City hall options narrowed to two

The South Portland City Council narrowed the field to two possibilities for a new city hall at a workshop Monday night. 

City Manager Jim Gailey said councilors requested more information about two options – renovating the existing city hall or moving to 100 Waterman Drive. 

Councilors previously narrowed the number of options for city hall from seven to four at a June 21 workshop. The four options considered Monday include maintaining the existing city hall, renovating Mahoney Middle School, buying space at 100 Waterman Drive or building a new city hall on the existing complex. 

Gailey provided estimates for each option. The building at 100 Waterman Drive would cost about $1.18 million to prepare three floors or $1.58 million for four floors. The removal of one stair shaft would cost $17,000.

Gailey said the cost of buying the Waterman Drive building is unknown because the council has not asked him to enter negotiations. Any negotiations related to the purchase would take place in executive session, which he said the council is hesitant to do at this point.

“The council wants to keep these meetings as open and transparent as possible,” Gailey said. 

Renovating the current city hall on Cottage Road would cost about $1.13 million, a price tag that does not include bringing the planning and development department into the building. Internal renovations are needed to allow various departments to work together and develop greater efficiencies, according to information provided to the council. The basement needs work to address years of flooding and saturation.

Other options eliminated by councilors were building a new city hall and renovating Mahoney Middle School, which would cost about $4.6 million plus more than $28,000 in moving expenses. Constructing a new building on the existing city hall complex would cost about $5.9 million plus more than $28,000 in moving expenses, according to information prepared by city officials.

Gailey said he is not sure when the council will again consider city hall options because much of August will be taken up by discussion of South Portland High School renovation plans. A special workshop is scheduled for Monday night following the regular city council meeting. At the workshop, school officials will walk the council through details of the plan, which could be put to voters in November. 

Gailey said he expects the workshop to start between 7:45 and 8 p.m. The meeting will be in council chambers and shown on television.  

Students try hand at dental program

As Maine continues to struggle with a growing shortage of dentists, the University of New England along with Maine GEAR UP gave students a chance to experience dentistry first hand.   

Approximately 20 students in grades eight through 12 enrolled in a three-day program to experience the profession. The program was hosted by the University of New England dental hygiene clinic and included an in-clinic study portion as well as work on a “simulator” that mimics a patient.

“The need for increased access to dental care is great in Maine. According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, every county in Maine comes up short when it comes to providing dental care. In addition to those who are underserved, more than 200,000 Maine residents remain completely unserved in the area of dental health,” said Kneka Smith, UNE’s associate dean for planning, in a prepared statement.  

The shortage of dentists will hit Maine in the next five years as  41 percent of Maine dentists are 55 years or older, and the American Dental Education Association forecasts more dentists will retire from the work force than graduate from school.  



Organizers gear up for Cape race

Beach to Beacon race organizers have outlined parking, road closings and race week events leading up to the Aug. 7 TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K.

Runners are encouraged to arrive by 6:30 a.m. to avoid heavy traffic. Roadside parking is not allowed. 

Race officials also ask that no walkers, joggers, spectators or bicyclists be on the road along the course after 8 a.m. as the roads must be clear for the event. 

Road closings

On race day, the following roads will be closed:

· Route 77, Sprague Hall to Kettle Cove Road will be closed from 6 to 10 a.m.

· Route 77, Kettle Cove Road to Old Ocean House Road, will be closed from 7:30 to 10 a.m.

· Crescent Beach State Park will be closed from 7:30 to 10 a.m.

· Route 77, at Hillway, will be closed 7:30 to 10 a.m.

· Old Ocean House Road (all) will be closed 7:30 to 10 a.m.

· Shore Road (all) from Key Bank to Fort Williams, will be closed 7:30 to 11 a.m.

· Scott Dyer Road from Spurwink Avenue (except shuttle buses), will be closed 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. eastbound.

· All of Fowler Road (except shuttle buses) will be closed from 7:15 to 10 a.m.

Runner information

Registration and B-tag and T-shirt pickup for confirmed runners will take place at Cape Elizabeth High School Thursday, Aug. 5 from 4 to 8 p.m. and on Friday, Aug. 6, from 2:30 to 8 p.m. This year, runners will receive disposable B-tags, which are worn on their bib to record their time for the race. The registration event features an expo of products and services provided and presented by a variety of vendors, including the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe program drop box.

Runner drop-off on race morning is at the Gull Crest Fields parking lot a half -mile from the intersection of Spurwink Road and Route 77. Runners are required to be at the start line by 7:30 a.m.

Parking

Runner parking near the start line will be provided at Sprague Fields located at Fowler and Ram Island Farm roads. Parking for runners is also available at Cape Elizabeth High School and Middle School on a first-come basis. Runners will then be shuttled from the parking lots to the start between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. Look for signs providing directions. Carpooling and shuttling is recommended.

New this year will be satellite parking and shuttle bus services to the start line from two new locations – South Portland High School at 737 Highland Ave. and the parking lot of the Hannaford corporate office at 145 Pleasant Hill Road in Scarborough. Shuttle buses will run from these locations from 6:30 to 7:15 a.m., and return to the locations from Fort Williams after the race.  

There is no parking for runners at the finish line at Fort Williams, which will be reserved for media, sponsors, staff and spectators, who are advised to carpool and to arrive prior to 7:15 a.m. because Shore Road closes at 7:30 a.m. Entrance to the fort from the north from Shore Road via Cottage Road in South Portland, however, will remain open throughout the morning. Shuttle buses will operate from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to take runners and others back to the start area, school parking lots and satellite locations.

Other information

Kids’ Fun Run: The Kids Fun Run will take place at 6 p.m., Aug. 6 at the soccer field at Fort Williams. The races will be run in heats, according to age. Rain date is Saturday, Aug. 7 at 9:15 a.m. – check the race website at www.beach2beacon.org  for updates. Registration and packet pick up for the kids’ race will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. during race registration at Cape Elizabeth High School and also on Aug. 6 near the soccer field at Fort Williams. 

Awards ceremony: the formal awards ceremony on race day will begin at 10 a.m. at Fort Williams at the top of flagpole hill.

Race beneficiary: This year’s race beneficiary is Junior Achievement of Maine – for more information, visit www.jamaine.org. The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, will provide a cash donation of $30,000 to the organization, which will also benefits from fundraising activities and publicity. through its association with the race.

Delays expected on Broadway

There will be major road construction on Broadway in South Portland from Cash Corner to Wescott Road. Broadway will remain open but with alternating one-way traffic. The work is related to a sewer siphon project and is expected to last about 90 days. There will be significant traffic delays and alternate routes should be planned for this time period.  

Racing bibs still available for B2B

Racing bibs for the sold out TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race are still available at Junior Achievement of Maine. Junior Achievement was named beneficiary of this year’s Beach to Beacon 10K  and the bibs will be used to benefit the organization in fundraising efforts.

Anyone interested in running and in acquiring one of the organization’s spots is asked to commit to raise $500 from now until race day. 

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. The purpose of Junior Achievement of Maine Inc. is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. 

For more information, call the Junior Achievement office at 347-4333. 

Cape man to advise on security 

Capt. Jeffrey Monroe of Cape Elizabeth has been selected to lead the national committee that advises the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security on maritime security matters.  

Monroe, a transportation and maritime professional, was selected new chairman of the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee that is comprised of 22 members who represent all segments of the industry. 

The committee provides advice to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security via the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on matters such as national security strategy and policy, actions required to meet current and future security threats, international cooperation on security issues and security concerns of the maritime transportation industry.   

The committee addresses such issues as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, Port Security Grants, security regulations and facility security planning and threat assessment policies. The committee also works with representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, FEMA and the Transportation Security Administration as well as other federal agencies.

 Monroe is a licensed master mariner with more than 35 years experience in the transportation and maritime industry. He has worked on security and safety issues in ports, the marine transportation system, aviation and surface transportation.