PITTSFIELD, Maine — Construction might begin by the end of the month on a joint golf cart showroom and small-engine repair business after a nod from the Pittsfield Planning Board on Monday.
Central Maine Golf Carts needs more space, according to company President Mike Dugas, who also is the golf pro and a part owner of J.W. Parks Golf Course in Pittsfield. To satisfy that need, Dugas plans a single-story, 3,200-square-foot building at the intersection of Hartland and Waverly avenues, in a vacant lot across the road from the golf course. Half the building will house the golf cart showroom, and the other half will be a service center for small engines of all varieties.
“We’ve had steady growth,” said Dugas. “We needed a bigger shop to accommodate what we do for work in terms of golf cart sales and small-engine repair.”
Dugas said he bought out a local small-engine repair shop over the summer because the owner was retiring. That, coupled with a growing customer base of his own, prompted the need for an expansion said Dugas, who will run the business with Stanley “Chip” Kitchen.
Part of the golf cart business success, said Dugas, is that some of the golf carts aren’t like what most people expect. One four-wheel-drive model that Dugas said is popular with trail riders and hunters has a cargo bed and a gas engine. Typical customers include both individuals and other golf courses.
The planning board’s unanimous approval came with a list of conditions, according to planning board Chairman Fred Raynes. They include that Dugas and Kitchen provide a stamp of approval from an engineering firm, an OK from the water district on water usage, a solid waste disposal plan and a sewer plan. Raynes said such conditions are common.
“They’re pretty basic things,” said Raynes. “It’s not that they did anything wrong in their application. A lot of applicants just need some feedback from us so they know what to do.”
Town Manager Kathryn Ruth called the approval “good news,” especially in the midst of a recession.
Dugas said he hopes to open the new building to the public by April 1, 2010.
