Jeff Brake         Judy Spiller       Ken Lemont

Kittery incumbents running for Town Council

KITTERY, Maine — Both incumbent members of the Town Council are expecting to run for re-election this fall, and the current chair of the School Committee may also be seeking a seat on the council.

Town councilors Judy Spiller and Jeff Brake, as well as longtime School Committee member Ken Lemont have all taken out papers to run for the council.

Meanwhile, Town Clerk Maryann Place said Monday, no one has yet taken out papers to run for one of two open seats on the School Committee, currently held by Lemont and member David Batchelder.

While Spiller and Brake have not returned their papers, both said they intend to seek another three-year term on the council.

Both said they feel the town is in good hands now, with the hiring of Town Manager Nancy Colbert Puff last fall. Colbert Puff came to Kittery after a difficult year in which the former town manager and police chief resigned, and Place served as interim manager.

They both said now that town government has stabilized, they each have issues on which they would like to concentrate.

Spiller is interested in looking at issues that affect Kittery’s economy. She was instrumental in revitalizing the shared services committee, which is looking at ways to regionalize services with other communities.

“It’s crazy that we have a transfer station in Kittery and less than a mile down the road, one in Eliot. So I’m anxious to get that issue before the council again,” she said.

She said she is also viewing with some concern an upswing in development in Kittery Point.

“I’d like to make sure Kittery Point maintains its current character, and it doesn’t turn into a series of housing developments,” she said. While she understands that landowners have a right to realize a profit from their property, she said she would nonetheless like to see Kittery Point “lightly developed.”

She would support setting aside funding to help organizations like the Kittery Land Trust and the Spruce Creek Assocation.

Sea level rise is another of her concerns. She said the comprehensive plan update will soon be coming before the Planning Board and Town Council, and she will “be looking for some reflection of sea level rise policies” in that document.

Brake, who is filling the unexpired term of former councilor Gary Beers, said he wants to see the town council focus on solid waste issues. For instance, he said the transfer station can be “making much more money for the town, and nothing’s been done.”

He said the town was supposed to purchase a new bailer, but “that got thrown on the back burner.” He feels the transfer station operation should work toward being self-funded.

Neither Lemont nor Batchelder could be reached for comment.