Editor:

I can completely understand why some citizens are up in arms about sending the future of the Park Street School back to the voters. I get it. I do. Times are tough.

My family has been lucky for the last several years but our future is now a little uncertain in these trying economic times and it’s scary. The days of working in Lower Village and stressing out about whether I should spend $1 on a slice of cheese pizza for lunch aren’t all that far behind me (and possibly in front of me). I can completely relate to people’s fears of having to pay a cent more in taxes. If voters do decide that Park Street should continue its journey to Avesta Affordable Housing, that’d be just fine by me. It’s not a terrible idea. It would be a good thing and I think we all understand why: It would prevent an increase in our immediate tax burden from its renovation, it gets the town off the hook for the expense of maintaining it, it will provide affordable housing, etc. 

If citizens do vote for the building to remain under town ownership, I’d be even better with it I think. With some creative vision, the long-term benefits of hanging onto that building might outweigh the short term. I think the group who petitioned for the revote is absolutely correct in their estimation that the town will need that building in the not too distant future. There is a lot of drive for growth in Kennebunk and it’s just a matter of time before our municipalities will need more space. A $1.4 million renovation in today’s dollars will probably have less impact on our taxes than constructing a brand new building in tomorrow’s dollars. Park Street School’s close proximity to the current municipalities also makes economic sense to me. 

Park Street School can be creatively used to stimulate our downtown economy in a way that the housing cannot. The building wouldn’t necessarily need to be used for the sole purpose of municipal offices and archival storage. It could do double or even triple duty. Now, these are just a few rough ideas but if one or two non-profits are housed there in addition to municipal space, rent and grants could be used to supplement the buildings operating expenses. That was a thought that was raised in a recently televised public hearing. What about a community driven project like a non-profit children’s museum? Several of us in town have been talking about it and there is enthusiastic support for it. The Park Street location is perfect. It’s in a beautiful, safe and already kid oriented neighborhood. The building has a “museumy” look to it and it has parking. It is incredibly close to our downtown, which is need of revitalization. Many of us visit the two closest museums in Portland and Dover and it’s not unusual to have to wait in a surprisingly long line to get in. A children’s museum would give the hundreds of families in town with young children something fun and affordable to do all year round, particularly in the dead of winter. It would provide yet another thing for vacationing families to do, especially on rainy, non-beach days. It would draw in folks from neighboring communities daily. Visitors would be very likely to dine and shop downtown and perhaps even come back another day without the kids. 

Local businesses benefit from these museums through their involvement. Traditionally, it’s local businesses that pay for and create each exhibit. Banks, grocery stores, veterinary offices and all sorts of other businesses and organization donate obsolete equipment to create these pretend-play exhibits. After their initial investment, their sponsored exhibit becomes years of free advertising. A children’s museum is also a great community building and educational tool.

And what about a non-profit artists’ co-op? There’s been an expressed interest in that as well but downtown rents are too high.

Anyway, children’s museums and artists’ co-ops aside, my point is, if we can’t fix and our short-term economic problems by hanging onto the building, with some creative vision and a positive attitude, we can harness the potential of that building to develop our long-term economic success.

Erin Watkinson

West Kennebunk