Old Orchard Beach residents on Tuesday rejected a $12.5 million education budget and approved a land easement to allow for parking and handicap accessibility improvements at the Harmon Museum.
The proposed $12.5 million school budget was the first developed since Dayton and Saco voted to leave Regional School Unit 23, which now consists solely of Old Orchard Beach. The budget was rejected by a vote of 490-514.
The budget would have added $1.27 per $1,000 of assessed property value, or about $254 to the tax bill of a $200,000 home.
With a vote of 515-484, voters approved a referendum question to grant a land easement to Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution to build and maintain a parking lot behind the Harmon Museum, which does not have parking or a handicap-accessible entrance.
The permanent easement agreement allows the bank to build a parking lot behind the Harmon Museum that will be used for both bank employees and museum visitors. The bank also will build a handicap-accessible pathway from the parking lot and a ramp to the museum’s front door. The bank will seek planning board approval for the parking lot.
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