Proceeds from downtown TIF to help keep businesses dry

By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

In the past 10 years, businesses along Main Street in Kennebunk have experienced major flooding on three separate occasions and the Downtown Implementation Committee is proposing improvements to the drainage system to help alleviate future threats of water damage.

Along with Deluca-Hoffman Associates Senior Engineer Chris Osterrieder, as well as residents and business owners in the area, the committee developed a plan to reroute the Scotsman’s Brook, committee member Bob Georgitis said at the March 10 selectmen’s meeting. 

“Our foremost business in downtown says she cannot withstand another flood,” Georgitis said referring to Marlows on Main Street.

The proposed project will cost an estimated $625,000 to $650,000, which can be funded by the tax increment financing district along Route 1, he said. Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said the town had the option of applying for hazard mitigation funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but the town would no longer meets requirements due to agency guideline changes.  

While some business owners say they are not happy with an estimated three months of excavation and work along Main Street and the surrounding areas, Georgitis said they have agreed the project needs to be completed.

Using pipe five-feet in diameter, Osterrieder said the deepest they will have to dig to lay the drainage is approximately 15 feet in front of the Blue Wave shopping area. Working 100-foot sections at a time, he said completing the 1,300 feet of drainage may not be as disruptive as many anticipate.

The committee is proposing to route the stream into a piping system along the east side of Main Street down to the river by Rotary Park and lessen potential flooding of the Park Square area and Ross Block, Georgitis said. When large storms with heavy rain occur, Osterrieder said there is currently a “bath tub” effect, and once the area is saturated water begins to overflow into local buildings effecting six or seven businesses at a time. After extensive storm and watershed research in the area, he said the five-foot wide pipes will reduce the likelihood of area flooding. 

“This will increase the outlet, and is not really going to affect flow upstream. It will prevent the bathtub effect,” Osterrieder said. 

Georgitis said the committee recommends the project start this fall to avoid disruption to summer tourists and traffic. He said it will be the first step in redeveloping the downtown area and cannot be delayed. 

“This is a big project for Kennebunk,” Georgitis said. “To get the most bang for our buck, we’ll get the best pricing if we plan this now.”

Two new districts proposed for east and west ends of town

By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

Two tax increment financing districts were established on Route 1 and Alfred Road in Kennebunk in 2003 and 2004, and Town Manager Barry Tibbetts is now proposing two more in Lower Village and along the proposed utility upgrade for Central Maine Power. 

During the March 10 selectmen’s meeting, Tibbetts proposed a new district in West Kennebunk that would secure property taxes from Central Maine Power’s proposed construction of a new utility corridor, as well as a new district in Lower Village encompassing the business district adjacent to Kennebunkport.

“TIFs benefit us because our state valuation is reduced,” Finance Director Joel Downs said. “Our education funding is theoretically more and our revenue sharing increases the amount we get from the state.”

The original assessed value for the existing TIF districts totaled approximately $32.5 million. Since the districts were established, about $2.7 million in property value has been added in the area, including the development of Shape Medical Center, Stop & Shop, Cummings Market, Toddle Inn and the new rest areas along Interstate 95, Downs said. To date, more than $300,000 in property taxes from both TIF districts has been set aside for designated municipal improvements within the districts.

Downs said funds from the two existing districts could total about $1.5 million after 20 years as more development in the area occurs. Currently, he said funds collected from existing districts are designated to the Route 1 rear access plan connecting Shoppers Village with Shape Medical Center, as well as recently proposed improvements to the drainage system around Main Street.

Within TIF districts, property value appreciation is shielded from state valuation calculations. As a result, Maine School Administrative District 71 has received $155,000 in additional state funding, Downs said.

With the proposed utility corridor in West Kennebunk, Central Maine Power estimates $30 million additional property value. Downs said placing the property within a TIF district could generate more than $500,000 cumulatively during the next 30 years. Tibbetts said property taxes collected from the district could be used to purchase ladder, tanker and brush trucks for the West Kennebunk Fire Station, as well as a patrol car, plow truck and additional training. 

“I looked at the needs of the areas, and that’s how we got to these lists. We’re pulling out incremental value to pay for town improvements, and we’re not increasing the burden. It actually helps decrease because these items aren’t in the general budget,” Tibbetts said. 

The Lower Village Committee presented Tibbetts with possible improvements to the business district in Lower Village. He said projects could include  improvements to Port Road with walking and bicycling paths, as well as lighting, improving the intersection of Port Road and Route 9 and adding a public parking lot.

“These improvements are essential to keeping Lower Village vibrant,” Tibbetts said. “I see a lot of benefit in the long term. It protects the quality of life and enhances it.”

Residents at the selectmen meeting March 10 expressed concern TIF districts were putting additional burden on taxpayers and the project that are funded are approved by selectmen only. Tibbetts said when residents voted to approve the districts, they also gave the authority to determine project funding to the selectmen. Downs said with valuation of the districts not included in the town’s state valuation, it reduces the tax rate. 

“These districts are a really good tool,” Tibbetts said. “You have to become savvy and know how to use the tools to maintain the lowest mil rate.”

Tibbetts said residents will vote on the new proposed TIF districts during Town Meeting scheduled in June.