WINSLOW — The Town Council voted to make an amendment to the school bond referendum question at its meeting Tuesday evening, ultimately voting 7-0 to allow for movement of funds to different parts of the project.

The amendment, proposed by Councilor Ken Fletcher and Town Manager Michael Heavener, allows the town treasurer to reallocate funds from the $10.3 million bond to other parts of the project pending Town Council approval.

For example, Fletcher said, if the contingency for the seventh- and eighth-grade renovations runs low but the contingency for the auxiliary gym isn’t depleted, the treasurer, who is Heavener, could transfer those funds with approval.

The bond will be used to renovate and expand the high school and elementary school as Winslow looks to consolidate to a two-school system and close the junior high school by 2019. Voters will decide the bond’s fate at the Nov. 7 referendum.

The Town Council also voted to ban truck traffic on certain streets and smoking in specific areas maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department in the swift and relatively quiet meeting.

Councilors approved an ordinance that will ban heavy and large truck traffic, such as dump trucks, on Clifford Avenue and Paine Street, 5-2, with Councilors Jerry Quirion and Jeff West opposed. Exceptions to the law include pickup trucks, four-wheel vans, town and state vehicles and trucks that are providing services to either the town or properties on the affected streets.

Those who violate the rule will be liable for fines.

The Town Council also voted, 6-1, to ban smoking of any substance in any form in town recreation areas, as well as adjacent sidewalks and parking lots. This includes vaping, e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The affected areas are Norton Street Park, Fort Halifax playground and basketball courts, Clinton Avenue playground, Fort Halifax Park and any recreation field or sport venue.

A law enforcement officer will issue a warning for the first offense, and a second violation could result in a $50 fine.

Councilor Ben Twitchell voted against the measure, but said he’s not against banning smoking cigarettes in those areas. He is against the amended language that includes alternative forms of smoking, which he said he isn’t sure contribute to secondhand smoke, in the ban.

In other business, the council voted unanimously to raze a building at 87 Benton Avenue. The lowest bid the town received was $13,500, but does not include remediation costs should the building contain asbestos.

Heavener said the property would be sold after the building is taken down

Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239

mstamour@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @madelinestamour

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