South Portland News Briefs

HELP FOR HUTCHINS

The old Hutchins School building on Mosher Street, leased by the city of South Portland to Mad Horse Theatre Company, is about to get a facelift.

Built in 1873, the building “has suffered greatly at the hands of time and weather,” according to Assistant City Manager Erik Carson. Although Mad Horse has “made significant improvements” to the school’s interior, the city remains responsible for the facade, and previously declared it to be in a “slum and blighted” zone, in order to qualify for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.

On July 6, the City Council unanimously approved taking up to $59,106 from a CDBG account to rehabilitate the exterior. The lone bidder on the work was Leslie T. Fossel Restoration Resources, of Alna. According to Carson, work will comply with federal standards in hopes the building might eventually win listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Restoration includes replacing rotted soffits, window pediments and corner moldings, as well as other similar fixes to the shell of the Italianate style structure. It will not include moving doorways back to their original position under the gable end of the building, were there was one for boys and one for girls, or replacing the lost bell tower.

“It’s an excellent idea to get this building fixed,” said Councilor Tom Blake, noting that Mad Horse’s lease includes an option to buy. “This will increase the value of the property, so, ultimately, will recoup some of this CDBG money. This is actually an investment.”

GUARDING WAINWRIGHT

The South Portland City Council has awarded a contract of $26,395 to Gorham Fence Co., of Standish, to install 1,570-feet of pressure-treated wooden guardrail around the parking lot at the Wainwright Farms Recreational Field on Gary L. Maietta Parkway.

According to City Manager James Gailey, the barrier is needed “to better corral the vehicles in the complex, particularly night-time vehicles that tend to make their way onto the turf and do certain ‘brodies,’ and other things.”

One other bid was received, from Main Line Fence Co., of Cumberland, for $33,898.

The work is expected to be complete within 30 days.

DONATIONS

The South Portland City Council accepted two donations at its July 6 meeting. John Daley gave $50 for the purchase of public safety equipment, while Carlton Meyers gave $100 to the police department’s K-9 Dog program.

Then, at its July 18 meeting, the council accepted 12 donations to the South Portland Public Library totaling $540. One donation came from the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Rotary Charitable Fund “in appreciation for providing meeting space for a Rotary event,” while the 11 others were made in memory of Martha Mills, a longtime library volunteer.

Donors included South Portland residents Leona LaFleur ($20) and Marilyn E. Reilly ($20), plus Jo Adamo, of Portland ($30); Thomas and Norma Bennett, of Gorham ($50); Carol and Christopher Colpitts, of Saco ($30); Margaret L. Cormody, of Portland ($50); Colleen Huff, of Scarborough ($50); Maybelle H. Norton, of Kennebunk ($25); Jack and Esther Tate, of Singer Island, Fla. ($40); Anne M. Tulloch, of Singer Island, Fla. ($100); and Linda Norton and William Pacino, both of Chelmsford, Mass. ($25).

“I was a longtime friend of Martha Milla,” said Councilor Maxine Beecher. “She was a person who truly loved South Portland and I think that it’s a huge honor that we accept this donations in her name on behalf of the city. She was a lover of books and she would have loved this.”

SMALLER SCHOOL

At its July 18 meeting, the South Portland City Council unanimously approved the purchase of a used modular building (measuring 52 feet long by 27.8 feet wide, big enough for two classrooms) from Schiavi Homes, of Oxford, for $65,000, using money left over in a reserve fund from elementary school construction. Schiavi was the only qualified bidder. The building comes with a one-year warranty.

Rebuilt just eight years ago, the Dora L. Small Elementary School, on Thompson Street, has already proven inadequate for neighborhood needs. Designed to house up to 280 students, the K-5 school is eyeing an anticipated fall enrollment of 323, due primarily to a spike of 38 kindergarteners due to enter the school system at Small School next year.

“For whatever reason, that neighborhood is booming right now,” said Superintendent Suzanne Godin. “Meanwhile, the populations at some of our other schools are slightly decreasing.”

In early June, parents at a public hearing overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to bus their children to other city schools, voicing a strong preference for the portable purchase from among a list of options.

Godin said the hope is that enrollment will drop within three years, so that, in 2014, the structure can be moved over to the high school, to become part of the fleet of portables that will be needed there during a planned reconstruction project.

Godin said the portable is to be delivered within 10 days of site preparation, estimated to cost between $8,000 and $10,000.

APPOINTMENTS

On July 28 the City Council voted unanimously to appoint Angela Smith, of Northeast Lane, to fill an unexpired term to March 31, 2013, on South Portland’s economic development committee. A resident of South Portland for eight years, Smith works as a financial analyst for TD Bank. She holds a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern Maine, as well as a CPA license.

Smith replaces James Landau, who resigned due to work commitments.

The council also appointed Edward Hellier, of Hawthorne Lane, to finish out a term to Nov. 20, 2012 on the conservation commission. A self-employed carpenter with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Orono, Hellier has lived in South Portland for 22 years. He replaces John Hatch, who moved out of state.

HONORED FRIEND

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Mary Kahl, former South Portland city attorney, will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 20 at Hobbs Funeral Home, at 230 Cottage Road.

Kahl, who died July 9 at age 59, represented the city from 1991 to 2008, at which time she open a private practice on Ocean Street.

“Mary brought a high level of professionalism and a great wit and humor to the job,” said City Manager James Gailey. “It made working with Mary on a day-to-day basis a joy.”

The memorial service will take place one week after the 32^nd annual “Art in the Park” exhibition at Mill Creek Park, an event Kahl had chaired for many years. According to Gailey, Linda Eastman, a member of many civic groups, including the library advisory board and the historical society, has taken over chairmanship of the art show.

“We thank Linda Eastman for being willing to step forward,” said Gailey, following a moment of silence in Kahl’s honor, at the July 18 City Council meeting.

FRESH MOW

At its July 18 meeting, the South Portland City Council unanimously approved spending $48,864 on a 2011 Toro Groundsmaster 4100 wide-area riding/rotary lawn mower with a two-year/1,500-hour warranty. The unit, which comes with a “bio-diesel ready” engine, replaces the mower affectionately known as “Big Red,” used six days per week, 30 weeks per year, mowing 25 acres per day in parks and athletic fields throughout the city.

The winning bidder was Turf Products, of Enfield, Conn. Two other companies (out of seven solicited) responded to the bid, and offered lower prices on mowers, but did not present a unit that met the explicit bid specification.

The purchase price of $55,464 includes a $6,600 discount for trade-in of the city’s 2004 Toro model 100-D riding mower. The new unit will be delivered within 30 days.

FORTFEITURE FUNDS

The city of South Portland has applied to Cumberland County Superior Court for a portion of $6,814 seized during the arrest of Mattie Mae Brown, as allowed under Maine’s State Asset Forfeiture Program.

Brown, 62, of Randolph, Mass., was stopped by South Portland police and agents of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency on Western Avenue, Oct. 10, 2010, following an anonymous tip that claimed she was dealing drugs out of a hotel on Maine Mall Road. Found in the car were five bags of heroin and cocaine, while a search of her hotel room found more of those two substances, as well as 50 oxycodone tablets, drug paraphernalia and $3,000 in cash.

Brown pled guilty to unlawful drug trafficking in Cumberland County Superior Court, in Portland, June 27 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended. 

Because South Portland police made a “substantial contribution to the investigation” it can lay claim to some of the seized assets. Any money received would supplement the department’s FY 2012 budget.

COMPUTER PURCHASE

At its July 18 meeting, the South Portland City Council agreed to buy 110 Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E-420 laptop computers from GovConnection, of Merrimack, N.H., for $61,820. The machines, to be assigned to elementary school students across the district, come with a three-year warranty.

Technology Director Andrew Wallace said the buy is part of the district’s continuing effort to slowly build up to one-to-one computing, in which each student will have a computer for his or her personal use. Even with the purchase, students in some classes still have to “double up.”