6 Church Street, Gardiner, Maine 04345 Pat Hart, Chairperson
Dorothy Morang, Recording Secretary
 CITY OF GARDINER PLANNING BOARD
Gardiner Planning Board May 11, 2006
City of Gardiner, Maine Regular Meeting 6:00 PM
ROLL CALL
Present: Pat Hart Deborah Willis James Montell
Pamela Mitchel Edward Lawrence
Absent: Bob Moody
Also Present: Dorothy Morang, Planning Board Recording Secretary
Jason Simcock, Director Planning & Development
David Cichowski, Code Enforcement Officer (CEO)
Terry McGuire Jean T. Dellert Jack Decker
Pat Decker Francis Grey Jr. Jarod Grey-Purvis
Peter Coughlan Ingrid Stanchfield
1.) Chair, Pat Hart called the meeting to order at 6:04 PM and went over the schedule for the evening.
2.) Roll call taken.
3.) Workshop (Pre-Application Conference)
The City of Gardiner will hold a Workshop (Pre-Application Conference) to
discuss the Site Plan Application process for the Boys & Girls Club. The property
is located on Pray Street, City Tax Map 33 Lot 20.
Chair Hart asked if any member has anything to disclose reference this project. Ed Lawrence said that he sits on the Board at the Boys and Girls Club and also has done work for them; therefore he feels he should recuse himself.
Jason Simcock said that the property has been school property for many years and most of it is currently leased to the Boys & Girls Club. They plan to turn it over to the Boys & Girls Club shortly. The activity will not change, but after seeking legal advice and also they feel that the site plan review process is the best way to proceed. They have come to the Planning Board tonight to review the site plan approval process and to get some indication from the Board of the information that they will require.
David Cichowski said because of the size, it would be a major classification. He determined that it was 23,082 S.F. according to a floor plan he found in the tax records.
Ingrid said that the building will transfer to the Boys & Girls Club, non-profit on June 30, 2006. Currently 2 rooms are being used by the school. Following the transfer, the school programs will move out.
The biggest issue that they have heard about is the traffic issue. Ingrid said she has been surveying the traffic in the area for some time. The High School has an easement to use the field and parking for sporting events. She has asked that the High School kids and buses park at the High School and walk over to decrease traffic. She said that at one time there were over 200 kids and many parents and every bus in the district parked there. She doesn’t think they are generating any more traffic. A lot of the kids come on the bus. She asked the Board if they wanted a traffic study done.
Deborah Willis said the ordinance refers to a traffic impact report. She said that on previous projects, the Planning Board requested that the applicant watch the traffic for a few days at different times and give a report of the traffic.
Ingrid said they have information because the parents have to check in and out with the kids and they can track that from the records. She can also look at the after hour building contracts – how many were given out in a week and the number participating. The program begins at 6:30 AM and closes at 5:30 PM. After hour building contracts are available for use between 5:30 PM and 9:00 PM for community events, seven days a week. This is the same in the other schools in the district.
David mentioned using a questionnaire or survey. Pat thought it would take too long and you don’t get the information back. She thought that the data Ingrid could collect would be good. Jim Montell said he thinks a survey would work best if Ingrid takes it herself. She could determine which streets the drivers come through.
Pat Hart said another issue noted before is noise. Some may have been cars and some kids.
Ingrid said the outside activities are on the playground and in the back. The current and planned activities are as they’ve always been. The community use of the building in the evening has always been there. It is not a new proposal.
Pam Mitchel said one of the differences of this school and the others is the size of the road.
Ingrid asked if she comes back with the traffic information and a synopsis of building contracts using a busy time and summer and then track parents – which street they come through for a few days, will that be sufficient? She mentioned that the Boys & Girls Club is closed between Christmas & New Years and one week in August for maintenance.
Deborah Willis said that usually proposals like this are new and require parking plans, buffering, etc., but this activity is already here.
David asked if there was a way to determine bike traffic vs. car.
Ingrid said the majority of kids come on buses or cars. Pam Mitchel said that many of the neighborhood kids used to walk to school.
Jim asked if since they’ve been there, have there been any calls for problems in the neighborhood. Ingrid said just one call about the speed of traffic. It was someone using the soccer field and she referred them to the Police Department. She talked with the Police Chief, Jim Toman and he said the amount of patrolling of the area would depend on the manpower. Ingrid said she can give some parental urging.
6:37 PM Meeting opened to public
Pat Decker said she doesn’t live in that neighborhood, but people have said to her that kids come outside to smoke and they lean on people’s houses. Ingrid said that it is High School kids. She has only one employee who smokes and they smoke in their car. She will look into whether she can put something into the after-hour building contracts to instruct people not to smoke next to the neighbors’ houses.
Pat Hart suggested that they include a copy of the contract with the application.
6:42 PM Closed meeting for public comment.
Ingrid said she hopes to be at the June 2006 Planning Board meeting with her site plan review.
4.) ADJOURN
Chair Hart adjourned the Tuesday/Thursday meeting at 6:47 PM.
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