By Cliff White
Staff Writer
Limington voters will decide whether to borrow $121,000 to purchase the Academy Gym. Despite the failure of a similar measure by a 349-211 vote at the March 2 Town Meeting, the question will appear again on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Bonnie Laughlin made a presentation on behalf of advocates for the purchase at a public hearing Oct. 18. She said while the town had voted against buying the gym in March, the vote had been close enough for her try to put the referendum on the ballot once again.
“I think a lot of people didn’t know exactly what they were voting on,” Laughlin said. “I think when people learn more about it, they will realize the cost of the gym is justified by a survey conducted by the group showing interest in a more local outlet for recreation.”
    A public meeting was a requirement for the issue to go to referendum. The Limington Town Council agreed to allow the issue as a referendum on a 2-1 vote at a Sept. 21 meeting. The group interested in having the town buy the gym had to collect 135 valid signatures of Limington voters to bring the article before the town council; Laughlin said the group had collected 157.
    “We are people who like community activities,” Laughlin said. “We would like to have the opportunity to do more things in our town locally, without driving far or spending a lot on gas.”
    The gym, which is located in Limington’s village area at the intersection of Route 117 and Route 11, was originally a barn converted into a gym in the 1930s for Limington Academy. After the academy closed in the 1950s, students at the Harold B. Emery Jr. Elementary School used the gym until the school built a new one in the 1990s. More recently, residents used the gym for informal recreation until the Academy’s Board of Trustees, which owns the gym, decided to suspend use due to safety and liability concerns, said Trustee president Roland Weeman.
    An evaluation by Limington’s Code Enforcement Officer, Ron Phinney, estimated the cost to renovate the gym to bring it up to code at between $36,900 and $142,000. The Academy Trustees are offering the gym to the town for $121,000, even though the current tax assessment for the property is $271,300. Weeman said if the town did not buy the land, it would put it up for sale at its full-market value. The cost to tear down the gym is estimated at $12,000 to $15,000.
    In an interview after the meeting, Laughlin said she had approached the Academy Trustees to ask if they would sell the property at the lowered cost if her group raised private donations to pay for part or all the cost. Laughlin said the trustees had declined that option because they were unsure of the mechanism for enabling such a procedure.    
    At the meeting, several residents voiced their concern regarding various parts of the group’s proposal. Most notable among these concerns was the cost to taxpayers of buying the 0.82-acre property and the town’s assumption of control over a contaminated well on the property.
    “I know many people from the town have spent many hours having a great time [in the gym], and I think it’s a great gym. It’s a great place to bring your kids and play ball. But I think we should look at this as a business venture,” Limington resident Mike Hanson said. “We do need a rec. program, but if we are going to spend $250,000 to get one operating, I think the money could be better spent than buying a gym we would most likely have to tear down. I can’t see the town being in the real estate business.”
    Laughlin said while the group would like to see the gym preserved because of its historical significance, it was open-minded in what is done with the property once it is purchased. The group raised the possibility of the town razing the gym and building a new recreation center, as well as demolishing the building to create an open common space, including a town green and gazebo, to promote community-based outdoor activities.
    “I know it won’t fall well on some of the thrifty ears in town to buy a piece of land primarily for aesthetics, but doing so will have a positive long-term impact on creating a better village,” Laughlin said. “This is an opportunity for the town to do something with foresight. Other towns are facing squeezes now. Their opportunities for development are restricted. What we’re trying to say is, eventually this kind of opportunity to secure land right in the village at a reasonable price won’t be available any more.”
    Town Councilman James Bickford said Limington’s future expansion would likely not occur at the part of town where the gym is located, but rather at the intersection of Route 11 and Route 25.
    “There are a lot more kids in this town these days, a lot more younger families, and I agree we need more activities, like concerts on a summer night at a gazebo – those that a rec. department could provide. But if you really want to think about the future, I don’t think we want to start this on a piece of contaminated land,” Bickford said. “This town has a lot of beautiful space. We have land that can be used for all these activities.”
    Bradford Hahn, a state geologist with the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, presented a report revealing high levels of benzene contamination in the well located on the Academy Gym property, which supplies water to seven buildings in town including the gym, Davis Memorial Library, the Masonic Lodge, the old town hall, Limington Academy and the Hanley and Lord residences.
    Hahn reported the benzene was finding its way into the well due to the residual effects of leaky underground gasoline tanks on a nearby property which were recently removed. He said fracture in the well allowed benzene into the well from contaminated topsoil. He presented a graph which showed levels of benzene in the well as high as 74 parts per billion, more than seven times the national legal limit of 10 parts per billion and more than 14 times Maine’s allowable limit. However, Hahn said, two filters installed in the well have proven effective at ridding the well water of benzene contamination since they were installed in 1999.
    “While the well is contaminated, the drinkers of the well’s water are not exposed to any pollutants at all. The filters clear it all out,” Hahn said.
    Dick Jarrett, a Limington resident, said he wondered if some people who had drank the well-water before the benzene was detected could have been exposed to contamination, with unknown consequences.
    “It’s currently not a public water supply, but if the land is purchased it would become one,” Jarrett said. “Legally, that’s not a pretty picture. Somebody’s got to do the responsible thing and keep on top of this situation very carefully.”
    Laughlin said she acknowledged the issue was complicated, but nontheless advocated for the town’s purchase of the gym.
    “It’s a complicated property – the water situation is complicated, and it’s a lot of money to spend,” Laughlin said. “I will say that I’m really very glad we had the public forum to discuss the water. This is water that is being worked on by the DEP, water that does serve the public, and it deserves to have public scrutiny and input. However, we have been assured by the DEP that the water is clean and safe for drinking, and I think that even at the cost, which is high for Limington, the gym is still worth purchasing.”
    Jarrett made the suggestion that whoever ultimately ends up buying the gym should look into documenting it before tearing it down.
    “I would hate to see it go. It would be nice to preserve it for its historical character,” Jarrett said. “If whoever buys it does decided to get rid of it, the least that can be done is to make a movie of what it looked like before it goes.”