WATERVILLE — The Waterville City Council is expected Wednesday night to consider awarding a $598,598 contract to  Vaughn Thibodeau & Sons of Bangor to do paving upgrades on Carroll, North and Middle streets and Industrial Park and Shores roads.

The meeting, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., is being held Wednesday instead of the regular Tuesday because elections are Tuesday.

Wednesday’s meeting also will be held at a different location than usual — the Mid-Day Cafe at Mid-Maine Technical Center, next to Waterville Senior High School — because the Chace Community Forum on Main Street was booked for the night.

A car comes to a stop in August 2017 where the newly built Exit 124 off-ramp on Interstate 95 meets Trafton Road. The Maine Department of Transportation plans to rebuild the road to accommodate the heavier traffic that development of the area has produced. The Waterville City Council is expected to hold a second vote Wednesday night on the city’s participation in the project.

The entrance to the cafe is accessible from the parking lot at the rear of the high school, off Messalonskee Avenue.

In addition to the $598,598 contract for the road paving projects, a 10% contingency, or $59,860, will be added, bringing the total to $658,458.

The funds would come from the 2019-20 capital improvement program’s annual maintenance account and the 2019-20 general purpose bond.

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The work would start this spring and summer. The part of North Street to be paved is from West Street to Main Street.

In other matters, the council Wednesday is expected to give the 2020 Spirit of America Award to Scott McAdoo, a member of the South End Neighborhood Association who is also a member of the both the board of directors for Kennebec Messalonskee Trails and for the Waterville Community Land Trust.

The council is also expected to consider taking the first of two votes needed to amend the zoning ordinance to allow People’s Salon & Spa on Temple Street to move to the former Redington Funeral Home property at 3, 5 and 7 Park St.

William Dangler, who owns People’s, is requesting the zone change, from Residential-D to Contract Zoned District Commercial-A.

Conditions of that contract zone are that 5 Park St. will be used only as a beauty salon and spa, professional office or residence; 3 Park St. will continue to be used as two-residential apartments and 7 Park St. will continue to be used only as a parking lot; and any new construction will meet the dimensional requirements of the Residential-D zone.

Also, screening must be provided as required in the zoning ordinance and would include  a compact evergreen hedge planted along the northerly line of the property and be maintained to attain a height of not less than 6 feet within five years. All landscaping must be planted within six months of the zone change.

The council is expected to consider a second vote to approve a municipal-state agreement to reconstruct Trafton Road for $4.3 million. As part of the agreement, the city would make payments to the Maine Department of Transportation for a total of $500,000 toward the project. The council took a first vote Feb. 18 to approve the agreement.

Councilors on Wednesday are also expected to consider taking a second — and final — vote to amend the zoning ordinance to allow solar farms in both the Rural Residential and Airport Industrial zones. The Planning Board voted 5-2 on Feb. 24 to recommend city councilors approve the zone change, with Cathy Weeks and Tom DePre dissenting.

Councilors are also expected to consider taking a second vote to spend up to $47,000 to replace a police cruiser that was destroyed when hit by bullets in December after a traffic stop. The funds would come from an insurance settlement of $22,000 and $25,000 in surplus.


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