Falmouth residents will go to the polls next month to vote on a multimillion-dollar construction project, elect new town councilors and authorize an education budget for next year.
Municipal elections will be held June 14 at the Falmouth High School gym.
The town is asking voters to approve a $10.5 million construction project to rebuild about 2 miles of Route 100 in a busy mixed-use section of the road. The referendum asks residents if they want to accept a $4 million grant from the Maine Department of Transportation, borrow $6 million, and use $500,000 in a development account to pay for the project. Income from an existing Tax Increment Financing district around the West Falmouth Crossing shopping center will be used to pay down debt for the project.
A town committee started developing the project in 2014. The town plans to rebuild a badly deteriorated 1-mile section and install new sewer and natural gas lines. The road would be widened and bike lanes extended along the corridor. Town officials have said roadwork on Route 100 is long overdue and the construction could encourage new development in the area.
The race for three Town Council seats is uncontested. Candidates Andrea Ferrante and Aaron Svedlow are on the ballot along with incumbent Councilor Claudia King. The council’s chairman, Dave Goldberg, and vice chairman, Russell Anderson, are not running for re-election.
Ferrante is an empowerment coach with an office on Route 100, and chaired the committee that developed the Route 100 proposal. Svedlow is the director of environmental permitting for Ranger Solar, a utility-scale solar power company with offices in Yarmouth, and served on the town’s conservation and land management and acquisitions committees. King was first elected to the Town Council in 2012 and sits on the executive committee of the Sierra Club of Maine.
Incumbent School Board member Caryn Bickerstaff is running for another three-year seat on the panel along with newcomer Jennifer Libby. Both candidates are running uncontested. William Lunt is running for a five-year term as a Portland Water District trustee without an opponent.
Voters will also be asked to approve a $34.9 million budget for Falmouth schools. The budget includes a more than 5 percent increase, approximately $1.7 million, from last year. According to budget figures from the school department, the spending plan will mean a 43-cent tax increase for every $1,000 worth of property. According to School Board estimates, the budget’s impact on a $300,000 home will mean an annual tax increase of $130.
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