It seems land developer Anthony Casella’s proposal to build three condominium units may be his last on Davis Island. Edgecomb Planning Board Chairman Jack French told the board of selectman on June 15 that Casella’s proposal will likely be approved with conditions.

One of those is for the project to use all eight acres in the marine zone. The property already includes an office and rental building on the parcel located at the corner of U.S. Route 1 and Eddy Road. This condition prohibits future Davis Island development, according to French.

Casella is a partner in The View at Sheepscot, LLC.  The group is proposing to connect the three future condominiums into the sewer and water system located across the street. The system serves three other entities, two of which are projects where Casella served as the developer: The View and The Village. The third is the Community Housing of Maine development.

All three properties are connected into the system located in the Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district created several years ago when The View was proposed.

French believes the system can handle the additional flowage from The Village at Sheepscot, which is not a part of the TIF. He does have concerns about who will maintain the pumping station owned by The View and The Village after Casella’s latest project is approved.

French fears there is no entity in place to ensure the pumping system is maintained. Casella has overseen the pumping station’s maintenance over the years. But French believes Casella’s involvement will soon change.

“He is going to sell those three condominiums,” French said. “And when he does, he’ll still have an office, event center and rental building. But his association will be as a member, not as a developer. So I think he’ll wave bye-bye and walk away. The question is then what happens to the system’s oversight.”

French proposed the selectmen create an administrative management system to maintain the TIF’s sewer system. French suggested that entity could be a public or private committee.

“You could resurrect the town’s sewer committee to provide oversight, or that responsibility might fall under The View, The Village, CHOM (Community Housing of Maine) who already are in the TIF, and the new development (The Village at Sheepscot) could all form a board of directors,” French said.

French also suggested the town consider turning over the TIF district’s sewer management to the town of Wiscasset.

The selectmen plan to review their options and discuss what course to take during a future board meeting.

“At this point we need to focus on two points: management and administration. We’ll take a look at it, and focus on the sewage component,” said Board of Selectman Chairman Jack Sarmanian.

French said the planning board is moving toward a conditional approval of Casella’s application. Another condition is contingent upon selectmen’s approval for Casella’s sewage plan.

The planning board has proposed several other conditions for Casella to complete after receiving town approval. According to French, the planning board is still negotiating with Casella. The two parties will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 18 in the municipal building. This is a regularly scheduled planning board meeting.

A public hearing is scheduled for July 2. Following the hearing, the board will vote on whether to deem the application as complete.

Other business

In other action, the selectmen are looking to fill vacancies on several town committees. The board appointed Carol Leone as the third member of the website committee. She joins Jarryl Larson and David Nutt on the newly formed committee.

The selectmen are also resurrecting the conservation committee. Planning Board Vice Chairman Barry Hathorne proposed bringing back the five-person committee. He, along with Gary Balducci, will recommend new members at the next board meeting.

“It’s something that we have to have,” Selectman Mike Smith said. “It’s in the comprehensive plan. And I’m not sure why it was suspended.”

The selectmen are also looking for a representative for the Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District. The representative attends one monthly meeting and receives a $1,000 yearly stipend paid by the district. The selectmen also plan on reviewing membership statuses for other municipal boards; they will fill vacancies this summer.

The selectmen will meet next at 6 p.m on Monday, June 29 in the municipal building.