STANDISH – Despite two consecutive failures at referendum, the Standish Town Council is once again recommending approval of $104,600 in matching funds at the June 10 municipal election toward a 1.3-mile sidewalk construction project in the Village Center.

The proposed 8-foot-wide sidewalk, which would extend from the Colonial Marketplace intersection to the George E. Jack School and the Standish House of Pizza, emerged from the 2006 Comprehensive Plan, which recommended a pedestrian-friendly village. The project, which would use $418,400 in federal funds, was defeated by a 115-vote margin in a June 2012 referendum and a 26-vote margin in a June 2013 referendum.

In both cases, the sidewalk project was presented as a stand-alone referendum question. This year, the selectmen have rolled the matching fund request into Question 1, a $1.27 million bond package that would fund a variety of public works and public safety capital expenditures, including fire hydrants, cardiac equipment, pavement maintenance, and parking lot repairs.

The decision to absorb the sidewalk project into a comprehensive bond package has at least two council candidates – Bill Orr and Wayne Newbegin – crying foul.

“The public voted down sidewalks twice,” Newbegin said. “I was a big proponent for the sidewalks. But the people turned it down, and this go-around, the sidewalk money is being bundled in with stuff that the town really needs. So people will have to vote for the whole package.”

“The pure fact of the matter is that people voted against the sidewalks last year, and now they bundle it with something else to try to pass it,” Orr said.

The selectmen voted 5-1 to recommend the referendum question, with Lou Stack opposed. Stack could not be reached for comment.

Chairman Mike Blanck said that the council had included the sidewalk project in the larger package in order to get it passed.

“Even though the town has three separate villages, it’s one town, and sometimes we feel that one section of town may not be in favor of something that’s going to happen in one of the other villages,” Blanck said. “We figure, bundling this together, you vote for the entire package.”

Additionally, Blanck said, the town is stuck with a nearly $60,000 bill for the sidewalk engineering study, even if Question 1 is rejected.

“If it gets rejected again, we’re still on the hook to pay the engineering,” Blanck said.

Advocates of the sidewalk project say it will improve safety, encourage economic activity, and allow some students to walk to school. With the help of the Standish Economic Development Advisory Group, a new sub-group of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, advocates are attempting to brand the project the “$1.50 sidewalk,” based on calculations that a taxpayer living in a $150,000 home would pay $1.50 a year to fund the sidewalk through the course of a decade.

“Clearly, the chamber stands behind this project, because a sidewalk and the ability to have foot traffic is going to be good for business and that’s what the chamber’s here to promote and foster – strong community and strong opportunities for business,” said Aimee Senatore, executive director of the chamber.

According to Town Manager Gordon Billington, the sidewalk would be separated from the road by a tree-lined esplanade. The net effect of the project would be an increase in business activity, he said.

“This will capture a lot of the traffic that passes through town,” Billington said. “They’ll see the sidewalks in front of shops, and they’ll say here’s a place we can stop, walk and explore.”

In Orr’s view, sidewalk advocates have failed to adequately convey the future cost of sidewalk maintenance.

“Five years from now, 10 years from now, the sidewalks will need replacement or repairs,” he said. “They don’t last forever. The state isn’t going to help them at that time.”

But Blanck, optimistic about the town’s economic prospects, said that sidewalks are necessary to ride the wave of future development.

“The town has to move forward,” Blanck said. “There are some people in town that would just like to see it remain as a really quiet town, but times are changing. The town is expanding, the economy is improving, and we will see more expansion. The sidewalks are needed.”

Standish voters will decide the fate of new sidewalks for the village center on Tuesday.