Council workshop examines growth and its continuing impact upon Windham

By Ed Pierce

Windham Town Council members conducted a three-hour workshop to have an in-depth discussion about the need and impacts of growth for items such as taxes, town services, school enrollments, traffic impacts and more subjects on Jan. 23 and examined how to best address growth in an orderly manner.

Members of the Windham Town Council conducted a 
three-hour workshop on Jan. 23 to examine town growth,
state regulations regarding growth ordinances, and how
to address impacts and issues associated with growth
such as housing, school enrollment and traffic.
PHOTO BY KEITH MANK

During the meeting, town attorney Mark Bower of Jensen Baird reviewed with councilors the town’s existing growth ordinance and how state regulations affect municipal growth.

“For starters, a municipal growth ordinance must be consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan,” Bower said. “Many towns don’t have any growth caps.”

According to Bower, Windham is only one of six communities in Southern Maine that has an ordinance on file addressing growth and there are 22 other communities in the area that do not have any limitations regarding growth.

He said state rules mandate that Windham’s growth ordinance can be recalculated every three years to review growth rate details and based upon that information, the town’s growth ordinance can be updated or amended accordingly.

Councilors also heard from RSU 14 Superintendent of schools Chris Howell, who shared with them that RSU 14 schools have experienced a flat rate of growth enrollment over the past decade.

“The greatest overcrowding we have is at Windham Middle School,” Howell said. “The new Windham Raymond Middle School will help and long term we will be able to accommodate needs for the next 10 to 15 years.”

Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts presented figures for Howell to discuss how recent housing projects in town impacted local school enrollment.

From 2019 to 2024, there were two condominium projects completed in Windham totaling 49 units. From those condos, RSU 14 gained 14 students, Howell said. From 2018 to 2024, there were six duplexes constructed in Windham totaling 142 units. From those duplexes, RSU 14 gained 68 students. From 2021 to 2023, there were three multi-unit complexes finished with a total of 85 units. From those multi-unit apartments, RSU 14 gained six students.

Howell said the RSU 14 is calculated each year to take growth in Windham into account.

Windham Assistant Town Manager Bob Burns shared with councilors the results of a traffic evaluation conducted by the Gorrill Palmer engineering firm and how future developments could further impact traffic congestion.

“Based on discussions with the town, there are five potential developments within the immediate vicinity of the Route 302 study area,” the survey report detailed. “Trip generation was calculated using ITE Trip Generation Manual or other methods based on discussions with the Town. Trip distribution was based on our knowledge of the area and traffic patterns as identified from traffic counts that were provided in the North Windham Moves study.”

The traffic evaluation examined potential traffic from each of the developments including a proposal to build 172 residential units near Manchester Drive; construction of 80 condos at the end of Turning Leaf Road; additions to be built to the Microtel Inn & Suites; a potential development behind Home Depot with a possible hotel and 300 residential units; and two possible new hotels and 400 units of multifamily housing behind the Ice Cream Dugout on Enterprise Drive.

The survey report indicates that the three highest percentages for increased traffic are located in the densest portion of the downtown area.

“As one moves out of the downtown area the growth rate decreases. The current average growth rate for Route 302 within the study area is approximately 2 percent,” the report says. “This indicates that Windham is currently experiencing a growth higher than what was forecast (0.5 percent) when the North Windham Moves Study was completed. It should be noted that the 0.5-percent yearly growth was consistent up to the design year 2040. If Windham should experience a plateau in growth or a negative growth between now and 2040, the average yearly growth from now to 2040 may decrease from 2 percent closer to the 0.5 percent, or more likely somewhere in between.”

Based upon their evaluation, Gorrill Palmer says that both regional background growth as well as local development growth in Windham appear to be higher than was forecast or assumed in the North Windham Moves Study.

“This means that Route 302 corridor traffic volumes would reach the 2040 design hourly volumes earlier than 2040 if the existing growth trends continue,” the report says. “Even though the traffic volumes are increasing quicker than originally forecast or assumed, the recommended East and West alternatives identified in the North Windham Moves Study are forecast to provide acceptable levels of service. Since the originally forecasted levels of service were relatively high, there appears to be some considerable allowance for increasing traffic volumes and still maintaining acceptable levels of service throughout the corridor. The one exception along the corridor may be Boody’s Corner. This intersection level of service was forecast to be low but acceptable in 2040 with the construction of the East and West Connectors. It should be noted that in addition to the connectors, there were safety recommendations proposed for this intersection which should also improve the operations of the intersection, and the benefits of those safety improvements are not represented in the levels of service results. Based on this evaluation, it is our opinion that even though overall traffic volumes for the corridor are increasing faster than forecast, the recommended connectors should maintain overall acceptable levels of service, and in fact make the recommended connectors even more critical to maintaining the mobility and safety of the corridor than originally envisioned.”

In looking at Windham Fire, Police and EMS totals from 2014 to 2024, Tibbetts said figures show first responder calls only rose 0.02 percent since construction of new developments during that time frame.

Windham Town Council Chair Jarrod Maxfield said the workshop was helpful and he believes reviewing all the presented information will be useful for councilors when looking at potential growth issues or updating the town’s current growth ordinance.

“I think we really need as council to gets the facts out there,” Maxfield said. “The misnomer is that growth is what’s causing your property taxes to go up when it’s the opposite.” <   

Foreign exchange students participate in Civic Education Week in D.C.

Windham High School foreign exchange students
Ledion 'Ledi' Hoti of Kosovo, left, and Nour Humaid
of Palestine were participants in the Civic Education
Week workshop in Washington, D.C. from March 28
to April 1. PHOTO BY LORRAINE GLOWCZAK 

By Lorraine Glowczak

Ledion Hoti from Kosovo and Nour Humaid of Palestine are two of eight exchange students at Windham High School and are both seniors who will graduate with the Class of 2022 in June. They were recently selected among many exchange students from across the U.S. to participate in the Civic Education Week workshop held in Washington, D.C. from March 28 to April 1.

Hoti and Humaid are a part of the YES (Youth Exchange and Study) program of which Greenheart Exchange acts as the local host. Hoti explained the competitive selection process to attend CEW, a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (BECA).

“Every year all students in the [YES] program are given the chance to apply to the workshop in Washington D.C.,” Hoti said. “Applicants have to write an essay about a socio-economic problem in our country and talk about how we would fix it. Nour and I each wrote an essay, submitted it, and were lucky enough to be two of the winners from across the entire U.S. who were invited to spend a week in D.C. and attend the leadership-focused workshops.”

Humaid explained that problems discussed during the week included women empowerment, proving that women are capable of doing many things and should be equal to men, providing examples of successful women and their impact on society. 

“We also discussed the problem of plastic bags that we use back in my home and how we should encourage people not to use them,” Humaid said. “Suggested solutions included offering other options like paper bags or recycling these plastic bags instead of just burning them.”

 

The week’s event included attending seminars, meeting employees from BECA, engaging in projects, as well as meeting congressional staff. Seminars included media literacy, leadership skills and the importance of youth exchange programs.

Humaid and Hoti, who have been in Windham since last August, shared their experiences living in the Sebago Lakes Region area.

“I have learned many things about Maine, like the weather; if you don’t like the weather, just wait, and it will change,” Humaid said. “I also got to try Maine’s seafood which is one of the best foods I have ever tried. The people in Maine are so nice, and they keep greeting each other all the time.” 

Humaid said that he chose to become an exchange student to learn about the United States culture, to see how people live their lives, to make friendships and to improve his English language skills.

Hoti said that the idea of spending a year in the U.S. seemed like a fantastic opportunity for him. 

“I considered the benefits that I would gain here academically to be much bigger than if I stayed home,” Hoti said. “Moreover, I’d have to say that the thought of spending one year in a somewhat independent way in a totally foreign country I had never visited before excited me. I always saw this chance as an opportunity to grow as a person and prepare for my future years of study.”

Since his arrival, Hoti has found that Mainers are some of the politest people he’s ever met.

“The folks in Windham welcomed me right away and gave me a sense of feeling that I somehow belonged here all along, which definitely made the settling in process more comfortable for me. I found out that I had already been similar to Mainers in lots of ways. I like the forest, I like lakes, I enjoy outdoor activities, and most importantly obviously, I’ve always worn flannels. When it comes to food, I’ve tried lobster which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve tried smores and Needhams, and I’ve pretty much liked everything.”

Although both students enjoy their time in Maine, they also miss a few things from their home countries.

“One thing I’ve surely missed from home is simply speaking Albanian regularly,” Hoti said. “The people back home are kind, patriotic and overall friendly. You can easily make friends and start conversations with pretty much everybody. I’d say that in a lot of ways we’re similar to the U.S. That comes as a result of always having had very close relations diplomatically, and we’re one of, if not the most westernized country of the region. When I think about food, I think about my mom’s cooking, pite, fli, pasul, words that I’m sure hold no meaning to anybody here, but certainly take me back home. I’ve been lucky enough to find pite which I found out is known as spanakopita here in America, and I’ve actually made pasul (a white beans stew) for my host family.” 

Humaid said that Palestine is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

“It has great weather during the winter,” Humaid said. “People in my country are so nice. Usually, neighbors and family members come and visit each other on a regular basis. Palestine has almost totally different food from here; we eat a lot of rice compared to the amount of rice we eat in Maine, and we use a lot of ketchup.”

Upon graduation from WHS, both students aspire to continue their education either here in the U.S. or in Europe, Humaid in Computer Science and Hoti to study Business and Economics. Once completed, they plan to return to their home countries.

“I intend to eventually go back home and fulfill the fundamental aim of exchange programs, which is to apply everything you’ve learned abroad,” Hoti said.

To learn more about the local foreign exchange program or become a host family for the 2022-23 school year, contact Kathy Hansen, Regional Director of Greenheart Exchange at khansen@greenheart.org <