Brunswick residents oppose fuel island plan near Senior Gardens, homes

Brunswick residents pressed Town Council members Tuesday over a planned fuel island at the Public Works complex on Industry Road, saying the project would bring fumes, traffic, lighting and noise too close to homes, a child care center and the town’s Senior Garden.

The sharpest concern centered on how little space would separate the fueling area from nearby properties. Jodi Newcombe, a Water Street resident and local doctor, told councilors that her home and intended child care location were within less than 50 meters of the proposed fueling site. Neighbors also pointed to Family Focus, the child care center across the street, and said the project raised health concerns for children and older adults, including respiratory illness and leukemia. The debate has become as much about public safety and environmental exposure as about zoning or site design.

The town’s own facilities listing places the Senior Garden on Industry Road next to the Brunswick Public Works Department and says it is reached via Water Street. The garden provides community plots for senior citizens, with allocation handled by the People Plus Center, seasonal water service available for watering and limited parking on site. Residents said the garden is expected to be demolished as part of construction, adding a loss of green space to the list of worries around the project.

Town officials have been planning an overhaul of the 42,000-square-foot Public Works complex at 9 and 10 Industry Road for years. The main building dates to the 1950s and includes four mechanic bays and eight vehicle bays, but town manager Julia Henze has described it as uninsulated and undersized. A 2024 Wright-Pierce study said a modernized complex would need to grow to about 116,000 square feet, with the full project carrying a price tag of about $40 million.

Councilors approved borrowing $4.7 million in December 2025 for the first phase after deciding not to buy 2 Industry Road for $1.75 million. That parcel would have added 1.1 acres and increased usable Public Works space by 16%, but existing tenants meant the town could not have used it for about five years. The first phase now moving ahead includes a new fuel island, a salt shed, utility improvements and site design, with construction possible as early as summer 2026.

A later phase would add a new administrative and maintenance building, estimated at another $6 million. The overhaul of Public Works’ seven buildings first went into Brunswick’s Capital Improvement Program in 2020, showing how long the town has been working toward the project and how much of it is still ahead.