Although a facilitator was deemed necessary by the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen, there was little quarrel over one issue during a Wednesday meeting:

Something needs to happen to fix the municipal lot.

The first of two scheduled community talks about the large municipal parking lot Damariscotta was held Wednesday, Nov. 13 at the Great Salt Bay Community School.

The talks, which were co-hosted by the towns of Newcastle and Damariscotta, were facilitated by Planning Solutions Mark Eyerman, who was given the OK by the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen.

The parking lot has been the subject of speculation and debate since a summer study was released detailing how the town could possibly convert the lot to a paid lot as one of several options to pay for repairs. No decisions have been made, and none were made Thursday night. Instead, the community and businesses came together to talk with people familiar with the lot.

Travis Pryor, senior landscape architect for Wright-Pierce, spoke about the structural aspects of the lot and some of the proposed options the towns could seek while Tony Dater, town planner, addressed the environmental impact the town could face if nothing is done.

Dater said rising sea levels combined with the possibility for a large storm could flood the lot, which already has several areas prone to flooding.

Pryor mentioned several options for fixing the problem from a 2012 study done study the feasibility of fixing the lot.

Newcastle's Bruce Lutsk said the town would need to know what it is paying for and where the money was coming from before any decisions could be reached.

“I think we need to know what level of improvement we will be paying for,” he said. “We need to know what we will be paying for, and how the costs will be spread around. Will it just be Damariscotta or will it be spread around the whole region?”

To that Eyerman said the Thursday, Nov. 21 meeting would address the big issue: where the money would come from.

Options discussed ranged from a sea wall, public bathrooms and underground power lines to merely raising the lip of the lot a foot and repaving the rest.

Pryor said a full-depth repaving would cost approximately $375,000. The current paving dates back 15 to 20 years and any new paving could broach the same time frame, Pryor said.

Some of the pricier options ranged up to approximately $950,000.

Other residents who spoke questioned which plan would be best for the town in the long and short terms. Mike Herz said any plan reached couldn't be a Band-Aid; it would have to protect the town well into the future.

“I'm still concerned about how far forward we're looking,” he said. “Is this for our lifetime? Our childrens? Our grand childrens? What year would this take us up to?”

Barnaby Porter said the towns would likely come up with a plan.

“The unfortunate is that the best property in town is the parking lot,” Porter said. “I think we need to get clever. We need to get smart about what we want to see happen.

“If you fiddle with it long enough, eventually it will fall into place.”