Without any debate, the City Council voted Monday night to give final approval to a bond that includes $100,000 for playground improvements and $50,000 for the Westbrook Food Pantry.
No members of the public spoke either for or against the bond prior to the council vote. Councilor Gary Groves, in one of his last acts on the council prior to resigning to take the Westbrook athletic director job, was the only councilor to speak prior to the vote. Groves urged the council to vote against borrowing the money for the playground and the food pantry.
“I just don’t feel we should be bonding these items,” Groves said.
Groves’ comments failed to sway the council. Councilors voted 5-2 to support the bond, with Groves and Council President Jim Violette casting the two votes against the bond.
The capital improvement bond had raised some eyebrows in the city when councilors voted to add $250,000 to the bond at an Aug. 15 meeting. Originally, the bond was a $1.1 million bond to pay for some city equipment, including a new fire truck. Councilor Brendan Rielly added $50,000 to help the Westbrook Food Pantry find a new home. Following Rielly’s addition, Councilor John O’Hara added $100,000 to pay for improvements to city playgrounds.
Rielly has said the money for the food pantry was intended as an insurance policy to make sure the pantry stays open while it looks for a permanent home. In a prior interview, City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the city would have to spend the $50,000 within two years or face penalties from the Internal Revenue Service designed to stop communities from borrowing money they don’t need.
In response to these additions, Groves requested to add $100,000 for a skateboard park, a move he said was intended as a statement against the other additions. Groves admitted later the move “backfired” when the council voted to include that money into the bond.
At an Aug. 29 meeting, Groves attempted to remove the entire $250,000 from the bond, but his motion failed when it was not seconded. Rielly then made a motion to cut only the $100,000 for the skateboard park, and the council approved that motion by a 5-2 vote with Groves and Violette voting no.
Following the bond vote, Groves announced his resignation from the council. Groves resigned after the city attorney advised him his new position as Westbrook athletic director created a conflict of interest with his council duties.
Groves, who was replaced on the council by Ed Symbol, said he had some regrets he was not able to finish out his first term on the council. “I certainly have enjoyed my time on the City Council,” said Groves. “It has been a great pleasure working with so many outstanding people who all seem to share the same goal, improving the great city of Westbrook.”
In other news, the council unanimously voted to approve a plan to authorize the city to issue property tax refunds to residents who were improperly taxed when the city vacated its rights to so-called paper streets.
The city has corrected the tax assessments in question, and will be refunding a total of approximately $13,500 to correct the past error. The total represents the amount of tax collected on the land in question, plus interest, from fiscal year 1999-2000 to fiscal year 2004-2005.
With City Council President Jim Violette and Councilors Brendan Rielly and Suzanne Joyce looking on, City Councilor Gary Groves announces his resignation at a meeting Monday night. Groves resigned to take the job as Westbrook athletic director.
Mayor Bruce Chuluda (right) presents a letter of congratulation to outgoing City Councilor Gary Groves following Groves’ resignation from the City Council Monday night.
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