Brunswick Public Works fuel island, salt shed plan clears early approval

Brunswick’s Public Works campus took a step toward a long-delayed rebuild Tuesday night, when the planning board gave unanimous initial approval to a new fuel island and salt shed at 9 Industry Road. The vote keeps the first phase moving, but construction still cannot begin until Public Works returns for final plan review.

The project is meant to solve a basic problem with daily operations on Industry Road: Brunswick’s current Public Works site dates to the 1950s, the fuel tanks sit in the middle of the property, and the state permit for those tanks is due to expire in 2028. Town staff said the existing campus is no longer large enough or configured well enough for modern work. The current fuel island was installed in 1993, and town leaders have said the setup is no longer viable for trucks that must be fueled, salted and dispatched quickly when storms hit.

The site at 9 Industry Road sits in Brunswick’s Growth Mixed-Use 3 zone and several shoreland and flood overlay districts. Town Public Works Director Ryan Leighton told the staff review committee that the town studied multiple properties from March 2024 through November 2024 and concluded in January 2025 that 9 Industry Road was essentially the only viable long-term location for Public Works. A 2024 Wright-Pierce study found the current campus is about 42,000 square feet, while an updated facility would need to be about 116,000 square feet.

The first phase has already drawn opposition from Water Street neighbors, who said moving the fueling operation closer to homes could mean fumes, more traffic, noise and light pollution. The proposed fuel island is also near Family Focus daycare across the street, sharpening concerns about daily exposure. Residents have pointed to the loss of the town’s Senior Gardens, which were closed before the 2026 growing season in anticipation of construction. The gardens were town-owned and operated with help from People Plus.

Brunswick Town Council approved $4.7 million for this phase in December 2025 after rejecting the purchase of 2 Industry Road, an adjacent 1.1-acre parcel that staff said would have increased usable Public Works space by 16 percent. Town officials had said that parcel could have helped place the fuel island, salt shed and future administrative building nearer the front of the property, but the plan moved ahead without it. The broader overhaul is now estimated at about $40 million, with a later phase expected to include a new administrative and maintenance building for roughly $6 million. Allison Harris said she was disappointed that no alternate site could be found, but said Public Works was in dire need of a rehabilitated home base.