February 2012

By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,092)

Martha Kimicki, president of the board of Spirits Alive, presented the non-profit’s Master Plan to a quorum of the city’s planning board at its workshop late yesterday afternoon at city hall. Kimicki is asking for the board’s recommendation to the city council that this Master Plan become part of the city’s overall Comprehensive Plan so that it will be preserved for future generations.

Portland Department of Public Services employee, Troy Moon who participated in the workshop as well, said that incorporating this document into the city’s overhall Comprehensive Plan will “guide the city’s maintenance and treatment of this open space. If we can get the plan adopted, then we can start chipping away at specifics in the plan. This is important for us. It defines how we will care for the property going forward,” he said. Spirits Alive was founded in 2007 to care and advocate for this 6.8 acre parcel through preservation and public education. It’s the oldest cemetery in Portland, dating back to Colonial Days. It’s bordered by Congress Street, Mountfort Street and Federal Street to its south in the East Bayside neighborhood.

Kimicki gave a powerpoint presentation to the board members in the city council chambers. She said the cemetery has undergone 344 years of benign neglect and that 50% of the original headstones remain. The plan cited vandalism in the cemetery and drug activity outside the Cemetery on Congress Street as major issues in is preservation. The plan suggests a zoning change to protect the cemetery from neighborhood and business noise in the area which will continue to deterioriate this historical site. Board member David Silk, pursued this idea suggesting staff review changing the zoning from ROS, recreation open space, to RPZ, reserve protection zone, which is applied to sensitive areas in Portland.

The Master Plan was prepared by: Michael Trinkley, Ph.D. and Debi Hacker of Chicora Foundation, Inc., Box 8664, Columbia, SC 29202 803-787-6910 www.chicora.org

That zoning review will be available at the Planning Board’s next meeting on Tuesday, March 27th, when there will be an opportunity for public comment before going on to the City Council for approval.

For more information, please visit spiritsalive.org

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By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,091)

Senator Olympia Snowe announced earlier today that she will not seek re-election to her US Senate seat for her fourth term. Senator Snowe is considered to be a moderate Republican. She cited the high level of acrimony in Washington, D.C. and her belief that it will not change in the short-term as her reason for not seeking re-election.

“I want to thank Senator Snowe for her decades of service to the people of Maine. From her time in the House to her three terms in the Senator, Senator Snowe has shown her independence and dedication to Maine. I called Senator Snow earlier to wish her and her husband all the best in the next stage of her life,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in a statement released earlier.

Senator Snowe was born on February 21, 1947 in Augusta, Maine. Her parents died when she was young and she was raised by an aunt and uncle, the late Mary and James Goranites, of Auburn.

Senator Snowe is married to John R. McKernan, a former Governor of the State of Maine; her second husband. They have a home in Falmouth Foreside.

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By Carol McCracken (Post # 1,090)

A significant piece of the overall project called the Forefront may have slipped into place last night when the State’s Department of Transportation held a public hearing at city hall on the private railroad crossing on Sewall Street at the entrance to the redevelopment. Attorney Richard N. Hewes, was the hearing officer for MaineDOT, Augusta. Mr. Hewes was prepared to hear testimony on all sides of the issue, but no one opposed to the Forefront testified.

On September 7, 2011 Danielle P. West-Chuhta, associate corporate counsel for Portland, wrote to Mr. Hewes on behalf of the city, applying for the railroad crossing to be changed from a private crossing to a public crossing for the development of The Forefront, a major sports and entertainment facility proposed for Thompson’s Point. The letter specified that the developer of the Forefront at Thompson’s Ppoint will be responsible for the costs associated with the installation of protection devices at the rail crossing.

Steve Bushey, a civil engineer on the project, with Deluca Hoffman, testified that TEC Associates, South Portland, have been responsible for designing a new plan for the railroad crossing. Randy Pike, TEC, said there will be three lanes of traffic entering and exiting the Forefront. One of those three lanes will be reversible. It will be used at peak traffic times to alleviate the heavy traffic times. There will be two new cantilever signals with lights over each lane and a warning bell. Furthermore, there will be pavenment markings, railroad advance warning disks and fencing surrounding the area.

The Portland Fire Department as well as the Departmen of Public Services reported to the city that access to the proposed Forefront meets its criteria. Nathan Moulton, director, rail program for MaineDOT said the proposed railroad grade crossing meets everyone’s criteria. “We’ve never worked with a reversible lane, but this is the best design considering all factors involved.” The owner of the rail lines is PanAm, and a representative of the company said it has no issues about safety of the tracks presented by this proposal.

It is expected that connstruction will begin this summer and finish in 2013. Construction should cost between $500,000. to $600,000.

Mr. Hewes will be making his recommendation to the Commissioner of MDOT, David Bern at end of a ten day grace period. In the meantime, Mr. Hewes emphasized if anyone who did not attend the public hearing last night wishes to comment on the proposed changes, they may contact him at (207) 624-3020; within the 10 day grace period. Or you may write to him: Richard N. Hewes, Esq., Maine Department of Transporation, 16 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0016

For more background information, please visit Post # 992, dated October 12, 2011 herein.

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By Carol McCracken (Post # l,089)

Markos Miller, chair of the Franklin Street Redesign Study group will be a panelist at a discussion focusing on the impacts of arterial roadway designs on Tuesday, March 20th, 7 pm at the Maine Historical Soceity, 489 Congress Street. The focus is on Franklin and Spring Streets here in Portland. Former Hill resident Alan Stearns, executive director, Royal River Conservation will serve as moderator. Planning office staff member Alan Jeagerman is expected to attend as well.

Franklin Street is currently a major corridor for traffic arriving in Portland from !-295. As such it is a massive barrier to pedestrian and bicycle traffic and separates Munjoy Hill from the downtown area of the city. But it wasn’t always that way. Once the area that borders Franklin Street (formerly known as Franklin Arterial) was known as “Little Italy.” Back then, it was a poor neighborhood, but also a very dynamic and closely knit neighborhood. The original Franklin Street was an critical part of neighborhoods in the Munjoy Hill area. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic was integral to the area.

Back in 1967, the razing of “Little Italy” began; it was intended to clear the city of its slums. Around 100 structures were demolished and countless families forced to move elsewhere. There are still people living in the area who remember those difficult days for their families because of the break-up of a close-knit community. This transformation led to Franklin Street as a major automobile thruway for travelers. It probably led to the neglect of the Hampshire Street corridor which businessman Donald Sussman is trying to rebuild. Anyway, Franklin Street has never been an important part of the neighborhoods it backs up to.

In 2006, Miller and some friends of his sought to make Franklin Street more accessible to walkers and bicycles and a place to experience community once again. The Franklin Reclamation Authority was developed. Recognizing the value of this work, in 2008, a grass-roots effort led by Miller was created. It was supported financially by the City of Portland. Numerous meetings of community minded people were held resulting with a presentation of three finalists for the development of the area. The three finalists were on display at a public forum held at the rehersal hall at Merrill Auditorium.

“The next phase of the Franklin Street Redesign Study will be starting this spring. The goal of this next effort will be to analyze the three design concepts (Urban Street, Multi-lane Boulevard and Urban Parkway) developed in the 2009 study and to arrive at a preferred design for the corridor,” said Miller in an email to mhn.com yesterday.

Miller is a teacher at Deering High School. He ran for the office of Mayor of Portland last year. He lives with his wife and son on the Hill.

For more, please visit www.franklinstreet.us

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