Biddeford residents ask council to waive sewer fee to help Rift Arcade reopen
Two of Rift Arcade's classic game machines at its new location on Washington Street in Biddeford. "We've had regulars helping us move," owner Casi Buckman said. (Sydney Richelieu/Staff Writer)
A Biddeford arcade is preparing to move to a new location. But a hefty city sewer fee could impact its ability to do so, prompting some residents to call on the City Council to offer lenience.
The Rift Arcade, which opened a year ago on Main Street, is required to pay a sewer impact fee for its new space at 5 Washington St.
Last year, the Rift paid a nearly $7,800 sewer impact fee at its previous location. Owner Casi Buckman says it was challenging even back then.
“We didn’t find out about it until we were about to open,” Buckman said. “Our landlord paid it for us and increased our rent tremendously just to cover the cost so we could open.”
Now, facing a second fee expected to be north of $7,000, the business’s options are scarce.
“We don’t know what we’ll do,” Buckman said. “The fee is very confusing, and there’s no way to plan for it.”
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The fee is designed to support sewer infrastructure upgrades, combined sewer separation and infiltration removal. The cost is determined by the projected sewer design flow — in other words, the amount of sewage entering the system from a property daily — and is calculated by the city engineer.
While the Rift’s new fee has yet to be determined, Buckman estimates it will be close to $7,500.
Retro arcade games like the ones offered at Rift Arcade keep kids off their phones and connect families, Skyler Ahmed told the Biddeford City Council on Tuesday. (Sydney Richelieu/Staff Writer)
The Rift cannot reopen until the fee is paid in full, city spokesperson Danica Lamontagne said, and it cannot be paid in installments.
But Buckman noted that, since the Rift isn’t open right now, no revenue is coming in.
“It’s just crazy,” she said.
‘KEEP THEIR DOORS OPEN’
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, several community members asked the city to waive the fee.
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The Rift gives a home to people who struggle to fit in, resident Skyler Ahmed said.
“We’ve already lost Mulligan’s. We’ve already lost Rumors,” Ahmed said, referring to two recently closed businesses. “Now it seems the aim is at The Rift. We cannot let that happen. Please look into the required fees for The Rift, to keep their doors open.”
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Gabrielle Terrill, who moved to Biddeford from Pennsylvania, said she’d never found a place to truly call “home” before moving to the city and discovering the Rift. Over the last year, the arcade has given Terrill a sense of belonging.
“I ask that you have some compassion for those of us who don’t fit into the world, who are cast aside because we are strange,” she said. “Whether it be nerdy gamers looking for an icebreaker, the Goth community who comes here to connect and dance the night away, or young people learning to find themselves, we’re good, kind people looking for a place in the world that feels like home.”
Some residents asked the council to waive the fee because the Rift already paid it last year. But the city clarified that the fee is tied to property addresses, not the businesses themselves.
Buckman said the Rift’s move to its new Washington Street location is because the rent at its 311 Main St. spot was continuously increasing.
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Lamontagne, the city spokesperson, also said the city charter does not outline an appeal process for the sewer impact fee. She encouraged Buckman speak with Ward 1 Councilor Patricia Boston.
Some residents also argued that bigger businesses like The Lincoln Hotel do not have to pay a sewer impact fee. Lamontagne said that’s not true.
“Each individual business entity within The Lincoln Mill paid a sewer impact fee,” Lamontagne said. “The larger the development, the larger the sewer impact fee.”
“Level 2 now loading” is written in sidewalk chalk Friday outside of the Rift Arcade’s new Biddeford location. (Sydney Richelieu/Staff Writer)
For now, it’s unclear when the Rift will reopen in its new home and how it will navigate the fee dilemma, but Buckman still has her eyes on the future. The Rift’s retro arcade games and pinball machines have been moved to the Washington Street location, and Buckman is focusing on getting the space ready for whenever it does open.
She hopes that will be soon.
“We have some great community members who have been helping out,” Buckman said. “A lot of people, it’s their only space they feel safe in Biddeford, which is heartwarming and bittersweet at the same time.”
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Tagged: biddeford city council, business, local business, sewer rates
Sydney is a community reporter for Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel and previously reporter for the Courier and Post. Sydney grew up in Kennebunk and is a graduate. More by Sydney Richelieu
