South Portland news briefs

Business book

South Portland has issued an updated 32-page guide to doing business in the city, with information on zoning, permits and navigating the Planning Department process. The booklet, which took six months to complete, puts “all relevant business information in one place,” said Assistant City Manager Erik Carson. “Whether you’ve got a business or are starting one, this will tell you what you need to do,” he added.        

Jetport gold

Portland International Jetport has become just the second commercial airport in the U.S. to get a gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Using an FAA grant, the Jetport installed Maine’s largest geothermal system in its recent terminal expansion. It’s expected to save $150,000 in heating costs and cut 2 million pounds of CO2 emissions each year.                                             

Fountain funds

Saco & Biddeford Savings, Maine’s oldest bank at 184 years old, has given South Portland $2,500 through its charitable foundation toward the purchase of a fountain to be placed in Mill Creek Park, which is currently undergoing extensive renovations. In accepting the grant, City Manager Jim Gailey credited the bank for “an incredible record of support for the communities in its service area.”

License to walk

The Portland Pipe Line Corporation has extended a license allowing public access on two portions of its property used by the city as part of the Greenbelt Walkway. Access to the strips near Bonnybriar Road and Benjamin W. Pickett Street had expired June 3. The new license runs through June 3, 2017 and can be terminated at any time by PPLC with 90-days written notice.

Fee hike

South Portland’s street and sidewalk opening permit fee has gone up $18 to $320, effective now though June 30, 2013. The fee is calculated by dividing the $92,507 budget of the city’s engineering inspector by 273 – the average annual number of opening permits issued over the past three years.

Donation

The Betsy Ross Resident’s Council has given $25 in memory of Mary Cervero to the South Portland Fire Department to be used toward the purchase of equipment. Cervero died March 29 at age 85, following a secretarial career, first for local insurance companies then later for the U.S. Navy. She lived her final 14 years in South Portland.

New owners

Taj Indian Cuisine at 200 Gorham Road, in the Shops at Clark’s Pond complex, is under new ownership. The restaurant was purchased June 13 by Ammulu Reddy Guntaka, an India native recently of Texas, and will be managed by Sai Kumar Reddy Guntaka. The City Council issued a new food establishment with malt and vinous license June 18.