By David Harry
Staff Writer

While Planning Board members said they are not ready to consider plans for new parking at a Pine Point Inn, a comprehensive plan for the area could soon be revealed, according to Town Manager Tom Hall.
A task force created to discuss plans for a public drop off area for Pine Point Beach next to a new parking area at the Lighthouse Inn was expected to meet this morning, and Hall said ideas for the area could be ready for public consideration after one or two more meetings.
How to best create an area where beachgoers can get dropped off while also ensuring the new parking area for the Lighthouse Inn will not be obtrusive or block beach views is what the task force is considering and what planning board members said they want to take on simultaneously.
The changes to the area are the result of a land swap approved by the town councilors in the summer with Lighthouse Inn owners Nicholas and Peter Truman.
The Trumans gain title to 49-foot by 230-foot swath known as Pine Point or Depot Road. After a Planning Board meeting Nov. 2 where members assured the Trumans they will have some kind of parking area, Nicholas Truman said he has already discussed revisions to the plan with town officials.
The town now owns the strip of land formerly used for parking at the Lighthouse Inn and will combine the parcel with an additional plot donated to the town as part of the approval process for the Beach Walk subdivision.
Public access to the beach will be along land between the inn and subdivision.
Hall said he created the task force without involvement from the Town Council after the council approved the land swap. Among members of the task force are Public Works Director Mike Shaw; Jim Wendell, the town engineer; John Wiggin, representing the Beach Walk development, and Pine Point residents Jack Callahan and Joan Lourie.
“The goal is to put flesh on the bones,” Hall said about the work of the task force, adding he hopes a plan for the town drop off zone can be put out to bid within the next six to eight weeks.
Hall and Truman said they expect work on the projects will begin next spring and be done by mid-May.
The work on the town-owned parcel will be paid for with existing funding set aside for work on King Street, Hall said.
There is $170,000 available, half in town money and the remainder from a Community Development Block Grant from Cumberland County for repaving and sidewalk work, Hall said.
The most recent estimates for the King Street work are $140,000. Hall said the remaining $30,000 should pay for curb cuts and sidewalks needed for beach access.
Lourie, who will replace Harold Hutchinson on the task force because Hutchinson has gone to Florida for the winter, said she will be attending today’s meeting.
“My need for a space to get to the beach does not motivate me,” Luorie said, because she already lives within walking distance.
At the same time, she would like to help ensure that work in the area by the town or the Trumans does not obstruct beach views.
The land swap was a contentious issue that generated protests, especially from members of the Pine Point Residents Association, but Planning Board Chairman Allen Paul made it clear from the outset that public comment on the Truman’s plan would be limited to the merits of the plan itself.
Still, board members, including Cory Fellows, had problems with the plan, including the picket fence running along the side of the parking lot.
Paul also asked the Trumans to check local ordinances as the proposed 20-foot wide entrance to the parking area was likely 6 feet too short.
Nick Truman and Lourie agreed the Planning Board’s decision to table any considerations of an individual plan was a good choice.
“The board did a great job,” Truman said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219