Damariscotta Board of Selectmen Chair Joshua Pinkham is 40 years old.

Every morning when he drives through town, he drives through the municipal parking along the river.

“My hope is that for the next 40 years, God willing, I can drive through and not say 'We made a mistake,'” Pinkham said.

The process of reshaping the parking lot took another step forward Wednesday, Jan. 15 during the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen meeting.

Twin Villages Alliance Board Chairman Mary Kate Reny and Vice President Sarah Moore were in attendance to talk about the future of the big lot, which has garnered a lot of attention since two November community meetings.

“There was a lot of excitement built-up from the community conversations,” Reny said. “We want to keep that momentum going. All that energy needs to be harnessed into an approach.”

The municipal parking lot, which acts as a buffer between the Damariscotta River and downtown, will need significant repairs. During the community meetings the consensus was to add amenities and make the lot a central feature of downtown.

Most of the people who attended the November meetings also spoke against implementing a pay-for-parking option for funding, with fundraising being the likely alternative.

That is where Twin Villages Alliance comes in, Reny said.

“Damariscotta can't go out and fundraise; Twin Villages Alliance can,” she said.

Twin Villages can only go so far without knowing the scope of the project and how much money will need to be wrangled to go on to the next phase, Moore said.

“What we need from you is to tell us what the project is, for citizens, or businesses or whomever wants to help with donating money,” Moore said. “They need to know what they are funding. The why, what and how much.”

Pricing estimates ranged from a low of $375,000 for a restructuring and resurfacing of the lot, up to almost $1 million for bathrooms, boardwalks and a new electrical system.

Barnaby Porter said Damariscotta should embrace its ship-building heritage and reach back to the past for inspiration.

“One thing I feel we need to do is be inspired,” he said. “I had a brainstorm about the boardwalk and I started thinking about Damariscotta's shipbuilding history.”

From there, Porter said, he began to think about two of Damariscotta's most famous ships: the Ocean Herald and the Flying Scud.

“I would love to see the (boardwalk) design incorporate either of those two ships,” he said. “Maybe have it incorporate the deck outline, or maybe have masts. It's just a thought.”

Related:

Lot talks

We need to get clever