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| Members of Windham's Public Works Department work on a drainage culvert on Cottage Road near Highland Lake on Tuesday. The project is about 75 percent complete and is intended to improve the drainage runoff in the area, boosting water quality for High Lake. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
By
Ed Pierce
When
Windham’s town manager reviews what has been accomplished by the town council
in the past year, he sees a lot for residents to be proud of.
Barry
Tibbetts assumed duties as Windham Town manager last fall and says he’s been
amazed at how prioritized the council has been in getting things done.
Led
by council chair Jarrod Maxwell, Windham town councilors are focused on
resolving longstanding issues despite varying viewpoints and differences,
Tibbetts said.
Some
of what has been achieved in the past year includes establishing and clarifying
town policies dealing with growth, marijuana and the use of town facilities.
To
that end, Tibbetts said councilors have explored problems associated with
growth in Windham by revising town permit fees and subdivision ordinance,
addressing illegal subdivisions, implementing a growth ordinance along with new
impact fees along with new impact fees and specific design standards.
“Growth
affects everything we do in our community,” Tibbetts said. “It affects
everything from traffic and water quality to the size of our schools and the
council wants to ensure we grow in the right way. We can now do that with these
new policies and ordinance in place.”
He
also said councilors resolved questions about the town’s marijuana ordinance by
examining revisions to existing state law, comparing Windham’s rules with other
Maine municipalities and then revising its ordinance accordingly. As such, the
town is now entering the application phase for adult-use marijuana businesses
and that process will be completed by early fall.
“This
is a huge accomplishment for the council,” Tibbetts said. “This has been a
point of contention for some time and it’s great to see the council reach a
consensus regarding this ordinance.”
The
other major policy issued that councilors have addressed is about the
utilization of operational space by the town following studies conducted in
2013, 2014 and 2019 for several buildings. It resulted in space better used by
Windham Police and Fire Departments, Tibbetts said, and a recommended expansion
of operational space for the town hall.
“As
far as the police station goes, previous engineering studies showed a building
built for 22 in 1989 now houses more than 45 people,” he said. “Through efforts
of the council, bonding for renovation of the police facility was approved by
voters at the annual town meeting. The design and construction phase for that
work is now starting. The same approach took place for the Fire Central Station
with the renovation for that facility built to the latest standards and
providing growth space for the department in the future.”
Tibbetts
said that councilors also are examining how to resolve traffic issues through
the town, including North Windham.
According
to Tibbetts, funding has been obtained for smart traffic lights to interconnect
on Route 302 to assist traffic in flowing better in Windham and the town has
also entered into a study with the Maine Department of Transportation regarding
access roads to keep traffic moving smoothly on Route 302.
“The
council is also engaged with the Portland Water District to find a sewer
solution for the North Windham area. This project has been stalled for many
years,” Tibbetts said. “We now have an agreement with the Portland Water
District to determine the feasibility of using new sewer technology and
determining, as cost will allow us to make a better-informed decision. Prior to
this approach we were held captive to a $55 million expense to Westbrook now
due to inflation closer to $75 million, but this new approach with advanced
technology will yield a much lower long-term cost. No waste will be pumped to
Westbrook.”
Other
projects that have been accomplished over the past year in Windham include
funding of sidewalks on Route 35 at Route 302; the installation of LED
streetlights that will save Windham roughly $65,000 a year in operational
costs; creating a new turn lane from Route 302 and paving of Brand Road;
creating additional parking and improvements at Lippman Park; separating the
TIF budget from the municipal budget; a thorough review of all town fees to
reflect a more accurate reflection of service costs; moving Public Works into
its new facility; implementing a Code of Ethics for town councilors and
adopting a town social media policy.
Ongoing
projects that should be completed soon include reworking the drainage system
along the east side of Highland Lake to adhere to storm water compliance;
entering Phase 2 of improvements to the Windham Skate Park; and issuing a
Request for Proposals to developers for their best approach to creatively
reusing the Southwest Fire Station.
“Windham
has been looking at all of these issues for some time but hasn’t been able to
get them over the finish line,” Tibbetts said. “This council has done a
commendable job in working together to get these completed for the town and we
all can take great pride in what has been accomplished this past year.”
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