Staff Writer 

In June, South Portland residents will decide if the city should invest in a 21-year, $5.8 million bond School Board Member Rick Carter considers a “down payment” towards larger renovation projects.

“This isn’t a renovated high school, these are maintenance issues. This isn’t a renovated middle school, these are maintenance issues,” he said prior to the city council’s unanimous approval of the bond on Monday. “At some point we will have to come back at look at real maintenance and replacement issues at the middle and high schools.”

The bond, to be placed on the school budget validation referendum ballot that could feature a proposed $40.8 million school budget – a 2.2 percent increase from last year – appropriates $2.3 million for the high school, $1.5 million for Mahoney Middle School and $1.8 million for Memorial Middle School. With interest, Finance Director Greg L’ Heureux said the bond will cost the city more than $8.5 million.

Resident Albert DiMillo said the city already has the money. According to his records, the school had more than $4.4 million in its surplus account in June of last year. He argued the school should use money from the account to avoid taking on the bond debt at a 1.5 percent interest rate. DiMillo criticized the proposed school budget – which he said was 12 percent higher than last year’s actual expenditures – for being excessive.

“There’s no way they can have a 12 percent increase, if they do, you have a serious problem,” he said. “Every time they budget a number they come in at less.”

DiMillo also said he is concerned a state statute capping a school district’s surplus fund account to 3 percent of its total budget could result in a decrease in state funding. While South Portland School Business Manager Polly Ward said the statute is strict, school auditors determined the amount in the surplus for South Portland was acceptable. 

“We have gradually increased our beginning dollar amount every year, this year it is $1.2 million,” she said. “We have gone over it with our auditors and they say our plan is acceptable.”

The proposed school and municipal budgets were expected to be presented to the city council on Wednesday after the Sentry deadline.

Flea Market Fees

Louis Maietta, owner of the three-month old South Portland Flea Market on Broadway, said he is “starving” for business. 

He said requiring vendors to pay $45 – the total of a $25 licensing fee and a $15 filing fee – has kept tables at the flea market empty since it opened in January. 

On Monday, the city council unanimously voted to eliminate the $25 licensing fee, bringing the total amount vendors will have to pay down to $15. 

“If I didn’t have this to look forward to, to make it better, I probably wouldn’t continue,” Maietta said. 

Although the council was supportive of the fee decrease, Mayor Tom Blake said the new policy would not be effective until May, long after Maietta said he was hoping to fill the empty tables. 

“I’m losing six tables every week,” he said. “It adds up.”

City attorney Sally Daggatt said the council could have declared an emergency status to make the amendment effective sooner, although she “wasn’t sure if that passed the straight-faced test.”

“I didn’t realize there was a $15 processing fee when we passed this, I would be in favor of immediate action,” Councilor Linda Boudreau said. 

Ultimately the council was forced to wait for final approval of the amendment since Daggatt said it would take six votes to agree to the emergency status; councilors Jim Soule and James Hughes were both absent, leaving only four councilors present to cast their vote on the issue.

Zone change gets off ground

The city council unanimously approved the initial proposal for a zone change including portions of property owned by the Portland Westbrook Municipal Airport aimed at allowing the facility to take advantage of $2.5 million in federal stimulus dollars. 

The stimulus dollars are planned to help fund an expansion of the terminal and additional parking on the Portland side of the property, and jetport director Paul Bradbury said funds could also help extend two runways in South Portland and create special de-icing facility. 

“Even though [de-icing fluid] is non-toxic, we will be required to capture [the fluid] by 2010,” Bradbury said. “This all has to be done and in place in a very quick manner.”

Although the council was supportive of the zone change, a majority of members said they harbored many questions about the specific projects and how they might affect the Brick Hill and Redbank neighborhoods close to the airport. 

“I have huge concerns as this is coming forward as kind of a rush,” Boudreau said. “There’s a pile of questions the council needs to ask.”

The council was expected to discuss the proposed projects during the April 13 council workshop.