Voters in Kennebunkport have a couple of busy days ahead – including June 8, when they elect selectmen and others, plus act on four referendum questions, one of which would allow mixed use residential in the Dock Square Zone, shown here. Voters will act on the proposed budget at the annual town meeting on Saturday, June 12. Tammy Wells photo
KENNEBUNKPORT – Voters will decide four referendum questions – a short-term rental ordinance, animal control ordinance amendment, an amendment to the residential mixed-use ordinance and whether to allow selectmen to appoint an assessor – at the polls on June 8.
Those questions and selecting two selectmen, a representative to the RSU 21 Board, a trustee of the Kennebunk Light and Power District and to the Beach Advisory Committee are decided at the polls that day, along with a validation vote on Kennebunkport’s share of the RSU 21 budget. Polls are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the fire station on North Street.
The annual town meeting is set for 9 a.m. June 12 at Consolidated School.
The warrant includes articles that if approved, would set the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. In all, the municipal budget adds up to about $10.3 million, which includes $2.4 million for the Capital Expense and Reserve account and for debt service. Revenues including non-tax income, Tax Increment Financing revenue, and uses of fund balances add up to $3.4 million, reducing the overall amount to be raised by taxation to $7 million, according to figures outlining the estimated fiscal year 2022 tax commitment. The figure is up about 10 percent from the current year.
At town meeting, voters will be asked if they wish to bond about $1 million for up to five years for public safety radio improvements and upgrades. including installing two new transmission and receiving towers, new equipment for the towers and the existing tower at Kennebunkport Police Department, replacing all mobile and portable radios and a new console at dispatch. Interest is projected at three quarters of 1 percent, increasing the cost by $20,576 over five years.
A second bond question asks voters if they wish to borrow $6 million over 20 years to pay for wastewater capital projects, including replacement of pump stations, rehabilitation of clarifiers, replacement of bed filters and installation of dewatering equipment. At an interest rate estimated at 1.73 percent, the interest rate over 20 years adds $1.43 million to the total.
The town’s share of the RSU 21 assessment is about $11.2 million, down an estimated $182,000 from the prior year.
And while the numbers are purely estimates at this stage, impact of the budgets on the mil rate, currently at $9.45 per $1,000 of assessment, is projected to increase overall by about 16 cents – which accounts for a 28-cent increase in the municipal portion, an estimated 15 cent reduction in the education portion and a two-cent increase in the county tax portion of the projection.
The animal control ordinance amendment adjusts times when dogs may be on the beach and when leashes must be utilized to maintain federal protection of piping plovers and their known habitat at Goose Rocks Beach.
From April 1 to Sept. 15, the proposal would allow leashed dogs on the beach at any time except for June 15 to Labor Day, when they are not permitted on the beach from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Sept. 16 to March 31, dogs may be off leash if under voice and sight control, except from noon to 6 p.m. when they must be leashed. Passage would also require dogs be kept 200 feet from a nesting area, the proposal states in part.
The proposed short-term rental ordinance seeks to require disclosure and licensing of those engaged in the business. Licenses expire annually and are not transferrable, with some exceptions, including spouse, children and grandchildren of a current owner, a trust for the benefit of the current owner or for estate planning purposes. Properties are to be inspected every five years. There is language contained in the proposal addressing existing short term properties, among other provisions.
Amending the town’s land use ordinance would allow residential mixed use as a conditional use in the Dock Square Zone as well as increase the number of residential units from 2 to 4. The amendment would also strike the provision for mixed use that allows only one principal building on a lot.
A proposed amendment to the towns administrative code would allow selectmen, who are also currently listed as assessors and overseers of the poor to appoint an assessor, instead.
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