The Gorham Town Council passed a resolution on June 2 that supports businesses opening immediately, subject to CDC guidelines and reasonable health and safety measures. Sponsored by Town Councilor Ben Hartwell, the resolution will be forwarded to Governor Mills but Hartwell confirmed, “The State holds preemption power over municipalities so businesses who choose to open would still be at risk of having a license pulled or being fined by the State. When faced with losing their business altogether, that may be something they are willing to risk.”
During the public comment period, many business owners spoke in favor of the resolution.
Jesse Coleman of My-Fit 24 said, “It is very easy for us to comply with all of the recommended guidelines for safety from cleanliness to proper spacing and management of total number of individuals. It is absolutely unsustainable for our business to continue under this level of restriction. We will soon have to take measures to scale our business…potentially downsizing, potentially losing employees, potentially closing all together.”
Lisa Kaldrovich of MK Kitchen added, “We all love Gorham, we want to be in Gorham, we have worked so hard, and I’m just fighting for the right to work. I would really appreciate the opportunity to get back within the CDC guidelines to safely reopen with every measure in place.” Kaldrovich also spoke about the time and money already invested in meeting the CDC guidelines in preparation for a June 1 reopening.
James Brockman, a resident of Gorham, opposed the resolution stating, “What it appears to do is encourage businesses in Gorham to violate the Governor’s order.” He also asked if the Town lawyer had been consulted as he worried about possible liability for the Town.
Jon Smith of Great Falls said, “This challenge doesn’t go away in X number of days or X number of weeks. It’s really something we have to figure out how to deal with and how to manage. Business owners are at the end of their rope. I know many of them are just trying to hang on and hoping that something will change so they can open.”
Ephrem Parashack confirmed that this was not an executive order from the Town of Gorham to allow businesses to open up. “This is more of a directive to encourage the State to open up.”
While several councilors expressed concerns, all but one voted to support the resolution (6-1). Despite confirming her support for local businesses, Kuech voted against the resolution as she questioned its validity while also expressing concerns regarding timing and safety.