WINDHAM – The Windham Town Council voted unanimously to pass the 21st Century Downtown Plan at its meeting Tuesday night.

The plan, which is non-binding, aims to direct development in North Windham in a way that promotes aesthetics and function. It aims to mix residential and commercial uses and promote a safer and more efficient traffic pattern for both motorists and pedestrians.

The plan, which was drafted by town planners with consultation from a committee of residents, was met with public opposition this summer when neighbors balked at plans to extend street networks into surrounding neighborhoods such as Northwood Drive and Collins Pond Road. That feature of the plan was eventually discarded by planners in the fall.

Councilors praised planners and committee members that worked on the proposal, which has been several years in the making.

Resident shouldn’t expect to see dramatic changes in North Windham’s appearance anytime soon. The plan calls for costly upgrades to the roadways in North Windham that would only be funded by outside state or federal sources. Council Vice Chairman Kevin Call also pointed out Tuesday night that much of the plan is dependent on creation of a sewer system, which was defeated by voters in November.

However, according to Town Planner Brooks More, more affordable upgrades that are called for in the plan, such as crosswalks and sidewalks for pedestrians and improvement of signage along North Windham’s arteries may be short-term goals.

Windham to maintain fireworks ?status quo

The Town Council on Tuesday firmly closed the door on any changes to the local ordinance regarding fireworks.

After receiving numerous complaints from residents, which began soon after fireworks became legal in Maine again starting Jan. 1, 2012, the council had discussed imposing a local ordinance restricting the sale and use of consumer fireworks within town borders.

During a 40-minute discussion Tuesday, councilors once again debated the pros and cons of banning the noisy merrymakers. Town staff had prepared a spreadsheet showing what surrounding towns have done to draft fireworks ordinances. The council also heard from the police and fire chiefs, who favored an ordinance that would have limited use to New Year’s and Independence Day.

In the end, rather than belaboring the issue, the council took a “straw vote,” as Council Chairman Matthew Noel described it, that ended future exploration of the issue. The four councilors in favor of maintaining the status quo were Noel, Tommy Gleason, Dennis Welch and Peter Anania.

Governor’s proposal could hike local property taxes, Plante warns

Town Manager Tony Plante told councilors Tuesday night that Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to suspend revenue sharing as part of his upcoming two-year budget could impact Windham taxpayers significantly if the proposal receive Legislative approval, an unlikely scenario, Plante predicted.

Plante said revenue sharing from the state totaled $975,000 in the 2012 fiscal year, which he said supports the municipal side of the budget.

“Revenue sharing represents somewhere between 7 and 10 percent of the municipal budget,” Plante said. “If we were to have to replace all of revenue sharing with property taxes, it would increase the property taxes from $4.40 to $5.03 [per thousand of valuation] … which is about a 14-percent increase, and that’s just on the municipal portion of the budget.”

Plante said he emailed Windham’s three legislators and said they were responsive “and willing to hear what we had to say.” He also said state Sen. Gary Plummer and Rep. Tom Tyler didn’t think the governor’s proposal to suspend revenue sharing “was really going to go anywhere.”

Council rejects proposal to pave section ?of Albion Road

Unanimously, the Town Council Tuesday night rejected about $35,000 in funding from PACTS that would have repaved a .07-mile section of Albion Road between Windham Center Road and Route 302.

Both town staff and councilors were unsure why Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System wanted to pave the section of roadway, but rejected the money since the project would have required Windham taxpayers to chip in about $5,000. Councilors were also confused why PACTS would address such a short section of roadway.

PACTS Senior Transportation Planner Paul Niehoff, contacted Wednesday, said he was “a little surprised” with Windham’s vote, and said the cost estimate of $40,000 for the project was “on the conservative side” since PACTS adds 25 percent to its project estimates.

He said PACTS is responsible for 200 miles of collector roads around the Portland area and that a recent shift in policy has designated paving funds for shorter stretches of roads. The project in Windham was aimed at “pavement preservation,” which is supposed to take a road in good condition and pave it before it becomes more expensive to fix, Niehoff said.

State to repave stretch of Route 302 in North Windham

Town Manager Tony Plante said Tuesday night that the Maine Department of Transportation is planning to repave the section of Route 302 in North Windham from the intersection of routes 115/35 and Whites Bridge Road in summer 2013.

The resurfacing will address rippling and rutting of the roadway, a situation Plante said arose due to inferior product used by MDOT in a previous repaving project. He said repaving will also take place on the first 150 feet of each approach to the routes 115/35 intersection, also known as Boody’s Corner.

Plante said the project will take place between the middle of July and the end of August. Most work will take place at night although some utility work may be done during the day, as well. He said commuters should expect delays but that DOT is aiming to minimize traffic impact.

The council asked the manager to consult with the transportation department to ask if the paving project can take place after the busy tourist season when Route 302 is usually busy with thru-traffic.