By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
    On Feb. 21 Kennebunk residents will have the opportunity to vote for a new selectman as well as cast their vote on an eight-question referendum ballot. Questions vary from tweaking the town’s dog ordinance to zoning issues and also include the recent proposal for a development aimed at alleviating traffic on Route 1.
    Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said questions seven and eight are part of a comprehensive plan to acquire funding for improvements to the town, specifically the downtown area.
    Referendum question seven specifies the expansion of the tax investment financing district (TIF).
    “A TIF allows us to capture valuation growth and set it aside for a specific improvement,” Tibbetts said. “It allows us to grab money and put it in other places, such as the efforts to enhance the downtown area.”
    The expansion of the TIF district would allow it to include several existing businesses along Route 1 in addition to an old manufacturing plant behind the Shoppers Village Plaza. Tibbetts said the plant is scheduled for redevelopment by Shape Medical, LLC as a health and wellness center.
    “We’re hoping to fill the space with medical offices and other health related facilities,” said Ralph Austin, legal representative for the developer. “We are currently in the permitting stage.”
    Question eight seeks approval for a $400,000 grant available through the federal program Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), for the construction of an access road connecting the existing Post Office Square and the proposed health and wellness center.
    The CDBG aims to create low to moderate income jobs, Tibbetts said, and would provide the town with $20,000 for 20 positions created at the new health and wellness center. This money, combined with a contribution from the project developer and revenue from expanding the TIF would enable the town to pay back the $400,000 with little or no impact to the taxpayer, Tibbetts said.
     “There’s always a financial liability for the town with a grant like this,” Tibbetts said. “Any time a business comes in that creates 175 jobs, it’s good.”
    Tibbetts said there has always been  concern about traffic on that particular spot of Route 1, and that the access road would allow an alternate route for employees at the health and wellness center.
    Alex Mendelsohn, chairman of the Kennebunk Conservation Commission said the access road would include construction of a bridge over Wonder Brook, a tributary to the Kennebunk River that also runs through Wonder Brook Park.
    “It just seems to be a natural habitat,” Mendelsohn said after the commission conducted an unscheduled site walk two weeks ago.
    Mendelsohn said the commission is always concerned with the fragmentation of any natural habitat, which can result in dwindling wildlife populations. He said the commission conducted an informal review of access road sketch plans, and applied the Nonpoint Source pollution report by Christine Baumann-Feurt to the project. The report indicated that most pollution comes from bridges and culverts, which would both be constructed in close proximity to Wonder Brook, Mendelsohn said.
    “Bridges create direct access for chemicals from the roadway to get into the water. There are a lot of factors at work,” he said. “We will monitor it closely.”
    Measures can be taken to reduce the amount of pollution generated by roads, Mendelsohn said, such as using permeable pavement to prevent large amounts of runoff, or narrowing the road to slow motorists and hopefully discourage littering, he said.
    “We will protect wildlife as much as we possibly can,” Tibbetts said. “This is an achievable goal.”
    The first question on the ballot would allow homeowners to place “For Sale” signs at the end of their driveways, where they may not necessarily have the road frontage normally required for such a sign, Tibbetts said.
    Tibbetts said questions two and three both pertain to dog ordinances; the second question would require dog owners to have a leash with them at all times, as well as maintaining voice control over the animal. The third question expands the ordinance requiring owners to clean up their pet’s waste to include horses, llamas and any other domestic animal.
    “And there have been other animals on the beaches,” Tibbetts said.
    While question four simply eliminates unnecessary verbiage from the town’s zoning ordinance, Tibbetts said question five would allow the zoning board of appeals (ZBA) to have jurisdiction over a site in West Kennebunk originally intended for a campground. If approved by voters, question five will allow that property to be developed into several house lots and open space, Tibbetts said.
    Question six would allow access to $10,000 from the town’s surplus for a home heating assistance program for those in need, Tibbetts said.
    Tibbetts said selectmen have discussed all ordinances except for question eight, which they were scheduled to address at a public hearing Feb. 7. The board is recommending residents support all referendum questions they have reviewed so far.
    To contact Nate Jones call 282-4337, ext. 233 or email news@kennebunkpost.com.