Town Meeting, February 10

The Town of Thomaston will hold a special town meeting to vote on the TIF district proposal.  The special meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in Watts Hall.

Directly before the vote will be an hour long public hearing on the TIF proposal, beginning at 6:00 p.m.  Any town resident may bring questions about the proposal and ask the town selectmen directly.

The TIF (Tax Increment Finance) district proposal is to reclassify the Thomaston Green (the former Maine State Prison site) and other parts of the town as a TIF District, which will meaning making improvements to the area with the assumption that tax revenue generated from stores and retailers which build there will be retroactively used to pay for the improvements.

For more information about the town meeting or the TIF district, contact the Thomaston Town Office at 354-6107, or call the library at 354-2453.

Thomaston Town Meeting Monday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m.

The town of Thomaston will hold an informational town meeting tonight, Monday January 26th, in Watts Hall at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the T.I.F. Proposal. This meeting will be followed by a special town meeting vote on February 10th.

The T.I.F. Proposal under discussion is a proposal to reclassify parts of the town of Thomaston as a Tax Increment Finance District, whereby the land where the Maine State Prison formerly stood will be developed to attract new businesses, and the tax revenue generated by that development will be used retroactively to pay for the initial improvements to the land, and then for future civic and community improvements in other areas covered by the TIF district. Under the proposal, 70% of the tax income from areas in the TIF district will go specifically toward civic improvements, while the remainder will go to the town's General Fund.

The proposed district would cover the former prison site (referred to as the Thomaston Green), the Village Commercial District (compromising the main street mall businesses and the stretch of route one between the prison site and the Academy Building) and the Thomaston Academy Building. By including the road, Academy Building, and the commercial district, the tax revenue generated by development on the Thomaston Green can be used for improvements in all of those areas.

All community members are encouraged to attend tonight's meeting to learn more about the proposal. For more information about the TIF proposal, contact the Thomaston Town Office at 354-6107 or call the Library at 354-2453.