The Gorham Town Council met for their monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Chairperson Suzanne Phillips called the meeting to order and all seven members were present. They approved the minutes of the July 7 regular meeting (7-0).
Two members of the public addressed the board. Both spoke in opposition to the proposed Amazon project. The first, a Lawn Avenue resident, spoke about stormwater management concerns and her belief that the town does not effectively enforce their policies. The second speaker, an environmentalist, spoke about the DEP meeting in July and her concerns that this is one of only two endangered species sites in the town; wetlands have special significance in our environment and need to be protected. She also spoke about landslide concerns in this area of the Presumpscot watershed area.
Each council member was provided the opportunity to provide community updates. Councilor Simms spoke about the recent public meeting with the DEP concerning the Amazon project and many of the concerns that were stated. Councilor Dearborn mentioned upcoming Gorham Historical Society events. Councilor Siegel thanked the Baxter Library for their programming and their availability of Tonie Boxes. Councilor Willis thanked the Public Works and Recreation departments for their work completing phase one of Robie Park. Councilor Hamblen mentioned the work of the Planning Board and the meeting the previous night, where dozens of speakers expressed very legitimate concerns about the proposed Amazon project. Councilor Kuech spoke about the upcoming opening of school and the need for parents to watch for information and drivers to use extreme caution. Chairperson Phillips informed the public of the dedication of the Wilson Field and the Little League Tournament that will happen there Aug. 15-21. She also reminded the public of two upcoming Town Council workshops: Aug. 18 on required sprinkler systems and Sept. 15 on the Open Space Master Plan.
Director of Community Development Thomas Poirier, substituting for Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak, thanked the town workers for completing phase one of the Robie Park project and spoke about the ribbon cutting and ceremony on Aug. 11. He also reminded the public of the transition to trash carts from totes that will be occurring at the end of the summer. As the trash tags will be phased out, they will only be available at the Municipal Center.
The council voted (7-0) to amend the Solid Waste Flow ordinance to reflect the change in trash collection. The cost of trash collection will be included in the municipal taxes.
The council voted (7-0) to amend the Land Use and Development Code to exempt accessory dwelling units on private ways from the requirement of being a dwelling unit as it pertains to private ways. There was a discussion of paving standards for private ways and two charts that defined the requirements according to the number of units on the private way.
The council voted (7-0) to send to the voters for the Nov. 3 election a question authorizing the capital expenditure and bonding of funds for the School Department totaling $6,688,752. This bond would cover three projects at GHS involving parking, sidewalks, ADA access and drainage, the replacement of the old portable classrooms with a new connected extension, and window and door replacement and brick veneer work. There will be a public hearing scheduled on these projects before the election.
The council voted (7-0) to authorize the Ordinance Committee to work with the town manager and human resource director on administrative updates to the Town’s Employee Personnel Ordinance.
The council voted (7-0) to take no action on adopting private clustered wastewater systems at this time.
For a complete account of the meeting, a copy of the minutes and a recorded video of the meeting may be found on the Gorham Town Council website.