KENNEBUNKPORT — Kennebunkport residents will have several referendum issues to consider when they enter the voting booth on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
One item, Question 5, concerns a land purchase on School Street that Town Clerk April Dufoe described as “the last piece of the pie” connecting several other parcels owned by the town, including Parsons Field.
“The property is located adjacent to our ballfield and our school ”“ and the wastewater treatment plant,” said Dufoe.
While she said the town currently has no definitive plans for the parcel, owning it would allow for possible expansion to the recreation field, school or wastewater facility in the future.
Interim Town Manager John Fraser ”“ a former town manager in Arundel, filling in for the recently departed Larry Mead ”“ said while a final cost for the property has not yet been determined, it will not exceed $400,000, and would not affect the town’s tax rate, being paid for out of the municipality’s undesignated fund.
“It’s just foresight in this case,” said Fraser.
Question 7, if passed, would also connect two disparate pieces of town-owned land, but through what would essentially be a land swap; under an agreement with the owner of property in Town Forest on Goose Rocks Road, the town would trade land parcels with that owner, providing a bridge between two municipal recreation trails that could then be conjoined.
Other referendum issues would make alterations to several town ordinances. Question 2, concerning the Kennebunk River ordinance, would limit the size of a vessel eligible for mooring in the river, and would establish rules for assigning moorings that are consistent with state law.
Question 3 would eliminate several components of Kennebunkport’s fire code that, for staffing and other reasons, the town does not enforce.
“We just don’t have people who are qualified to inspect (certain things),” said Dufoe. “If we decide we want to hire an electrical inspector ”¦ we would add those (provisions) back. Right now, they present a liability issue to the town.”
“It’s just really updating the fire code to certain modern standards,” said Fraser.
Question 4 would alter the Growth Planning Committee ordinance, reducing the number of members on that committee from seven to five. Question 6 would accept Squier Lane as a public street, making the town responsible for the maintenance of the street. Associated street lighting or landscaping would be maintained by a homeowner’s association.
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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