By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Plans for a new dock and parking spaces at the old Grist Mill have won town approval.
The Kennebunkport Planning Board on Dec. 16 approved construction of a 35-foot ramp, a 200-square-foot float for public use and four parking spots near the boathouse.  The Kennebunkport Conservation Trust will make the improvements to the property it purchased in 2006 for $60,000.
The planning board on Dec. 2 also approved adding electricity and a sewer line to the nearby boathouse so it can be used as a bathroom during conservation trust-approved activities on the site.
A small boathouse and round concrete seat sit at the site now, but Kennebunkport Conservation Trust Exectuive Director Tom Bradbury is hoping a new dock will be in place by spring.
Bradbury has proposed the possibility of holding an event there every other week during summer, although he said events might not be that frequent.
The four new parking spots will be used for drop-off and pick up and for Conservation Trust use during  events.
Neighbors who attended both meetings expressed concern about the future of possible recreational activity and excessive noise.  
“In this particular case we’re dealing with hypothetical events,” said Planning Board Chairman David Kling.
“It’s a public park in the middle of town and we maintain a pretty good job of balancing out what can and can not go on there,” said Bradbury, “We want to show respect for neighbors and the neighborhood.”
Sebago Technics, an engineering firm from Westbrook and Lewiston, has been working with the trust to design the dock and obtain proper permits.
The trust’s dock also has been approved by Kennebunkport Selectmen, the Department of Environmental Protection, Civil Army Corps of Engineers, harbormaster and the Indian tribes of Maine.
Bradbury said the dock was supposed to be completed last spring. He said he hopes construction, paid for by the trust, will be complete by summer.   

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.