The mill developers, Doug Sanford and Chris Betjemann, want the city to build them a parking garage. Mayor Alan Casavant, City Manager John Bubier and Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson, who are lobbying for the interests of the developers, also want taxpayers to foot the bill for a parking garage. The mill developers and city management got together and came up with a city parking plan.
The parking plan includes installing parking meters downtown and using meter fees to help pay for a parking structure. Developers Sanford and Betjemann are both on the Downtown Development Commission, where they can influence local decisions to benefit the mill districts.
During the last election, concerned taxpayers collected signatures for a referendum asking voters if they wanted to install parking meters downtown. The referendum will be voted on during the upcoming Nov. 4 election. The developers are now concerned that if voters don’t approve putting parking meters downtown, they won’t get their parking garage.
Mayor Casavant decided that Biddeford voters were not presently smart enough to vote on the meter issue and needed to be educated. City management, at the urging of the mill developers, will be issuing a propaganda pamphlet in favor of installing the meters. Installing these modern, very expensive smart meters would not only be a waste of taxpayer money but would also hurt local businesses. And I, for one, don’t want to pay parking fees to subsidize a couple of rich developers. Do you?
I urge voters to vote no on the installation of parking meters downtown.
Bob Brulotte, Biddeford
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