CAPE ELIZABETH – For the first time in the 47 years the town has owned Fort Williams Park, vendors will sell food and drink this summer and fall.

The Cape Elizabeth Town Council approved the action on a probationary basis during a meeting Monday, 7-0.

Three sites have been proposed for vendors: between Battery Blair and the Portland Head Light, near the bus drop-off area in front of the lighthouse and by the flagpole near the picnic area.

Permits for the first two would be split into two time periods, one from May 1 to Aug. 31 and the other from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. The permit for the third site would run from May 1 to Oct. 31.

According to William Nickerson, chairman of the Fort Williams Advisory Commission, the goal is to raise at least $10,000 through the venture, or at least $2,000 per permit.

Two Cape Elizabeth residents at the meeting expressed their interest in having a food cart in the park this summer. Bill Hewitt, who used to own Rosemont Pharmacy on Brighton Avenue in Portland and operate a hot dog cart outside the business, said he was interested in the third site, but only from May 1 to Aug. 3 – the time, he said, when the park is busiest.

When he operated the hot dog cart by Rosemont Pharmacy, which has now been turned into a market and butcher shop, he said he employed eight students from Cape Elizabeth and already has interest from Cape Elizabeth High School students if he were awarded a permit to vend in the park this summer.

Peter Cotter said he is interested in operating a seafood food cart in the park, but worries about his ability to have access to refrigeration, running water and electricity, all things needed, he said, for food vending.

Town Manager Mike McGovern said the program has purposely been left open to allow vendors to make their own proposals on how food vending at Fort Williams could work.

He said the competitive bidding process would be done by sealed bids, which are due by April 8. The bids would then be reviewed by a committee made up of McGovern, Councilor Jim Walsh, Public Works Director Bob Malley, and residents Erin Grady and Bill Brownell, and be awarded by April 19.

The group, McGovern said, is not required to accept the lowest, or even highest, bid, but will be looking for proposals that would not negatively impact the park or the public’s enjoyment of it.

Vendors are required to remove the food cart each evening when the park closes and provide trash receptacles, recycling bins and hand sanitizers for both customers and employees.

McGovern said the revenue generated from vendor permits, along with the $25,000 the town is charging the Beach to Beacon organization to use the park for its Aug. 6 road race, will be placed in the Fort Williams Capital Improvement fund, which is spent by the Fort Williams Advisory Commission, subject to Town Council approval.

Councilor Caitlin Jordan said she hopes the advisory commission continues looking into other sources of revenue that could be generated at the park.

As part of McGovern’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, he has recommended allocating an additional $80,000 to the park’s operating fund to bring the fund’s total to $242,818. Malley said the major focus of the additional funding would be to address maintenance issues for the park’s buildings, stonewalls and fencing and gates.

“We are looking at infrastructure in the park and taking better care of it,” he said.

The plan, said McGovern, is to continue to allocate $80,000 to the operating fund on an annual basis.

“The list is endless for what needs to be done there,” he said.

Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth will be open to food and drink vendors this summer and fall. Three sites have been proposed for vendors, including one between Battery Blair, above, and the Portland Head Light. (File photo)