After hearing repeated health and safety concerns about a planned public works fuel station, the Brunswick Town Council on Monday night narrowly approved pausing its overhaul of the Public Works facility on Industry Road. The town will attempt to renegotiate an $827,000 contract with a construction company that had planned to start work this week.

Brunswick has been weighing updates to its 42,000-square-foot public works facility for years, which town officials say is undersized and outdated.

In the first phase of the project, the town planned to build a new salt shed and a fuel island for municipal vehicles. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection permit for the current fuel tanks, located at the center of the property, is set to expire in 2028.

In December 2025, the council voted to borrow $4.7 million for this phase after deciding not to purchase an adjacent office building at 2 Industry Road.

Residents in the Water Street area, near the public works facility, started to take notice in the spring and complained that the project would result in moving a fuel station closer to homes and businesses, including a child care center, potentially threatening the health of those nearby.

The fuel station would also have been moved to the site of the town’s Senior Gardens, prompting additional outcry.

In response, the council created a task force charged with reviewing the public works project in July, which met for the first time earlier this month. The task force’s charge included recommending the best location for the facility, calling into question whether work could begin on Industry Road without giving the body a chance to revisit alternate locations.

Councilors and Water Street residents both acknowledged during Monday’s meeting that the process has been confusing and challenging, and that Monday’s measure came too late — after a contract was signed.

Some councilors agreed that the body failed to fully involve neighbors in the decision process, while others said that all procedures were followed and warned that renegotiating the contract could result in a significant loss of funds.

Town Council Chair Nathan MacDonald said there were “missing pieces” in the process of approving the fuel station, though he said the price tag was too high to risk, especially after a contentious budget season.

“My fear is that we’re going to arrive at the same conclusion with nearly $1 million less,” MacDonald said.

With the pause approved by a vote of 5-4, Town Manager Julia Henze will attempt to renegotiate a contract with the construction company, Simard and Sons. Henze said it’s unlikely that any work will be completed at the public works facility this year.

“We’re going to have to stop and hope that they’re willing to work with us and not charge us the full amount even though they won’t do the work,” Henze said Monday night.

Water Street residents who spoke Monday night said the pause is worth it to give the task force time to carry out its mission.

“Doing it right once is in the best interest of all parties. Speaking as a primary care physician, the potential risk of decreasing harm of one child at the daycare center, or the future generations of Water Street, is worth taking the time to do so now,” resident Jodi Newcombe said.