As area towns continue to dig out from last weekend’s record-setting blizzard, municipal business marches on. Here’s some of what you need to know today in Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough and South Portland.

Marching orders: A week after the surprise resignation of Dean Auriemma as principal at Scarborough High School, word came Thursday via a school board agenda that South Portland High School also had lost its administrative leader. On Friday, Superintendent Suzanne Godin said via email that she had accepted the resignation of James Holland effective June 30.

“We appreciate the contributions he’s made to South Portland High School during his two years and wish him well in his future endeavors,” she wrote, adding that the search for a new principal will begin “by the end of the month.”

Holland’s resignation was tied publicly at least to a desire to spend more time with his family, but there may be more to Holland’s resignation than meets the eye. At Monday’s school board meeting, SPHS office manager Sheryl Kieran implied Holland was asked to resign, saying his “sudden and disturbing” decision to move on, “doesn’t add up.”

“There’s never been a hint that Jim was anything less than thrilled to be principal of South Portland High,” wrote Kieran, in a statement to the school board. “I don’t know what’s behind this action, but I have a very hard time believing that there’s been a critical mass of accumulated performance negatives that Jim somehow should be encouraged to resign.”

Noting that Holland is “not a self-promoter” despite his “sincerity, decency and commitment to what’s best for our students,” Kieran pleaded with the school board to reject Holland’s resignation.

Holland could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Godin did not reply to an email requesting comment before deadline.

New hires on the horizon: By this time next week, the long vacant position as No. 2 man in South Portland City Hall could be filled, as could be the position of I.T. director. City Manager James Gailey said Monday that he has extended an offer to the leading candidate for both jobs.

“I’m hoping to hear back on both offers by Wednesday,” said Gailey, noting that both prospects are Maine residents. The assistant city manager post has been vacant since early last year. Last August, Erik Carson resigned two weeks after being placed on paid administrative leave, and six months after being demoted from assistant city manager to community development director. The new assistant, who Mayor Tom Blake says is slated to spend “80 percent of his time on economic development,” beat out 80 applicants for the job from across Maine and New England. Gailey said there were “about 45” resumes submitted for the city’s top tech job. The previous director, Shawn Pennington, resigned to take a position at Portland-based WorkGroup Technology as a senior systems engineer.

If either prospect accepts Gailey’s offer, there will be a final battery of hurdles to run, including drug testing. If all goes well, the new hire names could be released “Tuesday or Wednesday” of next week, said Gailey.

The new assistant manager would not arrive in South Portland until mid- to late-March, said Gailey, noting that, “He has to give 30 days notice at his current position.”

Walking tour: This evening, the Scarborough Transportation Committee will conduct a “neighborhood meeting” at town hall with about a dozen property owners who live on Black Point Road, between the Oak Hill intersection at Route 1 and the Eastern Trail. Town Manager Tom Hall says his $3 million capital improvements budget for the next fiscal year will include money to build a long-sought sidewalk along that stretch of road. Gorrell-Palmer Consulting Engineers of Gray has drawn up preliminary plans, which Hall said appear to “thread the needle” down the town’s right of way. However, local property owners have been invited to review the plans as the project could eventually involve some takings by eminent domain. The cost of the sidewalk has yet to be finalized, said Hall, although he noted that the transportation committee has chosen concrete curbing as a low-cost alternative to granite, although the concrete does require regular sealing to avoid corrosion at the hand of road salts. The sidewalk would fulfill a 2013 goal of the Town Council – to improve access to the Eastern Trail because, as Councilor Jessica Holbrook has said, “In most places, you can’t use the trail unless you live in walking distance of it.” The transportation committee has a plan to use about $300,000 set aside in impact fees paid by developers to make pedestrian improvements to the Oak Hill intersection. That and the new sidewalk, said Hall, should allow people to access the trail from parking spots in the Oak Hill area.

Food fight: An “experiment” begun in 2011 allowing food vendors to frequent Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth has proven successful enough that three vendors “have been given permission to return in 2013,” according to the town. That means that just one permit is up for grabs this year. That spot, overlooking Ship Cove Beach, may only offer cold beverages, snacks and ice cream.

“No sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers or other processed meats will be allowed for sale,” according to the town’s request for proposal.

The minimum bid for the permit, good from April 1 to Oct. 31, is $3,000. Proposals should be submitted in sealed envelopes marked “Fort Williams Park Food Vendor” to Town Manager Michael McGovern before 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 7.

Farmer fight: At tonight’s South Portland Planning Board meeting, ordinance changes will be weighed that promise to give more options to the city’s farmers market. The new rules, covering where the market can be located, who can participate, how vendors are licensed and how the entire operation gets approved as a “special exception” to zoning regulations, were approved at a first reading before the City Council Jan. 28. The changes open up 20 zoning districts to the market, although they close off its two previous homes, on Hinckley Drive and Thomas Knight Park. According to market manager Caitlin Jordan, the rules, which also open participation to a limited number of crafts and services, give the market “everything we wanted, except a home.” After vetting by the Planning Board, the new ordinance language will go back to the council for a final vote.

Today’s public meetings:

• Cape Elizabeth School Board Strategic Planning Committee, 8 a.m. at Town Hall (Jordan Conference Room).

• Scarborough Coast Waters and Harbor Committee, 6 p.m. at town hall (manager’s conference room).

• Cape Elizabeth Board of Education, 6:40 p.m. at town hall.

• South Portland Planning Board, 7 p.m. at city hall.

• Cape Elizabeth Conservation Commission, 7 p.m. at town hall (planner’s conference room).

• Scarborough Shellfish Conservation Commission, 7:30 p.m. at town hall.

Wednesday’s public meetings:

• Public forum on the state budget (hosted by two local state senators, James Boyle and Rebecca Millett), 7 p.m. at the Scarborough Public Library.

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