WATERVILLE — City Councilors oppose plans by the Community Regional Charter School to build a $20 million school on Eight Rod Road and combine its three schools in Skowhegan and Cornville there.

They say a charter school would be nontaxable and take resources away from the public schools, but a charter school official insists the project would extend three-phase power and public water, drawing more industrial development to the area.

The proposed school would be about 40,000 square feet in size and construction would be financed over a 40-year period via a USDA direct loan, said Travis Works, executive director of the charter school. Officials hope to break ground next year and open the school in 2027.

Works argues the school would fund an important $2 million investment of three-phase power and expand public water, ultimately drawing more industry to the area. Also, sewer lines would be expanded down Webb Road. The school has a contract to buy the land owned by Trafton Properties LLC.

The charter school is a free, public school with an annual budget of $5 million that enrolls about 400 students from 45 towns, has more than 55 full-time employees and plans to add 50 to 125 staff positions over the next 10 years.

The school consists of the Creative Children’s Academy in Skowhegan serving children ages 4-5 in prekindergarten to kindergarten; Dimensions Academy in Cornville, which serves ages 5-13 in grades kindergarten through grade eight; and Overman Academy in Skowhegan for ages 12-17 in grades seven through 12. Works said about 45 students are enrolled from Waterville, Winslow and Fairfield and between 20 and 25 from Waterville alone.

The charter school must obtain a zoning change from the city to build a school, as the Eight Rod Road property is in the Commercial-D zone, which does not allow for a public or private school.

Works asked councilors Tuesday to refer to the Planning Board for a hearing and recommendation request to rezone the property to allow schools as a permitted use.

The process requires the board to send a report back to the council, which makes the final decision on zone changes.

Typically, the council approves referring matters to the Planning Board but on Tuesday, members voted 4-3 to oppose referring the school request, with Council Chair Rebecca Green, D-Ward 4, and councilors Flavia DeBrito, D-Ward 2, and Thomas Klepach, D-Ward 3, voting to refer it to give planners a chance to discuss it. But councilors Brandon Gilley, D-Ward 1, Spencer Krigbaum, D-Ward 5, Scott Beal, D-Ward 6, and Cathy Herard, D-Ward 7, dissented.

Even those who voted to refer the matter expressed opposition to the charter school’s plans, with Green asking why the school wants to expand.

Works said the three school buildings are aging and they want one building for the schools. The school receives about $2 million annually in state subsidy but does not have access to revolving state funds to help with costly repairs.

Having a new building would allow the school to offer better programing for parents and students who want a model that fits them, he said. The charter school is different than a typical public school in that it is proficiency and competency based and students progress only after they master a skill. They are not grouped by grade level or age. Addressing those who fear the school would take students away from public schools, Works said 17% of the students come from home-schooled situations, and there would be a cap on the number of Waterville students who enroll.

Beale said there would be an impact to Waterville from having a charter school in the city and residents would not see any property tax relief from it. Krigbaum said Waterville now struggles to have enough teachers and educational technicians and they could be pulled away from the public schools. Herard noted that residents faced a tax increase with their latest bills.

“I appreciate and respect the model for your school but I just don’t think Waterville is the right place for it, in my opinion,” she told Works.

Gilley agreed, saying tax bills doubled and in some cases, tripled.

“We have to make decisions that are best for Waterville, and this isn’t what’s best for Waterville,” he said.

Residents also weighed in, with Amy Murphy saying Waterville could lose resources, including bus drivers, if the school were to be built in the city, which also has a difficult time getting substitute teachers. She said Waterville schools meet the needs of all children, with not only the public school system, but also a Montessori school and parochial schools.

“We absolutely meet the needs of children where they are,” Murphy said. “That’s something that we do. We work really hard to do it.”

Lisa Evans said what Waterville would lose by having a charter school in the city is immeasurable and she was not in favor of it.

The council decided to reconsider the vote after Mayor Mike Morris said he wasn’t sure if it was legal for the council to reject sending the issue to the Planning Board. The city’s zoning ordinance stipulates the council shall refer requests for proposed zoning changes to the board.

Krigbaum moved to reconsider and councilors approved his motion. DeBrito made a motion to table the issue until the council’s next meeting. Her motion passed with a 4-3 vote, with Herard, Gilley and Green dissenting.

City Solicitor William A. Lee III said Wednesday he would have to research the rules further, but he thinks the council could kill the issue by choosing not to vote to refer it to the Planning Board. Unless another councilor moves to refer it, and another seconds, it would be dead.

“It may be that the matter could be killed by the person who made the motion and the person who seconded it withdrawing their motions, ” he said.

The council also could vote to amend the zoning ordinance to remove the requirement that proposed zoning changes be referred to the Planning Board, but that takes time, he said.