FARMINGTON — A request to terminate an agreement to lease a Front Street parking lot to the town for 99 years at a cost of $1 per year came before selectmen Tuesday.

Greg Roux, owner of the former Farmington Construction Inc. and the Front Street lot, asked the board to drop the lease so he could someday build on the space next to the Better Living Center, adding to the town’s tax base.

Selectmen decided to table the discussion until Feb. 23 so they could research the issue and get input from the Downtown Business Association, which was involved in the original agreement.

The agreement made in 1993, under former town management, provided off-street parking for downtown tenants and shoppers. In 2000, the University of Maine at Farmington joined the agreement, although it already had an easement that crosses the property, Town Manager Richard Davis told the board.

The town agreed to be responsible for “maintaining a parking area which is flat, well-drained, paved and lighted for pedestrian safety.”

Although the town has fulfilled the majority of terms, Davis said, Roux claimed the town had not met the maintenance terms of the agreement.

Under the terms of the lease, Roux would not be charged real estate property taxes. He recently found Farmington Construction had been billed and had paid property taxes on the parking lot for the past 16 years, according to a letter written by his lawyer, Margot Joly.

Selectman Dennis Pike, who sat on the board at the time the agreement was made, was concerned that the terms had not been fulfilled and taxes were charged.

“Did the town drop the ball?” he asked.

Roux said he wasn’t looking for back taxes (which could only be abated for up to three years, according to Davis), and he doesn’t want to take away the parking. He might consider a year-to-year lease until he has a plan for it, he said.

 
He said only about 10 to 12 cars park there overnight and that the original intention hasn’t worked as planned; most shoppers don’t want to park there and climb the hill to the downtown stores.

“It’s not the best use of the property,” he said.

Selectmen face the dilemma of having a good lease in hand that provides much-needed overflow parking versus potentially increasing the tax base.

“Why would the board want to get rid of a super deal?” asked Selectman Ryan Morgan.

Roux considers the lease to be broken because of the lack of maintenance on the lot. “If a tenant rents for $100 and doesn’t pay, he doesn’t have a lease any longer,” he said.

The lot is also used for the Sandy River Farmers Market during the summer.

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