The Hallowell City Council is expected to vote on proposed ordinance changes related to the Stevens School campus during its meeting Monday at City Hall.
The changes were proposed by Matt Morrill, who bought the 54-acre Stevens School property from the state in April, and his attorney, Tom Federle. Morrill said the changes are necessary so that he may begin marketing the property to other developers and potential tenants.
During a more than four-hour meeting June 30, the Planning Board went back and forth with Morrill and Federle on their proposals before ultimately voting unanimously to recommended several ordinance changes to the council.
In a letter to the council, the Planning Board said the recommended amendments are consistent with the intent of the original amendments to allow some reuse of the existing buildings and limited residential development prior to the approval of a master plan for the entire parcel.
The Planning Board recommended that a change to Section 9-388 to allow Open Space Residential subdivisions be revised to limit the provision to one subdivision within the core campus. The board also recommended that there be no required setback for existing buildings.
“The Planning Board did a terrific job identifying changes that were not needed while also identifying other sections that may need to be changed,” Hallowell Mayor Mark Walker said in an email. “I await to hear if these revisions are satisfactory for the developers and if they accept these revisions.”
The agenda for the meeting calls for the second and third readings of the proposed ordinance changes, which requires a suspension of the rules because typically it takes more than one meeting for each reading. Walker said that if all involved parties are satisfied, he expects the council will approve the changes.
Morrill, of Grand View Log and Timber Frames in Winthrop, paid $215,000 in April for the Winthrop Street property and has said he envisions a combination of affordable housing, senior housing, market-rate condominiums, commercial and retail space and at least one small residential subdivision.
Walker said if the ordinance changes are approved, there would be no waiting period and Morrill can get started right away.
Monday’s agenda also includes the second reading of the municipal budget, which is expected to rise nearly 5 percent over the current year. Councilor George Lapointe, chairman of the finance committee, said the increase is primarily a result of the continued growth of the Regional School Unit 2 budget and catching up on infrastructure improvements the city has delayed for some time.
The city’s commitment to Regional School Unit 2 is up $211,205.26, or about 8 percent, over last year. Hallowell also has budgeted $123,643 for a tax increment financing district payment after not budgeting anything last year.
The nearly $5.6 million budget would result in an increase in the property tax rate from $17.60 to $19 per $1,000 in valuation.
In other business, the personnel committee will recommend adding a whistle-blower protection policy to the city ordinances for the first time. The policy is intended to encourage municipal officials to report suspected or actual occurrences of illegal, unethical or inappropriate behavior or practices without retribution.
Members of the council have discussed publicly adding some sort of whistle-blower policy to the city ordinances over the past few years, according to council minutes.
Also on the agenda are several staffing changes at City Hall. Diane Polky has taken over as the new city clerk, with Dan Kelley moving up to be the deputy city clerk.
City Manager Nate Rudy is looking for a new, permanent code enforcement officer and assistant planner to replace Maureen AuCoin, who left the position in early June. The job is listed on the city’s website and says it will be a part-time position with a base wage of $17 to $22 per hour, depending on qualifications.
The council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
Jason Pafundi — 621-5663
Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ
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