Kennebunkport voters reject $8.8M town hall proposal: York County town ballot results

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — Voters shot down a proposed new town hall at the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7, according to unofficial results provided by Town Clerk Tracey O’Roak.

By a vote of 886-758, voters declined to authorize up to $8.8 million to build and equip a new town hall to replace the current one that has operated on Elm Street for more than 60 years.

Thomas Klimcsak, who voted at the Village Fire Station in the early afternoon, gave a straightforward answer when asked why he voted “no” for the proposed town hall.

“I don’t want my taxes to go up,” he said.

Charlie Tremblay, a member of the town’s Budget Committee, noted numerous reasons why he too voted against the project. Tremblay said he agrees that Kennebunkport needs a new town hall, but he disagreed with how town officials pursued the project.

“The process they used and everything about it – the way they did it and the design – was all done not in an optimal way,” he said.

Tremblay said he would like to see the town get much more input from the community if officials decide to pursue the project again in the future. He also said he would like to see the town engage in more design engineering to get a more accurate cost before “putting out a bond for $8.8 million.” Tremblay added that the town should have in place a better plan for funding such a project.

“There are questions ... that are still open-ended ... at this point,” he said.

As another reason why he voted no, Tremblay mentioned recent Select Board meetings at which residents asked questions about the proposal.

“Look at how the board responded to those,” he said.

Doris Porrell was among those who voted in favor of the new town hall. She said a new building is needed because the current one is outdated.

“There’s not enough parking,” she said. “They have a lot more employees now. They just need more space. If they do it now, it will be more economical than waiting two, three years down the road.”

If voters had authorized the town to move on the project, construction would have begun on the Village Parcel on North Street next summer and likely would have been completed by the end of 2024.

Another question on the ballot asked voters to authorize the town to sell some land on School Street and use the money to offset some of the construction costs of the new town hall. Voters approved this question, 825 to 800, but since the town hall proposal failed, the School Street property will not be sold.

Also on Tuesday, voters approved using $710,000 from the town’s capital reserve fund to go toward the repair and reconstruction of the Cape Porpoise Pier.

Voters also said yes to allowing an easement for the Green Marine Corporation to continue to use the railway associated with the town’s newly acquired land on Langsford Road.

Voters also approved authorizing ownership of the Cape Porpoise Fire Station to the Kennebunkport Select Board for $1.

Lastly, voters approved amendments to the town’s comprehensive plan and said yes to a proposed ordinance regarding street openings.

More: Maine voters reject utility takeover, approve 'right to repair' initiative

Wells town clerk to remain an elected post

By a vote of 2,032-1,798, voters in Wells declined to switch the town clerk position from an elected one to appointed, according to unofficial results provided by Town Clerk Brenda Layman.

The town had sought to change the status of the town clerk position so that it could advertise for it and canvass a larger pool of candidates, as opposed to hoping someone from Wells would run for the post during an election.

Originally, the town had put this issue before voters during the town meeting back in June, and they approved changing the clerk to an appointed position. However, the turnout at that election did not meet the charter-mandated threshold to enact the change.

Voters had one other question on Tuesday’s ballot: whether to approve new zoning that would allow York County Community College to consider housing on its campus at 112 College Drive. YCCC made the grade, earning 3,027 yes votes to the 768 voters who said no.

YCCC currently does not offer that accommodation and instead has an agreement with a local hotel that allows students to live there during a semester – an arrangement the college appreciates but maintains creates complications due to the need to comply with town ordinances.

Nobile wins Ogunquit Budget Committee race

In a close election, voters went with incumbent Christopher Nobile in a two-way race to complete an unfinished term on the Budget Review Committee. Nobile garnered 362 votes to challenger Barbara Ferraro’s 354, according to the unofficial results provided by Town Clerk Christine Murphy.

Also, voters handily approved every housekeeping item on the ballot including $641,000 in assorted appropriations from unassigned funds for needs related to the harbor and the police, fire and public works departments, and more.

Voters also approved repurposing the Main Beach Trolley Stop Capital Improvement Project to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Beach Project. As a result, approximately $67,000 will be moved from one project to the other.

York voters approve zoning amendments

Voters in York were in an approving mood when they reported to the polls on Tuesday, according to unofficial results provided by Town Clerk Lynn Osgood. They approved amending the town’s zoning ordinance to clarify procedures that developers must follow to obtain approval for an open space conservation subdivision application. The amendment also ensures that wooded or vegetated buffers are established between public ways and any proposed open space conservation development.

Voters also repealed a zoning ordinance section that established a Site Design Review and Board of Design review for non-residential projects in certain districts.

As well, voters accepted fee simple titles to two roads, Jordan's Path and Dory Drive. The roads were built by private developers, and voters were asked to accept them as town roads.

Kennebunk votes to raise the debt ceiling

Kennebunk voters had a single question on their municipal ballot and answered it in the affirmative, 1,728-1,037, according to Town Clerk Merton Brown, thus changing the debt limit of the Kennebunk Sewer District from $30 million to $55 million.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunkport voters reject $8.8M town hall: York area ballot results