Kennebunk residents will have quite an array of choices to make at the referendum election on Tuesday, June 9, and the floor portion of Town Meeting, on Wednesday, June 10.

Please – remember to vote, and encourage your friends and family to do the same. This year, I hope that every one of the 9,400-plus registered Kennebunk voters will make the effort to cast their ballots.

Why? It’s so important that the town hear from the voters, especially in such dire economic times as these. If not, how will they know how you want the money spent? A high voter turnout equals a definitive answer, one way or the other.

On the election of candidates for selectmen and boards, my vote will be going to the most fiscally conservative folks on the slate. Anyone who’s been espousing spending unnecessary millions on Park Street school, or installing brick sidewalks downtown won’t be getting a vote from me.

To that end, my vote on Referendum Question No. 3, the $2.1 million Downtown Enhancement Project bond (plus $1.6 million interest) will be a resounding “No.” In this economic climate, any bond that would “gift” us with brick sidewalks, patio umbrellas and fancy new downtown streetlamps can safely be consigned to the municipal waste container, and stay there indefinitely.

Please – don’t be fooled by promises of TIF funding to pay for the downtown project bonding. Those funds may, or may not, materialize in future. This is the worst time in Kennebunk’s fiscal history to be bonding one single tax dollar that isn’t absolutely essential.

Likewise, my vote on the Beach Shuttle Funding, Question No. 5, will also be “No.” Talk about something that is completely non-essential, when compared to money for keeping our cruisers on the road 24 hours a day; paving and road repairs, or keeping our town streetlights lit. This year, more than ever, it’s time to put our limited tax resources toward the “essentials.”

“Essentials” means things like the bonds for capital improvements, drainage repair, and sewer - Questions 1, 2 and 4. These are certainly worthwhile, and I believe they deserve a “Yes” vote.

However you choose to vote, please make sure to cast your ballot, and thank you!

Naran Row-Spaulding

Kennebunk