Thumbs down to the poor water quality in the mouth of the Goosefare Brook that flows between Old Orchard Beach and Saco. This beautiful beach area, which boasts warmer-than-average water and is shallow enough for young children, has long been a favorite spot for swimming during low tide, but now it’s been deemed unsafe. The water at the mouth of the brook has been found to have “unacceptable” levels of bacteria, a warning from the Ocean Park Conservation Society states.

Testing of the water there has shown high levels of enterococci bacteria in the water, which comes from fecal matter, and it’s very distressing that such a seemingly pristine and beautiful spot is tainted in this manner. We’re glad to hear that OOB and Saco have received a grant to create a watershed management plan for the brook, and that dye testing has begun to track the path of sewage flushed by nearby toilets. Once the summer residents return and testing is completed this spring, we hope all the sources of contamination are pinpointed so the proper measures can be taken to clean up this brook.

Thumbs down to the delays in the process for the Goodall Mansion Society to submit an offer for the historic mansion, which the group plans to renovate and make into an arts and cultural space. The property is owned by a bank and has been in foreclosure proceedings since 2009. There have been no takers, probably in part due to the fact that the building needs an estimated $700,000 in repairs. In the meantime, vandals have been breaking in and ruining the property, and nature is doing its part too, with the roof deteriorating to the point that water is intruding and damaging the interior ceilings. Luckily, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has an easement on the mansion to help keep it up in the meantime, but true renovation efforts cannot begin unless ”“ or until ”“ the bank accepts an offer from the society. The sooner the better.

Thumbs down to the lack of progress on a parking garage proposal for the City of Biddeford. Talks with area developers seem to have stalled, which means this important project is set back even further, and Mayor Alan Casavant said “workable financing” has not been found. In the meantime, residents have hardly any information about the proposal, making it difficult for people to form an educated opinion about the matter. We’re disappointed to see that developer Doug Sanford and the city appear to be at a stalemate as regards siting the garage on his property, but perhaps city-owned land is best in the end. Redeveloping the Maine Energy site has come to the forefront, but we’d urge the city administration not to forget about getting some details on the parking garage, particularly since it has already raised some hackles among the public.

Thumbs up to the Biddeford City Council for its decision to hold off on an ordinance that would ban activity on median strips, including panhandling. While we support this ordinance, we believe it’s a wise move for the council to hold off, considering that the Biddeford ordinance is modeled off the one in Portland, which is facing a legal challenge. Biddeford does not need to get dragged into a legal dispute unnecessarily and it makes sense to wait for the outcome of that case before addressing the panhandling problem locally.

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Thumbnails is a Monday feature of the Journal Tribune’s opinion pages. If you want to respond, feel free to write to the Readers’ Forum via email at jtcommunity@journaltribune.com or by dropping your letter off at our Biddeford office.