Brewer officials narrowed a search for a new public works garage site from seven to five locations Wednesday morning, as they toured the city in the early morning rain.

John Melrose, city development director, said that he took a poll of the council at the end of the tour and found that at least two sites would need more study. A parcel behind the city landfill and one on Eastern Avenue were eliminated from the search, Melrose said.

The aging public works garage on the riverfront has become too costly to operate and lacks the space needed for storage of equipment and supplies, officials said. A new garage might cost nearly $2 million to build, but would provide inside storage for expensive equipment, a centralized location where all public works equipment could be kept, and reduced operating costs.

Materials stored at the landfill must be moved during closure of the dump, an action that state Deparment of Environmental Protection officials will demand.

Melrose said that his staff might have a recommendation for the council April 24, but he was not sure that a decision could be made that quickly.

A site on Elm Stret, near the armory; one near the Shurtleff Co. on Parkway South; a parcel off Clisham Road; land off Wilson Street owned by Asa Pickard; and a 10-acre lot owned by the city on Sabine Mill Road will be considered.

The city-owned lot must be supplemented with other land, Melrose said, because 14 acres are needed.

Councilor Gerald Robertson said he preferred the Clisham Road site, but that the price would have to be lower than what owners were asking. The site had been offered at $250,000 last year and the city spent $5,000 on a purchase option which it allowed to expire after a study revealed the presence of ledge and wetland.

There are 16 developable acres on the Clisham site, Melrose said.

Robertson said that if the city had the Clisham site, snow from road-clearing operations could be dumped there to avoid confrontation with DEP officials over river contamination.

He said that an appraiser soon would inform the council of the value of the 44-acre Clisham parcel.