someone to do parking enforcement, and the council has taken one vote to accept those funds. Two votes are needed. The council also has taken one vote to approve increasing parking fines from $10 to $25 and increasing the fine for parking in a handicapped space from $50 to $200. Another vote is needed on that item also.

In other business, resident Julian Payne said he plans to advocate for a proposal to change the venue for council meetings. Holding them in a Colby College-owned building represents a conflict of interest, according to Payne.

“The building is also poorly designed for council chambers,” Payne said in an email. “It strips away your second amendment right to bear arms. When meetings were held on city property we could freely open carry pistols. I have security concerns, elected officials have their backs to glass windows clearly visible to any persons outside of the meetings.”

Colby, which is investing millions of dollars in the downtown as part of revitalization efforts, offers the city and nonprofit organizations use of the space, The Chace Community Forum, free of charge.

The council will consider a final vote to sell a vacant lot at 38 Carey Lane to Gary Murphy for $1,500. Councilors also will consider referring to the Planning Board a request to rezone 129 Silver St. from contract zoned/transitional to just transitional to allow for construction of a building addition and expansion of a parking lot.

 

Amy Calder — 861-9247
acalder@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @AmyCalder17


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