Windham streamlines permit process for restaurants, retail stores

In response to the State’s social distancing regulations proposed for the reopening of restaurants and retail sales during the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Windham Town Council, working with the Planning and Code Enforcement Departments and the Windham Economic Development Corporation have streamlined the permitting process so Windham’s restaurants and retailers can adjust their customer service areas to better meet the new regulations. 

On Tuesday, May 26, the Windham Town Council approved the process, as well as waived any fees related to these temporary permits for restaurants and retailers.  The approval for these temporary permits will be in force through October 2020.

If there is a need for restaurants to expand their seating footprint outside of the current permitted footprint to meet social distancing requirements, without expanding the current permitted seating capacity, they would only need to apply for a temporary Change of Use permit with the Code Enforcement Office.

The Windham Town Council has waived the $50.00 permit fee for this temporary Change of Use   Please note that the restaurant may need to apply for an extension to their current Maine Liquor License to allow for liquor sales in any new seating areas developed.  The extension should be applied for through the Windham Town Clerk’s Office.
permit.

If there is a need for a retailer to add to their designated retail sales footprint outside of their building, to meet social distancing requirements, they will need to obtain a Retail Sales, Outdoor Temporary permit from the Code Enforcement Office.  The Windham Town Council has waived the $100.00 permit fee for this Retail Sales, Outdoor Temporary permit. 

The steps for approval for restaurants are:

·    *  Discuss your plans with the property owner

·    *  Sketch a dimensional Plot Plan clearly delineated with additional seating footprint area(s)

·    *  Total number of seats is limited to existing permitted total

·    *   Submit a temporary Change of Use application to the Windham Code Enforcement Office

·    *  The Windham Town Council has waived fees for this temporary Change of Use permit

·         Code Enforcement Office will review the application and provide approvals as appropriate

·   *   The permit will be in force through Oct. 31, 2020

The steps for approval for retail stores are:

·     *    Discuss your plans with the property owner.

·     *    Sketch a dimensional Plot Plan clearly delineated with additional footprint area(s)

·     *    Submit a Retail Sales, Outdoor Temporary application to the Windham Code Enforcement Office

·    *    The Windham Town Council has waived fees for this Retail Sales, Outdoor Temporary permit

·         Code Enforcement Office will review the application and provide approvals as appropriate

·    *    The permit will be in force through Oct. 31, 2020

For more information and Change of Use application, go to windhammaine.us

Congratulations to Windham's new Town Manager Barry Tibbitts

Interim Town Manager, Barry Tibbitts being officially sworn in as the new Windham Town Manger by Town Clerk, Linda Morrill on Wednesday, March 11. He was unanimously voted in by the Town Council on Tuesday evening at the regular meeting.

Area elected officials work to increase safety at dangerous intersections in Windham

Windham Delegation are teaming up with others to make
Windham intersections safe

By Lorraine Glowczak

In late November, Windham’s Legislators met with Chief Kevin Schofield and Captain Andrew Williams of the Windham Police Department along with Town Council Chair Jarrod Maxfield and members of MaineDOT (Department of Transportation) and the owners of All In One Insulation, for an on-site visit at the dangerous intersection of Route 302 and Albion Road.

Rep. Mark Bryant explained that the on-site visit was requested by the Windham Legislative Delegation.  “We reviewed crash data and discussed short- and long-term solutions to improve safety at this dangerous intersection as well as other roads in Windham,” Bryant state. 

“Diane and I have lived in our home on the Albion Road for over 30 years and have come upon many accidents at the dangerous intersection of route 302 and Albion Road, as well as the dangerous intersection of Route 202 and Falmouth Road. There have been many improvements to both intersections over the years, but the population of Greater Windham has grown. The increase in traffic warrants immediate corrective action to promote the safety of our community on our roads. We are also working to speed up the implementation of the scheduled improvements to Route 202 and Falmouth Road.”

The crash rate at the Route 302/Albion Road intersection is higher than the statewide average, presently at .83 where the statewide average is .14 which alerts the need for change and safety.

According to Chief Schofield, there have been 25 crashes at that location in the past five years. “Twenty-four out of those 25 had some level of personal injury,” he said.

At the Monday meeting last month, MaineDOT continued to review the traffic and crash data to determine the best resolution to improve safety. Possible long-term solutions discussed included whether or not a traffic signal or a flashing beacon be best warranted at this location. 

Meghan Russo, Manager of Legislative and Constituent Services stated , “There were a few near future items the MaineDOT State Traffic Engineer, Steve Landry, believed could be beneficial. Those included extending one of the medians on Route 302 and painting both medians green as well as installing tubular markers on both Route 302 islands.  It also included moving the stop bar on one of the Albion Road approaches, extending the edge lines on Route 302 through the intersection to define it better, and painting ‘Stop Ahead’ on the Albion Road approach with the hill.”

“The Albion Road and 302 intersection has been a concern for many of my constituents for some time,” stated Rep. Patrick Corey. “Recent trends in residential development have and will continue to increase the number of folks using that intersection to access a major thoroughfare. Windham’s people will be safer with these necessary improvements initiated by Windham’s Legislative Delegation and our ongoing work with the town and MDOT.”

As Rep. Bryant mentioned, there has also been a focus on the intersection of Route 202 and Falmouth Road. Senator Bill Diamond stated that there has been updated discussions with MDOT to expedite an implementation date for the traffic lights that have been DOT approved at this intersection. “The most recent accident at that ‘high crash’ intersection only accentuates the need for it to be upgraded as soon as possible,” Diamond said. “Mark, Patrick and I have been raising the level of urgency with DOT and I talked with the Commissioner last Thursday and the staff is looking at the possibility of a new implementation timeline.”

Jarrod Maxfield, Chair of the Windham Town Council stated that road safety is of concern to the Council, as they receive many calls from Windham residents. Maxfield explained that from a town council perspective, Route 302 is a state road. “We can definitely make our concerns known to the state, but in the end, it is a state road and a state decision. But I have to give a lot of credit to Rep. Bryant and the Windham delegation for getting all the parties together in the same room to get the ball rolling and make this intersection safer.”

Diamond continued, “Having MDOT safety officials actually come to Windham to see firsthand the dangerous intersections like Route 302 and Albion Road and the Falmouth Road and Route 202 makes a big difference in securing safety improvements. The Windham Legislative Delegation works as a team and we will continue to engage state agencies whenever necessary to protect the safety of our citizens.”  

The importance of proper recycling and the cost of “wishcycling”

Manchester School students discover what is recyclable (in 2016)

By Lorraine Glowczak

We are all aware that recycling is the process of collecting materials that would be otherwise thrown away and make them into new products. To recycle reduces waste in landfills, conserves natural resources and prevents pollution, to name just a few of the benefits. It’s for these reasons most Americans will properly recycle items such as water bottles, newspapers and glass jars.

But what about that plastic fork? Is that a recyclable item? If you are not sure but throw it in the recycling bin and hope that all is well? Then you are a “wishcycler.” And this one act can cost you and the town money.

The term, wishcycling, is when an individual throws questionable items into the recycling bin hoping that the object will be properly recycled once it reaches the facility. The Windham Town Council learned about this and more at their last Tuesday, January 22 meeting. “We receive a report each month on how much contamination is in our recycling,” Interim Town Manager, Don Gerrish, told the council. “We’ve been on notice and we are going start to pay if the recycling hits a certain percentage of contamination.”

As a result, Gerrish invited Environmental Educator from ecomaine, Katrina Vehnhuizen to speak to and inform the council on the improperly recycled items that occurs at both curbside and the silver bullet site within the Town of Windham.

Vehnhuizen provided a PowerPoint presentation and shared with the Council some of the major contamination materials that people try to recycle which include (but are not limited to) the following: CDs or DVDs, appliances, such as microwaves or refrigerators as well as vehicle parts, propane tanks, hair dryer, coffee grounds and diapers. For the record - plastic cup lids, straws, knives, forks, and spoons are not recyclable materials either and, if put in the recycling bin, are considered contamination material.

“We also get a lot of plastic bags including big black trash bags to grocery store shopping bags,” Vehnhuizen stated. “These items are considered contamination and should not be placed in the recycling bins or in the silver bullets.”

Informing the public is Vehnhuizen’s job and she mentioned her success in educating students at Maine schools regarding the importance of proper recycling. She told the Council about her work at Windham’s Manchester School.

Katrina Vehnhuizen from ecomaine speaks to the Town Council about about improper recycling, otherwise known as 'wishcycling'

In the December 23, 2016 edition of The Windham Eagle’s article, “Fifth graders are ‘talking trash’ at Manchester School’, it was explained that as a result of the efforts of fifth grade teacher Jennifer Ocean, the school was awarded a $3,000 School Recycling Grant from ecomaine to teach the students about environmental responsibility.

Vehnhuizen visited the school and provided a hands-on and educational opportunities, teaching the students the difference between what is trash and what is not, by quite literally going through the garbage produced by the first school lunch hour.

Vehnhuizen began the trash audit session, first weighing, then discarding a full bag of rubbish on a huge blue tarp. With tongs and rubber gloves, the students were asked to separate the trash into four piles, 1. Actual trash. 2. Re-useable items such as Ziploc bags, 3. Recyclables such as milk cartons and 4. Compost. The students discovered that what initially began as 25 pounds of waste, when separated into appropriate piles, ended up being only 1 pound of real trash. The students quickly discovered how many unnecessary items are placed into landfills and thus the need to reduce the amount of solid waste disposal.

Below is a helpful list to not only help reduce the amount of trash going into landfills, but to also help you and the Town of Windham save money.

Items that can be recycled:

Paper, including but not limited to:

All clean cardboard, paperboard and pizza boxes

Newspapers, advertising inserts and mail

Magazines, catalogs, phone books, hard cover books

Clean paper plates (not soaked or caked with food or oils)

Wrapping paper that can rip

Milk & juice cartons (it helps to remove caps, but isn’t necessary)

Drink boxes and other aseptic containers (such as nut milk boxes)

Shredded paper (contained in a clear plastic bag)

Plastic rigid containers marked with a #1 – #7 (NO Styrofoam, bags & films), including but not limited to:

Water bottles and salad containers

Milk jugs

Detergent bottles

Yogurt containers

Takeout food containers (not styrofoam)

Metal containers, including but not limited to:

Tin cans

Aerosol cans, such as shaving cream and hair spray (completely emptied)

Aluminum cans, tins and foil (not caked with food residue)

Pots and pans

Glass, including:

All glass bottles and jars

Items that cannot be recycled:

Propane, fuel, or gas (O²) tanks 

Plastic bags and film, such as SaranWrap®, shrink wrap or boat wraps 

Rope, cables, cords or wires

Yard waste or food (compost them instead!)

Video and audio tapes

e-waste, such as computers, laptops, TVs, etc. 

CDs or DVDs 

Appliances, such as microwaves or refrigerators 

Clothing, shoes or bedding 

Car, truck or boat parts, including batteries and brake rotors

Plastic cup lids, straws, knifes, forks, and spoons

Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) and regular fluorescent bulbs.

For more information, contact ecomaine at 207-773-1738 or peruse their website at www.ecomaine.org.

Proposed amendments regarding medical marijuana caregiver retail stores does not pass by Lorraine Glowczak

The Windham Town Council met on Tuesday evening August 7 at the Town Hall in the Council Chambers to discuss a variety of agenda items. The items of greatest concern that filled the chamber room with area residents and Windham delegation was the discussion surrounding issues and recent changes in adult-use and medical marijuana.

Many municipalities, including Windham, have been struggling with how to handle requests from registered caregivers to operate medical marijuana retail stores. Existing law has been completely silent on the legal status of these stores and unclear as to municipal authority to regulate.

As a result, the Council invited Windham delegation, the town attorney, police chief and code enforcement to examine these complicated issues, specifically, the lack of clarity regarding the legality of retail caregiver stores.

Basic information provided to the Council included but not limited to the following:

There will be a constantly changing and rearranging of the laws regarding cannabis for a while.

Recreational use is largely up to the municipalities.

Violations of retail stores go to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Police can only enforce general violations.

Complaints about retail caregiver stores can be addressed during the businesses licensure renewal process.

The subject of medical caregiver retail storefronts was also discussed and was an agenda item that required action. The action considered was regarding a proposed amendment to the definition of a retail caregiver store. The proposed amendment was as follows:

“Caregiver Retail Store” – A Retail Sales establishment operated by a registered medical marijuana caregiver for the sale of marijuana and marijuana products to qualifying patients, which establishment may also include facilities for the conduct of any other activities authorized to be performed by a medical marijuana Caregiver pursuant to 22 M.R.S. Sec. 2423-A(2), as may be amended from time to time. Notwithstanding 1 M.R.S.A. § 302, this Amendment shall apply to all Caregiver Retail Stores not in operation on or before August 7, 2018 or authorized by a permit granted by the Town of Windham prior to August 7, 2018."

Area caregivers and owners of retail stores in Windham offered public comments, making the argument that medical marijuana provides relief for many ailments and, as such, the importance of not restricting this form of medication from patients.

Various council members expressed their views on the matter. Councilwoman Rebecca Cummings clarified that the proposed amendment was not a punitive action, but rather an effort to make sure that patients receive safe product and met quality assurance specifications. She mentioned the importance of commercial and home kitchen licenses for the safe making of edible products.

Councilman Jarrod Maxfield expressed that any legal business should not be prevented from coming into town and stated he would not vote for the proposed amendment.

The action did not pass with four council members against the proposed amendment and three for.

For full details and other agenda items discussed, go to the town website at www.windhammaine.us. The meetings are also available to view on Facebook Live as well as recorded and broadcasted on Channel 7.

For patients who wish to know if their care provider is licensed for the use of a commercial or home kitchen can contact the Maine Department of Agriculture at www.maine.gov/dacf/

Windham Town Council declares December 25, 2017 as #Fightlikeacyr Day by Lorraine Glowczak

Nolan Cyr getting ready for school

The Windham Town Council met on Tuesday, December 19 in the town council chambers for its usual town council meeting. Agenda items included (but were not limited to) issues such as the Town Manager’s report, committee reports as well as the adoption of the Surface Water Protection Ordinance.

However, one agenda item was added at the end of the council meeting. Councilor Tim Nangle asked

for an additional item to be added to the agenda; to proclaim and designate December 25, 2017 to be #Fightlikeacyr Day in Windham.

Nolan Cyr is an eleven-year-old Windham resident who has battled osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that affects the bones. He was diagnosed in April 2017. Cyr’s personal battle against this disease engaged the entire community, locally and beyond that included a police escort on his return trip home upon the conclusion of his final cancer treatment on December 14.

The official proclamation states, “Nolan Cyr’s being home with his family and cancer free is the best Christmas gift Nolan’s family, friends and the entire community could ask for.”

The Council approved the Proclamation unanimously.

Welcome home Nolan Cyr.

For details about this or other town council meetings, please refer to the Town of Windham website at www.windhammaine.us or contact the Town Manager’s office at 892-1907. The meetings are also available on Facebook Live.