The Waterville City Council is expected to decide Wednesday night on a proposal to prohibit overnight parking on city streets during winter. Parking would still be allowed at The Concourse parking lot, above, and at Head of Falls. Morning Sentinel file

WATERVILLE — The Waterville City Council is expected to consider a request Wednesday to prohibit overnight parking on city streets during the winter, but allow it at The Concourse and Head of Falls.

The meeting this week is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday — instead of Tuesday, because of Election Day — at the Mid-Day Cafe at Mid-Maine Technical Center at Waterville Senior High School. An executive session is set for 6:45 p.m. to discuss a real estate matter.

City Manager Michael Roy said Monday that Matt Skehan, director of the city’s Public Works and Parks and Recreation departments, has recommended changing a city ordinance dealing with streets and sidewalks to prohibit parking on streets from midnight to 6 a.m., from Dec. 1 to April 30.

The exceptions would be in the municipal parking lot at Head of Falls and at The Concourse,  a city-owned parking lot in the center of downtown.

“The Public Works Department for some time has been having a very difficult time enforcing, or getting around, because we don’t always know exactly when it’s going to snow, so they would just like to make things a lot easier and say there’s no overnight parking from midnight to 6 a.m.,” Roy said.

In other matters, councilors are expected to consider whether to award a $334,000 contract to Nortrax, of Hermon, for snow removal equipment for the city-owned Robert LaFleur Municipal Airport. Nortrax was the low bidder in the Federal Aviation Administration process. Milton Caterpillar of Brewer bid $427,400 for the equipment.

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Airport Manager Randy Marshall recommends the city award the bid to Nortrax for a John Deere 544L with attachments, including a blower, sweeper and box plow. The equipment would be funded by a 2020 bond.

City councilors will be asked to choose McFarland Johnson of Freeport as the city’s primary airport consultant and Stantec Engineering Services Co., based in Canada, as the secondary airport consultant.

As part of the vote, Roy would be authorized to issue a notice to proceed to McFarland Johnson for work associated with the Taxiway A design and reconstruction FAA Airport Improvement Program grant for 2021. Also, Roy would be authorized to apply for the FAA’s 2021 Airport Improvement Program grant.

The council is also expected to consider a second, final vote to rezone from Airport District to Airport Industrial District about 22 acres on the east side of the airport, north of the east-west runway, to allow Cenergy to construct a solar farm there. The council took a first vote Oct. 20 to approve the rezoning.

Councilors will also will be asked to take a final vote to accept a $64,900 offer from M&J Properties to buy Lot 7 in the Airport Road Subdivision. The council took a first vote Oct. 20 to accept the bid.

Councilors will also consider a first vote to sell a tax-acquired property at 70 Violette Ave. to Run Yuan Inc. for $99,500, and a first vote to sell 3 Abbott St. to Hassan Alavarabalnabi for $44,000. A second vote is needed for each.

Also, the council will consider accepting an offer from Pine Tree Waste Services, owned by Casella Waste Systems Inc., to buy Lot 40 and part of Lot 10 at the Airport Road Subdivision. An amount has yet to be decided.


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