A message from Mayor Tom Blake and City Manager Jim Gailey

Dear friends and neighbors,

The most important thing we do in our roles as mayor and city manager is look ahead and ask, “What does our city need most — for safe neigh-borhoods, cost savings, and a strong future?”

As plain as it sounds, creating a clean, modern municipal services facility has been a top priority of ours for years. It’s the rails our city runs on.

As you may know, the existing municipal facility at O’Neil Street is old, overcrowded, unsafe, and run-down. It’s no longer efficient and is a barrier to service delivery.

The new facility we’ve been planning for Highland Avenue offers real advantages that will pay off for South Portland for decades to come. We’ve outlined the plan in this brochure. We hope you’ll read it and decide for yourself.

How will we pay for this? The City Council is proposing a $14 million bond issue. A South Portland home valued at $190,000 would see a $55/year average tax impact. However, with a large bond retiring in 2018, the impact to the tax rate will be significantly offset.

We encourage you to educate yourself on the issue — and make sure you vote on November 5.

Thank you.

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OUT WITH THE OLD….

The current O’Neil facility is being run out of cramped, unsafe 1930s and ’40s buildings and can no longer keep pace with the needs of our community.

What are the issues?

  • OLD

    The current O’Neil facility is being run out of cramped, unsafe 1930s and ’40s buildings and can no longer keep pace with the needs of our community.

  • WASTEFUL

    Equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is left outside, cutting years off its productive life.

  • DECREPIT

    Buildings stand decaying and condemned at the current facility.

  • UNSAFE

    The facility is unsafe for municipal employees — with substandard garage bays, low ceilings, and no proper vehicle lifts.

  • EXPENSIVE

    Municipal vehicles criss-cross the city to refuel and pick up supplies at the O’Neil Street facility — wasting untold thousands of gallons of fuel per year

  • INAPPROPRIATE

    The current facility is not ADA compliant and has no separate washrooms or sleeping spaces for female staff—yet during snowstorms and other city emergencies, workers are on the job for up to 36 hours.

  • NO FUTURE

    It would be extremely difficult to build a modern facility here (while keeping the old one running at the same time). Properties other than the Highland Avenue site have proved to be unworkable.

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IN WITH THE NEW….

Public Works, Transportation, Parks, and a newly designed trans-fer station will be consolidated at the new Highland Avenue facility.

What are the opportunities?

  • UNCROWDED

    Public Works, Transportation, Parks, and a newly designed transfer station will be consolidated at the new Highland Avenue facility.

  • EFFICIENT

    The new facility will give the city a central location for prompt snow plowing and municipal/school vehicle refueling. Fleet maintenance will be consolidated in a single location.

  • EFFECTIVE

    The Highland Avenue facility will consolidate all the work now done at the O’Neil Street facility, sharing office space and equipment. Modern maintenance and wash bays will extend vehicle life.

  • SAFE

    The new facility on Highland Avenue will be safe, modern, and up to code.

  • BETTER NEIGHBOR

    The new facility will be located 900 feet from homes and 45 feet below street level. The existing Highland driveway will be widened and redesigned for safety and visual appeal.

  • GREEN DESIGN

    The Highland Avenue facility will be built to LEED standards for green buildings, helping to conserve energy and protect the environment. The facility will also include a “swap shop."

  • VALUE ADDED

    The land on which the old O’Neil Street facility stands will be redeveloped to match the fabric of the neighborhood.

PLEASE
BE SURE TO
vote
on nov 5!