Brunswick Town Council Capital Improvement Program Workshop - December 22, 2025
Brunswick Town Council Capital Improvement Program Workshop - December 22, 2025
The Brunswick Town Council convened on Monday, December 22, 2025, just before 7:00 PM for a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Workshop. All councilors were present except Councillor Watson. The meeting was properly noticed. The workshop featured presentations from the Fire Department, School Department, and Parks and Recreation Department on their priority capital projects for the coming years. No formal votes were taken; the session was informational and deliberative.
Fire Department – Engine Replacement
- Fire Chief Brilliant presented the need to replace one of two aging fire engines (twins purchased in 2009 for $435,000 each). Both engines have about 91,000 miles and 7,000 hours of use, with increasing electrical and corrosion issues due to age and road salt. A new Select Series truck (similar to Engine Two purchased in 2018 for $630,000) would cost $1.1 million and take 12–14 months to deliver. The chief noted the urgency to stagger replacement schedules and discussed the possibility of adding a fourth engine to the fleet.
- Council questions addressed industry consolidation driving up costs, the use of engines for EMS calls (85% of runs), the vehicle replacement reserve, and the limited resale value of older trucks. The chief confirmed that a bond or general fund balance would be needed for the $1.1 million purchase. A new ambulance chassis remount costs about $200,000 (half of a new ambulance) and takes several months.
School Department – Window and Heat Pump Replacements
- Scott Smith, Director of Facilities, Grounds, and Food Service, presented two projects for FY 2026:
- Window replacement at Brunswick High School (first floor): Approximately 100 windows, 31 years old, inefficient and difficult to operate. Estimated cost: $465,000. A summer 2026 installation is planned, with a second phase for the second floor expected next year. No state revolving renovation funds were available for windows.
- Water source heat pump replacement at Harriet Beecher Stowe School: Two of four large heat pumps at end of 15-year life span. Estimated cost: $102,500 ($102,000+ per pump). The heat pumps serve common areas (gym, cafeteria, library, etc.) using the school's geothermal system. Replacement planned for summer 2026.
- Councilors discussed alignment with the Climate Action Plan, the school's capital reserve fund, and the need for a multi-year CIP schedule. Smith noted that a comprehensive lighting retrofit project (previously approved) is moving forward after resolving solar credit issues; it may come back for council approval if funded through the town.
Parks and Recreation Department – Major Projects Overview
- Director Tom presented a comprehensive overview of high-priority capital improvements, emphasizing the need to balance funding sources (grants, private fundraising, tax revenue) and maintain momentum on the MARC project.
- Perimeter Trail (Phases 1–4): Phase 1 (connecting to Furbish trail system) is fully funded by a $250,000 Maine Trails Bond grant, with a local share request (TIF revenue from Brunswick Landing) to be brought to council in January/February 2026. Total cost for Phase 1: $404,000. Subsequent phases (2–4) total about $1.5 million, with plans to apply for $250,000 grants per phase.
- Bike path resurfacing: The 2.6-mile path, built in 1998, needs an overlay (shim and overlay) estimated at under $250,000, planned for FY 2028–2029.
- Houston Park (William Fitzgerald Conservation and Recreation Area): The full build-out is estimated at $12.6 million across 10 phases. Near-term priorities include environmental assessment of the former police firing range (possible brownfield contamination) and Phase 2 (Sturgeon Lane access, paving, parking, vault toilets) at $842,000. A playground near Bay Bridge (across from the park) is proposed. Director Tom noted the need for a dedicated fundraising strategy, possibly a friends group, and acknowledged the park's potential for swimming access. Councilor Weems expressed support for prioritizing structured swimming and picnicking at the pond.
- MARC Project: While not part of this CIP presentation (it falls under Economic Development), Director Tom stressed the importance of maintaining momentum to attract private and grant funding. Current phases include basketball courts and lighting; future phases include a lighted field, pool, and rink. Revenue from pickleball courts is earmarked for future MARC development.
- Councilors discussed coordination of grant writing across departments, the five-year no-capital-investment agreement for the Columbus property (beyond vehicle storage), and the potential for a friends group for Houston Park.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken during this workshop. The council received information for deliberation on the FY 2026 Capital Improvement Program.
- The Fire Department's request for a $1.1 million engine replacement is expected to be brought forward for bonding or general fund consideration.
- School Department projects ($465,000 windows, $102,500 heat pumps) will be considered as part of the CIP, with possible use of the school's capital reserve fund for the roof project ($385,000).
- Parks and Recreation will seek council approval for the Phase 1 perimeter trail local share (TIF funds) in early 2026 and plans to apply for additional Maine Trails Bond grants for subsequent phases.
- Environmental assessment of the Houston Park firing range will proceed using grant funds (MCOG/MDEP) to determine clean-up costs before further development.
- The council discussed creating a friends of Houston Park group to pursue private fundraising, with Councilor Weems expressing interest in leading such an effort after his term ends.
- The comprehensive lighting retrofit for schools is progressing and may come before the council for financing approval.
Meeting Transcript
Yeah, why don't you um can you close the door, Steve? I've been happy with closing your um welcome to the town of Brunswick Town Council Capital Improvement Improvement Program Workshop. It is Monday, December 22nd, and it is not 6 30, but a little before 7. Um, all councils are present except for Councillor Watson and up to graph. We do have a quorum. Has this meeting been properly noticed, Ms. Manager? Yes, it has. Good. Okay. Um it doesn't look like we have a lot of people in the public, but if we do have anybody on Zoom or some anybody shows up, I would like to do the public comment where a department presents, and then if there's uh questions from us, and then if there's any public comment, it'll be for that department. Then we'll repeat that through the three departments. Does that work for everybody to do it that way? Makes more sense than just having it at the beginning of the of the meeting. So um any adjustments to the agenda. Okay. Um, yes, um, counselor Williams. I'll just note that the right date is on the top. Yes, the right date is online like that, and whoever gave me the wrong date, I will talk to them later. Um I will um turn this over to Chief Brilliant and the fire department, please. Good evening, and thank you. Uh wait for the slides to get up here and checking the mics. Uh good evening, I'm counselors. I'm here tonight to just appraise you of a project of replacing one of our fire engines. Um you can go to the next slide. So let me set the stage for you just a little bit. Back in uh 2009, the town purchased two fire engines, uh twins, uh 435,000 dollars each. Both of those trucks, um high use, high mileage, as you can see, um 91,000 in change for each of those trucks. The hours are also fairly close. Um I'd point out that we can't always go by miles. A lot of times you hear people say, Oh, but only has so many miles. The engine hours are kind of important, and this is actually on the low end, but at idle, if that truck just sat there for 7,000 hours just idling, that's averaging between 30 and 33 miles per hour. So engine three would have 210,000 miles on it at an idle for 7,000 hours. Those trucks don't sit at an idle normally. Um more often than not, they're at a higher idle. There, if they're pumping out a fire for six, seven, eight hours. That's not at idle. That is a higher um rate. So those miles per hour uh would be much higher for total miles. So that just shows a lot of wear and tear on the engines themselves. Um those trucks are out there being used daily and have been since 2009. A quick comparison is engine two was purchased purchased in 2018 for $630,000. So obviously there's an increase in nine years, but currently that truck as of this morning had 72,592 miles on it, and almost six thousand hours. And I can tell you that the numbers already gone up today because they've been out most of the day running calls. So both trucks are aging, and that's it. I'm talking about engines one and three, because they are twins. Um we're starting to have increased maintenance issues. Uh obviously, some of that's age and use issues. That's just wear and tear. That's not much you can do about it.
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