Goose Rocks debate emotional

To the editor:

The issue of the public using private areas along Goose Rocks Beach raises emotions in people throughout Kennebunkport, not just folks at the beach.

This is a legal issue now. Unless resolved through mediation, the issue of use of the private sections of the beach will be decided by the courts. There is very little to contribute to the legal situation by appealing to the emotions of people in the community, unless there’s a campaign being waged to wear down taxpayer reluctance to spend money on the town’s portion of the litigation.

The town’s $250,000 request for this year’s legal fees is merely an installment. No one can promise or predict the public cost of this litigation. 

The town has probably spent tens of thousands of dollars already. The Moody Beach case lasted five years. Imagine what this might cost taxpayers at the rate of $250,000 annually. 

If a deed grants a landowner the right to property “to the Atlantic Ocean” or to the low water mark, and many at Goose Rocks do, it is a waste of taxpayer money to try to assert rights over that land. This concept of owning land to the water is not unique to Kennebunkport but is found in deeds to land all along the coast of Maine. 

It is unlikely that any court in Maine will grant the public the right to take or use without permission private property which is deeded to the owners. 

In the Moody case, after the litigation was resolved in favor of the private property owners, they and the town negotiated a license for public use of the beachfront below the high water mark. Wells voters failed to approve the appropriation for that license to lease at a Town Meeting. In the end, nothing changed. 

Susan Graham

Kennebunkport

Kudos to public and officials

 To the editor:

I wanted to thank the public, school administrators and school board for the terrific input and work done to develop the RSU 21 budget. 

This is not a perfect budget. There are still program cuts that I believe are harmful to students. There are excellent teachers who will lose their jobs. There are also potential savings and revenue that went unexplored. However, throughout it all, everyone worked together to overcome obstacles and develop a fair solution. Perhaps Washington, D.C., could learn a lesson from what occurred in our corner of the world.

The outpouring of public opinion – whether opposed to, or in support of a particular initiative – was tremendous. While cliché, it was truly democracy in action. You exercised restraint and conservatism during difficult financial times, but also were unwilling to destroy the excellent education our district provides. 

Most importantly, you showed everyone what can be accomplished through opinion and dialogue.

 To school administrators, when the board sets a budget target, principals and department chairmen are the ones who have to figure out specifically which teachers and programs to cut. 

These folks have done an incredible job balancing student need along with fiscal reality. It should be publicly acknowledged – because they selflessly refused to bring attention to it themselves - that many of them froze their own salaries. They gave up pay raises to give back every available dollar to our children. Did you do that at your own job?

To the school board, wow, what a talented and dedicated group. The board faced vanishing state aid (thankfully a small portion was restored), increased fixed costs and a recession that created property tax hardships. 

That, combined with the desire to provide our children with an excellent education, resulted in a seemingly impossible task. But they did it. While they are not perfect, and no constituent will ever be fully satisfied, I think all of us should be thankful for their diligence, skill and dedication.

Soon this school budget will go to public vote. I hope you will join me in supporting it, and in embracing the vigorous, thoughtful and widespread effort that went into this process.

Matt Fadiman

Kennebunk