Standish:

Sidewalks’ time has come

Standish voters will once again see a referendum regarding the installation of sidewalks in the center of town, near the routes 25 and 35 intersection. Despite voters’ rejection of the measure three times within the last year, we feel it’s a worthy investment they should consider.

While the project would install sidewalks on a significant section of Standish Corner, extending from Oak Hill Road to Colonial Marketplace, the best thing about the project is that Standish voters would be on the hook for a fifth of the total cost, or about $116,000 when debt service is calculated. The state department of transportation will provide a grant covering the remaining $416,000 to engineer and construct the sidewalks. We think that sounds like a good deal for residents who might enjoy having a sidewalk tie their downtown area together in a way that town planners, eyeing sidewalks as a traffic-calming device that will enable a more walkable downtown, have been envisioning for years.

The other important factor voters should consider is the fact that if voters don’t approve the sidewalks, they’ll be hit with a $60,000 penalty from the state, which has already spent money designing the project. We’re not sure about the wisdom of town officials who agreed to such an expenditure before getting the voters’ approval, but that’s now a moot issue. It seems to make sense that the town takes it fourth opportunity to approve the sidewalks and get something for the money they’ve already spent.

Gray-New Gloucester:

No to school bonds

On Nov. 4, voters in Gray and New Gloucester should reject the two bond questions regarding construction proposals at School Administrative District 15. Question 1 calls for about $3 million worth of upgrades to the middle school and high school, plus $3.75 million worth of athletic complex upgrades. If voters approve Question 1, the results of Question 2, which calls for artificial turf at the high school stadium field, would come into play.

Similarly to the thrice-defeated sidewalks proposal in Standish, which some say failed because it was unnecessarily “bundled” with other spending proposals, the Gray-New Gloucester school board seems to have made the same mistake of bundling a wide range of projects in Question 1. By doing so, they have taken the power of choice out of the voters’ hand. Construction of new classrooms, a new portico and parking for the middle school as well as new science labs at the high school may be worthy projects, but they’ve been unnecessarily incorporated into a question that includes $3.76 million worth of athletic field improvements. Many residents may want to support curriculum-related advancements at SAD 15, but they probably don’t want to spend so many of their hard-earned tax dollars on extra-curricular improvements. Frustrated residents at public forums have echoed this sentiment. Frustrated voters should vote no on the all-or-nothing proposal.

While they missed an opportunity with Question 1, we applaud the school board for separating the artificial turf proposal as its own referendum, Question 2, which we feel doesn’t merit approval since artificial turf is too costly, despite promises of reduced maintenance costs. Residents in Gray need a breather from tax increases. They have seen several construction-related tax hikes in recent years with renovation projects at Pennell ($2.4 million in 2008) and the Gray Public Library ($1.5 million in 2012). Once a small town with an attractive tax rate, Gray is now commensurate with surrounding towns. Many people live in Gray and put up with a longer commute partly because of cheaper housing costs. It therefore doesn’t seem wise for town officials to be raising tax rates so much, so suddenly. The school board should have at least waited a few years until those projects were paid off before coming in with a $7.5 million proposal that will dig deeper into the residents’ wallets.

The school district is also dealing with several important issues right now, including loss of state subsidy due to charter schools (one is located in Gray), as well as an unsettled teachers’ contract. They should deal with these immediate concerns before delving into a complex and costly building project.