Letter: Local political blarney (Printed March 30, 2007)
Posted by Sentry Editor at 4/5/2007 7:55 AM 
Categories: So Po News, Letters to the editor, Public Safety
Categories: So Po News, Letters to the editor, Public Safety
Editor:
The March 23rd front-page article on “new CDBG funding” announced several local neighborhood projects. One of these projects cited was the improvement of the Sawyer/High Street park in Ferry Village. This $15,000 proposal was submitted by the local officers of the Ferry Village Neighborhood Conservation Association (FVNCA) and presented to the Community Development Advisory Committee. In the Sentry article, it states that “one condition in renovating the park calls for a basketball hoop that is a popular attraction for teenagers to remain in the park.” This so-called condition was not in the FVNCA proposal. The basketball court was intentionally deleted from the proposal due to the constant trash, loitering, vandalism, and noise that this lot attracts. This basketball court has been neglected for years. Pleas to the local Parks and Recreation Department and local police are never-ending.
Councilor Maxine Beecher’s quote, “if there’s any population that is underserved in South Portland, it’s the teenager...in expressing her approval of the distribution of funds.” Wrong!
Here are a few facts to digest councilor and city officials:
1. This basketball court is not serving the underserved. Great if it was since I am a proponent of physical activity. The majority are adult players who park their cars along the streets, with fast-food drinks and food, blast their car radios, and leave the trash behind.
2. Teenagers have access to more recreational spaces than ever before. Elementary, junior, and high schools all have basketball courts...thanks to the local taxpayers.
3. This space has continually been vandalized, neglected, and trashed. Per Parks and Recreation personnel, the reason for no trash receptacles is due to the vandalism.
4. There is now a sign stating this space is a drug-free zone. Great advertisement for attracting new people to the neighborhood.
The FVNCA proposal called for changing the focus of this highly visible lot. With the rich history of Ferry Village, this space would become more park-like with new benches, trash receptacles and with historical markers.
Maybe this space is not for the “underserved teenage population,” but just maybe it could be served well by the senior population who take pride in Ferry Village.
Gail Kolbe
Ferry Village resident
The March 23rd front-page article on “new CDBG funding” announced several local neighborhood projects. One of these projects cited was the improvement of the Sawyer/High Street park in Ferry Village. This $15,000 proposal was submitted by the local officers of the Ferry Village Neighborhood Conservation Association (FVNCA) and presented to the Community Development Advisory Committee. In the Sentry article, it states that “one condition in renovating the park calls for a basketball hoop that is a popular attraction for teenagers to remain in the park.” This so-called condition was not in the FVNCA proposal. The basketball court was intentionally deleted from the proposal due to the constant trash, loitering, vandalism, and noise that this lot attracts. This basketball court has been neglected for years. Pleas to the local Parks and Recreation Department and local police are never-ending.
Councilor Maxine Beecher’s quote, “if there’s any population that is underserved in South Portland, it’s the teenager...in expressing her approval of the distribution of funds.” Wrong!
Here are a few facts to digest councilor and city officials:
1. This basketball court is not serving the underserved. Great if it was since I am a proponent of physical activity. The majority are adult players who park their cars along the streets, with fast-food drinks and food, blast their car radios, and leave the trash behind.
2. Teenagers have access to more recreational spaces than ever before. Elementary, junior, and high schools all have basketball courts...thanks to the local taxpayers.
3. This space has continually been vandalized, neglected, and trashed. Per Parks and Recreation personnel, the reason for no trash receptacles is due to the vandalism.
4. There is now a sign stating this space is a drug-free zone. Great advertisement for attracting new people to the neighborhood.
The FVNCA proposal called for changing the focus of this highly visible lot. With the rich history of Ferry Village, this space would become more park-like with new benches, trash receptacles and with historical markers.
Maybe this space is not for the “underserved teenage population,” but just maybe it could be served well by the senior population who take pride in Ferry Village.
Gail Kolbe
Ferry Village resident
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