As the headline suggests, the Two Week cycle is simple, give it two weeks and it will blow over. How a Town works the crisis, develops their spin, are cryptic in the truth, maintain their composure and within two weeks it will die down. That is of course if someone does not keep it in the public’s eye. Many of the following assertions have links to the news articles.
Let’s start with the alleged cost of the of the new Library, what the voters voted for and the actual cost and the plan to sell the Taylor building for FAIR MARKET value and off set the cost overruns of the Library project, Then as it chatter subsided, came the change of plans. How much did the library cost? Many had made complaints it was going to cost more then the five million. The sale of the Taylor Building was supposed to support the library, after all it was their building. Well over 6.1 million now.
Some complained that the school budget was impacted due to the construction cost increase. I asked the Town Manager the question and was told this was not true however a few weeks went by and there ended the KSD PRE-K. Well I am sure there is an answer for that too. Coincidental perhaps?
How about Fernald Rd. I warned all residents there that car wash was coming and they will have to hook up to the sewer with Macerator pumps due to the new sewer line on Rte 236. Wonder what that cost is? Well it came, How about the filling of the wet lands across from Taylor lobster. Now the owners want to fill in more wet lands and put another pot shop in there. I thought there was a building moritorium and a wet land study. Let’s flood more of the properties on Martin rd. Kittery already damaged those properties with excess water due to this ECO nightmare.
When does it stop?
How about the KCC that was on track of the its budget being in the black and self supporting. What happened? How is it being run, was there an investigation? Who is running the show, the director or the Town manager. I was often asked if it is being micro-managed. Remember the closing of the Kittery Community Center Eyes of the World at the Kittery Community Center. What was the real reason that it did not fit the plan? That move was a financial mistake in my opinion and that many local and surrounding communities had families that were directly impacted and that buck stopped at the top. Families were directly and financially impacted as was the budget for the KCC. Kids were affected as well due to the removal of normalcy.
The two week cycle is what it is called. Give it two weeks and it will go away. Like the Kittery Community Center Van Crash and the complaints and concerns of the Town doing improper back ground checks, the DPW fiasco, the Sewer fiasco (Sticker Shock), the plan by the Former Chair of the Council to close Traip Academy and ship our kids to Marshwood, the suspected damaging of Martin Road’s Herb Parson Pond from blasting, cracked cellars, the roller-coaster ride called Stevenson rd., the 900 unit development fiasco, the selling of Town Property below market value, the budget, the taxes, the waste of taxpayers money for electric charging stations behind and to the left of the Town Hall and the Library charging station which had to be moved (at a significant cost) due to the lack of a vision. The KCC issue was a miscommunication issue. WHAT!
Does anyone know what those cost the taxpayers and the cost of using the installed electric charging stations? I love electric vehicles but an estimated installation cost of upwards of $20,000 dollars a station port not including CMP installations cost or rebates.
If true it is outrageous. How are the towns roads coming with PAVING? How about selling houses that were foreclosed on and the Town owns them, the old Walker street Fire Station plan. How about when the towns people voted no on rebuilding the Town hall or the New Fire Stations. What did the Wentworth Dennett school sell for? What about trying to sell the old Kittery Fire Station. What is happening with the old Community Center? How about the historic SAFFORD SCHOOL building in Kittery Point.
If your not watching Town Property will be sold under your noses for less then market value. Pay attention folks! Sales like the Taylor building !!!
We lost a Town Manager and Police Chief (the first one) and a citizen group was formed. Dow, Brake and Guy were blamed. George Dow was the Chairperson at the time. We lose another Chief and who cared!
Then there is the FOREVER CHEMICAL found in well water around the dump. How is the news flowing on that topic. Have you checked your well water yet? The best one is where Kittery Town Council changed the speed limit in violation of the State Law and made it 25 MPH instead of 35 mph. How many tickets/drunk driving arrest were made based on the 25 MPH zone and not 35. Who is responsible for that blunder.
Let’s change the subject. The side walk plan. Has anyone seen it yet. Here it is…. SIDEWALK PLAN. The Town Council and Manager Kendra Amaral were met head on by concerned residents regarding Stevenson Road. What happened to the traffic study? Even the State of Maine was involved. What about the bike and sidewalk study?
The SHAPLIEGH SCHOOL ZONE on Stevenson road which has frequent eighteen wheeler’s and other equipment like speeding cars and dump trucks, overloaded log trucks and cement mixers pass through to avoid the traffic. Right through the school zone of Shapleigh Middle School. I am pretty sure that Kittery’s children still walk the roads without a side walk which was requested by the citizens and once approved.
The Town says it wants to prioritize. What should have come first, Shapleigh School which had a plan and funding that has been in the works for years and the sidewalks to NO WHERE or Pepperrell Road. Both are equally important, however the Children of Shapleigh School should have been the Towns priority. Search the internet for Kittery’s sidewalks to no where. https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/portsmouth-herald/2016/12/29/kittery-town-government-also-out/22975238007/
Well, it must be okay now, because the Town applied for a grant. Why can’t we use public safety funds or the CIP? Let us hope we get the grant which we still are required to pay a significant portion of anyway. Grants cost taxpayers in the long run.
Perhaps it is time for another PETITION to protect our CHILDREN and Seniors who walk Manson Rd, Stevenson and Martin Road. Did you know we have two crosswalks near Shapleigh School and it is set back a way from the intersection and dumps directly into private property. Who was asleep at the wheel during that design. I wonder if it is correctly installed. Is it marked, does it have lights and/or warning signs? Crosswalks to nowhere. The buck stops with Kendra Amaral.
Remember the Stevenson Road sidewalk was previously designed, put on the back burner, the Town wasted tons of your money in previous design and clarifying right of way issues, only to have to have it expire and then have it re-engineered at additional costs.
What is it going to take for the Town Manager Kendra Amaral and the Kittery Town Council to complete the Stevenson Road Side walk project ASAP? A tragedy? Because it is a matter of when…….not if.
Who will we hold responsible? If we don’t act, whatever we do, it will be to little to late. I wonder if that story would last TWO WEEKS?
If something tragic happens on Stevenson rd, here is who is running the Town. Councilors Judy Spiller, Mary Gibbon’s Steven’s, Jeff Pelletier, Cam Ham, Colin McGuire, George Dow, Cyrus Clark and Town Manger Kendra Amaral. When something happens perhaps they will be held responsible for not doing something to prevent it. But alas, you will probably forget about this post in two weeks.