Town Planner Ben Averill told Wiscasset Historic Preservation Commission Vice Chairman Jib Fowles repeatedly Sept. 1, Fowles’ motion opposing the loss of parking on Main Street was not valid.

The commission is part of the town, and all its members serve at selectmen’s pleasure, Averill said. Voters and selectmen went with a Maine Department of Transportation concept that included moving parking off Main between Middle and Water streets. “You’re working for the town, for the wishes of the town,” Averill said.

Fowles’ motion drew some supportive comments from the commission for the points he raised in it, but no one said they would vote for it.

It read: “The (commission) must oppose the removal by MDOT of the downtown parking spaces along Main Street, in the conviction that such a loss will prove to be a great hardship for the small businesses currently occupying all the available stores, and thus harmful to our historic and beautiful downtown, where a viable commercial center has existed for nearly 300 years.”

Every time Averill said the motion was not valid, Fowles disagreed. He suggested there’s no point in there being a commission if it can’t take a stand to keep the downtown from disappearing. The town made preservation central to its comprehensive plan, and his proposal would be in keeping with that and the historic preservation ordinance, Fowles argued.

“Time is short,” Fowles said about the federal and state processes under way ahead of the possible traffic and other changes. “We need sticking power.”

“It’s not going to give us any power, Jib. It’s going to make (the selectmen) think maybe they need somebody else,” Commission Chairman John Reinhardt said. “You cut off your nose if you stick it in there too much.” Reinhardt said he has never believed in a kamikaze approach.

“I do not support MDOT in any possible way,” Reinhardt said. “But I believe our job is to work with selectmen ... I do not believe (passing the motion) would be doing the job we’ve been asked to do.”

Fowles said at another point, “We have to defend the downtown in some way, John. It’s not going to just happen magically.”

Earlier in the discussion, Reinhardt wondered about getting a legal opinion on the motion. Averill doubted the town would consult an attorney on it.

The time to consider the motion would have been before the town voted, member Wendy Donovan said. Now is the time to help get the design right, she said.

Fowles’ motion got a second from member Richard Thompson, so the board could discuss it. When he later called for the vote, Fowles asked to table the motion until the panel’s next meeting, Oct. 6. No one objected. In a brief interview, Fowles explained he would like to try again, with a full panel. Member Susan Blagden was absent. Plus, the wait will give members more time to consider it, Fowles said. “It’s pretty heavy-duty, so good to think about it,” he said.

Reached after the meeting, Selectmen’s Chairman Judy Colby said it was up to the commission if it wanted to vote on the motion, but that it would be moot because the town has already taken its position. That part of the process is over, she said.  If the commission has concerns, it could take them to MDOT, and a commission member will hopefully offer to be part of a citizens committee the board is looking to form on the project, Colby said.

As for the parking, Colby noted that MDOT has already said there may still be some tweaking, such as handicapped parking. So total removal may not happen, she said.