By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – A new petition drive is targeting the city’s plans to build a parking garage at Great Falls Plaza.

Five residents, led by Daniel Herrick, hope to force a June 13 vote to recall the City Council’s approval of the $5 million bond project.

“As it stands right now, I don’t feel the citizens can afford another bond at this time,” Herrick said. “I’m not saying a garage is a bad idea. I’m just saying that it should be done with developer money, private money.”

Herrick and four others filed a request for petitions with the city clerk on Tuesday. The request is being reviewed by the city attorney, with a decision expected this week.

City Clerk Mary Lou Magno said it was too soon to know whether the request is legal, how much time they would have to gather signatures, or how many signatures they would need to collect.

They would have a narrow window, however. Magno needs to provide absentee ballots for the June primary 30 days before the vote. She’ll need time to review the signed petitions and make sure the group has collected enough signatures to force a vote.

“My ballpark guess would say they’d have to be finished by April,” she said. “We’ll know more if we issue the actual petitions.”

Herrick said the group is planning an aggressive campaign to collect signatures. He’s prepared to gather as many as 3,000, if it’s necessary.

“We’re not going to let it rest, if they let us go,” Herrick said. “We’ll be out on the road and pounding on doors to get it done.”

Members of the committee include family members of two city councilors. David Rowell, a member of the petition group, is the husband of Ward 4 Councilor Donna Lyons Rowell. Bruce Gerry is the brother of Ward 5 Councilor Belinda Gerry.

Other members include Kevin Simpson and Reggie Emery, who is also passing petitions aimed at unseating Mayor Normand Guay and four city councilors.

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