Intervale Road relief, almost (Printed Nov. 16, 2007)
By Ashley St. Michel
Staff Writer
On Election Day, more than 2,500 Kennebunk residents cast their ballots on three town referendum questions, including one that would approve up to $375,000 to repair flood damaged land and houses on Intervale Road, Meadow Drive and Partridge Lane from April 2006 and 2007 storms.
The town voted in favor of Question 2, which asked voters to allocate $375,000 from surplus to be used for the damaged land and houses on Intervale Road. The question was passed, 1,698 to 945, but Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said the town still doesn’t know where that money will come from because the third question, which asked voters to increase the tax levy limit in an effort to come up with the remaining 25 percent, was voted down.
Question 3 asked voters to give the town permission to increase property tax levy limit to $5,573,864, and was vetoed 1,372 to 1,225 with 83 blanks. If the town had voted for the increase, Tibbetts said it would have matched the federal grant provided and flood mitigation would begin. He said he thinks the question was voted down because it was confusing.
“Question 3 determined how we were going to try to come up with the money for this project,” Tibbetts said. “If it had been approved there would be more options available to the selectmen.”
After Intervale Road residents were hit by two major floods in two years, the town explored the option of applying for a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The grant covered the cost of removing five damaged homes in the area and raising another five above flood plain to prevent flooding in the future. The grant application was for more than $1.4 million, 25 percent of which would have to be locally matched. Tibbetts said the only way the town could match that amount of money would be to raise the property tax levy limit. He said the only reason the third question had to be voted on was because of LD1.
According to the State of Maine Web site, LD1 is a law enacted in January 2005 to lower Maine’s total state and local tax burden as compared to other states. The law does this by moderating government spending and directing more state funding to property tax relief.
“Because Question 3 was defeated the options are to take it out of surplus, but you have to go to the voters for that approval,” Tibbetts said. “You can take the money out of the existing budget, you can bond and apply that to the next year’s budget, but it won’t be under the cap. We have to make sure that expenditure is under the cap.”
Tibbetts said no matter what the outcome, the final decision would be left up to the selectmen to determine where the funds would come from. Tibbetts said he is already digging into next year’s budget.
Kennebunk Selectmen Chairman Wayne Berry said the next step in the process is to discuss where the funds could be taken from at the next town meeting, scheduled for Nov. 27.
“We have to take a look at the possibilities first,” Berry said. “Then we have to analyze those possibilities and go from there.”
Edward Gagne, an Intervale Road resident, said in an email that he was glad the second local bond question passed. He said the past year has been very difficult living in a camper and a half-gutted house.
Gagne said he didn’t completely understand the relationship between the two bonds because he thought some of the $375,000 of the town’s share of the buyout could have been accounted for.
Berry said he felt the third question may have confused some of the voters. He said the third question wasn’t the choice of the selectmen to include on the ballot, and he thought that the way it was worded made it sound as if the town was asking for an additional amount of money.
“We don’t know how the project will continue,” Berry said. “If we have to come up with $375,000 cash immediately, that isn’t really an option.”
Berry said that because Question 3 failed, flood mitigation of the area will have to be put off until the spring.
The first referendum question on the ballot asked to enact fall 2007 amendments to the Kennebunk Noise Ordinance. The town passed that question, 1,529 in favor, while 1,063 voted against it.
Staff Writer
On Election Day, more than 2,500 Kennebunk residents cast their ballots on three town referendum questions, including one that would approve up to $375,000 to repair flood damaged land and houses on Intervale Road, Meadow Drive and Partridge Lane from April 2006 and 2007 storms.
The town voted in favor of Question 2, which asked voters to allocate $375,000 from surplus to be used for the damaged land and houses on Intervale Road. The question was passed, 1,698 to 945, but Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said the town still doesn’t know where that money will come from because the third question, which asked voters to increase the tax levy limit in an effort to come up with the remaining 25 percent, was voted down.
Question 3 asked voters to give the town permission to increase property tax levy limit to $5,573,864, and was vetoed 1,372 to 1,225 with 83 blanks. If the town had voted for the increase, Tibbetts said it would have matched the federal grant provided and flood mitigation would begin. He said he thinks the question was voted down because it was confusing.
“Question 3 determined how we were going to try to come up with the money for this project,” Tibbetts said. “If it had been approved there would be more options available to the selectmen.”
After Intervale Road residents were hit by two major floods in two years, the town explored the option of applying for a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The grant covered the cost of removing five damaged homes in the area and raising another five above flood plain to prevent flooding in the future. The grant application was for more than $1.4 million, 25 percent of which would have to be locally matched. Tibbetts said the only way the town could match that amount of money would be to raise the property tax levy limit. He said the only reason the third question had to be voted on was because of LD1.
According to the State of Maine Web site, LD1 is a law enacted in January 2005 to lower Maine’s total state and local tax burden as compared to other states. The law does this by moderating government spending and directing more state funding to property tax relief.
“Because Question 3 was defeated the options are to take it out of surplus, but you have to go to the voters for that approval,” Tibbetts said. “You can take the money out of the existing budget, you can bond and apply that to the next year’s budget, but it won’t be under the cap. We have to make sure that expenditure is under the cap.”
Tibbetts said no matter what the outcome, the final decision would be left up to the selectmen to determine where the funds would come from. Tibbetts said he is already digging into next year’s budget.
Kennebunk Selectmen Chairman Wayne Berry said the next step in the process is to discuss where the funds could be taken from at the next town meeting, scheduled for Nov. 27.
“We have to take a look at the possibilities first,” Berry said. “Then we have to analyze those possibilities and go from there.”
Edward Gagne, an Intervale Road resident, said in an email that he was glad the second local bond question passed. He said the past year has been very difficult living in a camper and a half-gutted house.
Gagne said he didn’t completely understand the relationship between the two bonds because he thought some of the $375,000 of the town’s share of the buyout could have been accounted for.
Berry said he felt the third question may have confused some of the voters. He said the third question wasn’t the choice of the selectmen to include on the ballot, and he thought that the way it was worded made it sound as if the town was asking for an additional amount of money.
“We don’t know how the project will continue,” Berry said. “If we have to come up with $375,000 cash immediately, that isn’t really an option.”
Berry said that because Question 3 failed, flood mitigation of the area will have to be put off until the spring.
The first referendum question on the ballot asked to enact fall 2007 amendments to the Kennebunk Noise Ordinance. The town passed that question, 1,529 in favor, while 1,063 voted against it.
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