Letters to the Editor
A new Town Hall will serve all
Dear Independent,
Financial planning has been a high priority for the Board of Selectmen for the past two years. This year, the financially cautious Tax Task Force established guidelines that control regular budget spending and that would allow for some long-needed capital investment while protecting the taxpayer from inordinate annual increases. Starting early in the budget process this year, the board worked closely with the town manager, and ultimately supported each financial item in his budget unanimously.
The selectmen also formed a revised eight-person Capital Planning Committee with two representatives each from the Budget Committee, School Committee, Tax Task Force and Board of Selectmen. That committee proposed and supported a five-year Capital Plan that would allow the town to resolve capital needs while operating within the Tax Task Force recommended guidelines.
The new plan calls for a Town Hall, a performance center at York High School, a public safety facility and substantial drainage improvements throughout town, to be spread over the next five years. It seems we have established the needs over the years, but due to inflation in the construction industry, each year's delay has added millions to the projected costs.
Regrettably, some in the public process have gotten hung up on which of these we do first, but I believe that those involved in this process did their best to help sort this out and come to a compromise. If we are unable to move beyond that, it will be questionable that any sizable capital project could ever get approved. We believe that it makes good sense to follow this plan now.
While selectmen are still working on other priorities of the Capital and Comprehensive plans like land for a police station and the traffic-mitigating benefits of a Route 1-York Beach access, the proposed Town Hall and several drainage initiatives are the first from this new plan to make it to the ballot.
The Town Hall proposal, already a result of blending opinions, is a first step conceptual plan. The Municipal Building Committee is determined to make sure this will be a building that fits the character of York Village while meeting the town's current and future needs. Voter approval will initiate the full architectural design, with public input opportunities, followed by the scrutiny and public hearings of the Planning Board process.
A new Town Hall will better serve all of our citizens, from newborns to retirees. Our children will register their first cars there; others will get their marriage licenses there, and hopefully many will stay or come back and participate in, enjoy and serve our community there.
The Board of Selectmen requests and encourages your support for these projects on May 19.
Chairman David Marshall
York Board of Selectmen
It's not dog food, Mr. Dorrian
Dear Independent,
I'm sorry I missed Selectman Len Dorrian's presentation at the York Senior Center. I had to leave just as he was beginning to address the group. But if the newspaper has quoted him correctly, "I told my wife I'm not going to eat DOG FOOD to live in York," that is quite a statement! Especially coming from a man who is retired military, who is currently employed, who lives in a house valued at $840,000 (purchased for $131,000), who owns a condo in Boston (income property) value, who knows? - which, by the way, caused him some confusion as to where he was actually living while on the York Tax Task Force.
For the record Mr. Dorrian, I think the correct food of choice for us seniors who choose to live here in York is CAT FOOD.
Howard Koeppel
York
York needs a new Town Hall
Dear Independent,
On May 19, the voters are being asked to support a new Town Hall project, Article 73. I would like to encourage everyone to study this proposal carefully and, hopefully, support it with a positive vote.
Last year, the voters purchased the land and funded a study for a new Town Hall. The selectmen have spent the past year working with the architects, building committee and town staff to develop a project that could be supported by the town. I believe that the one you are being asked to support is a fantastic opportunity to finally build a facility that will serve the town for many decades into the future.
This building will meet all federal guidelines regarding handicapped accessibility, expand the currently substandard work spaces for town employees into much larger and appropriate offices, allow people to do all of their town business in one building, add more parking in the village and create a meeting space that is large enough to facilitate meetings without spillover into hallways and stairwells.
Everyone I speak with agrees that York needs a new Town Hall. This is our chance!
I would also like to encourage the people to vote for Len Dorrian for selectman. I have served with Mr. Dorrian for the past two years, and I think he has been a critical part of the restoration of transparency and accountability to town government. He is a tireless worker and a dedicated public servant. He deserves three more years.
Dwight Bardwell
York Board of Selectmen
Vote for Kinley Gregg
Dear Independent,
I'm a firm supporter of Kinley Gregg for selectman in the town of York. Kinley's only motive for running is to make a contribution to her home town. That's public service at its best.
We are very fortunate to have young people like Kinley willing to serve. Your vote will be appreciated.
Joe Mangiafico
York
A village comes forth
Dear Independent,
Even though Ogunquit became a town, I still think of it as a village. "A Beautiful Place By The Sea," with beautiful, kind and thoughtful residents.
Yours truly and my partner, Robert Maurais, last Wednesday evening, were honored with a sensational retirement party at the Meadowmere. A lot of hard work went into this special occasion. The display of delicious food was outstanding. It was a crowded and jolly affair and, needless to say, we were bestowed with so many cards with gifts, the next day it took nearly two hours to open the envelopes and record the names for thank-you notes.
Last year was our 50th year in the restaurant business. As much as we hated to hang up our aprons, the time had come to take on a less stressful lifestyle! However, I'm not ready to sit on the back porch and snap beans.
As of this Thursday I will be hosting at Wayne Wescott's renowned Front Porch Café. He has added a new dining room on the street level, and a sensational new 15-stool bar, with new windows overlooking the village center. The new dining room is fabulous, and he has a new chef, Jason Miller, taking over the kitchen, who worked with the renowned Chef Bradley Ogden
Along with yours truly being the host with the most, how can you go wrong? How rude!
From us both, our sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you that rallied around and gave us the party of the century!
Cheers,
Richard W. Perkins
(The "W" is for What a party!)
Ogunquit
Dorrian is best choice
Dear Independent,
It is time again to select the most qualified candidates for selectmen. We here in York have been fortunate in having Len Dorian as a member of the Board of Selectmen. Len has served in this position with pride, honor and courage. His unselfish commitment and dedication to the citizens of York has given him both grief and joy. Regardless, he continues to fulfill this role with pride and unquestionable commitment.
Len's knowledge of finance has been a tremendous asset to the board. He does his homework. Because of his dedication to thoroughly research issues brought before the board, his projections have been right on target. He has helped to bring stability to a once dysfunctional board.
As a longtime volunteer for this community, I know firsthand how hard it is to recruit talented individuals who are willing to give of their time and talents for the good of York. Len Dorian is one of these people. I am sure if re-elected, Len will continue this dedicated service to our community.
Harold Radochia
York
York needs Dorrian
Dear Independent,
Len Dorrian has done a lot for this town. He has saved taxpayers a lot of money, without mindless and unreasonable budget cutting. He has also assisted and supported town and school officials in a constructive way. He has been an exceptionally useful public servant.
I base these claims on firsthand knowledge. As chair of the town's Tax Task Force, I've worked very closely with Mr. Dorrian for the past four years. He is the person most responsible for developing the Task Force's formula for controlling operating expenses. This formula, adopted voluntarily by both school and town officials, has provided a firm limit on the amount of tax revenue that can be requested in a given year. That 4.7 percent figure you've read about this year was derived from the Task Force formula. This formula is the first fair and reasonable way to limit budget requests that York has had.
During the past year, the Task Force also developed a two-cap plan for controlling requests for large capital projects. Len Dorrian was one of the principal authors of this plan; under it, requests for large projects will be limited to an additional 2 percent of the total tax burden from the previous year. This two-cap plan is the basis of the town's revised five-year Capital Plan, which prioritizes all capital projects and presents them to the voters over a five-year period. In all my years of public service, I've never seen better townwide cooperation than what I saw when school and town officials worked out that Capital Plan last fall. The fiscal operations of this town have vastly improved, and much of the credit should go to Len Dorrian.
I'm a close personal friend of former Selectman Chair Stan Wilson, who was ousted from office in that shameful, utterly misguided recall effort. Since Len Dorrian benefited from that effort, although he did not lead it, several people have asked me how I can support Len now. My answer is clear. I support Len because I've found him to be a smart, creative and reasonable public servant. I support him because the town needs him. I hope other voters will come to the same conclusion.
Tom Carnicelli
York
Write-in for Budget Committee
Dear Independent,
My name is Stephanie Vallee. While my husband has lived in town for more than 20 years, I have lived in York for four years. I had worked in New Hampshire until this past year resulting in all my time and energy was spent in towns where I worked rather than where I lived. I decided to find a job in York in an effort to get to know the residents and become more active in the community that would benefit the town I reside in. I now work at Sanford Institution for Savings as an assistant branch manager in the new branch on the corner of Route 1 and Route 91. Since changing companies, I have also been appointed by the governor as a dedimus justice.
I served on the Budget Committee in Hooksett, N.H., a few years ago. The town of York advised me that I was too late to have my name on the election ballot for 2007, but I could ask residents to write my name in. With that being said, please write my name in on the ballot under the Budget Committee section on May 19. I am seeking a three-year term and running against Charles Steadman.
I would really appreciate your support in electing me onto the Budget Committee and thank you in advance for your support.
Stephanie Vallee
York
Sibling betrayal cut deep
Dear Independent,
As a child I would be taken often to visit my Grand-Aunt Katie in her brownstone mansion at 185 East Sixty-fourth St. in New York City.
At dinner we would enjoy leg-of-lamb with mint jelly and heavenly roasted potatoes. Or, if we were paying an afternoon call, Delia, the cook-and-maid for 45 years would serve fluffy buttered biscuits with cups of delicious tea, which I preferred to my customary glass of milk.
Katie was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1860 and died at home in her own bed in 1940. The founder of the family fortune was her elder brother, Johnnie, who emigrated to Manhattan in 1865 at the age of 15. He pursued the trade of plumbing, and pursued it so well that when he died in 1931, at 81, he left Katie the equivalent in current dollars of two million. She had never married - nor had he - and always acted as his hostess and housekeeper.
In the 10 years between their deaths, their brother Peter kindly volunteered to help his sister with the handling of cash, the payment of bills, and the general management of Johnnie's estate. He was aided in these endeavors by a kindhearted lawyer who was always drawing up complicated papers for her to sign.
Peter so aided Katie that shortly before her death her assets had dwindled to about 15 percent of the original amount. The lawyer was eventually prosecuted, but Katie could not move against her baby brother. In her woman's mind he was still the frightened boy of 13 whom she had welcomed with a loving heart to New York after his perilous Atlantic crossing.
While the legal troubles were brewing he was forbidden in the house. Aunt Katie would sit with my mother in the second-story back parlor and gaze into her eyes beseechingly:
"How could Petey do this to me? I've never done him any harm. When he got off the boat he was skin and bones, and I folded him into my arm."
She died without receiving any answer. Peter followed her six years later. I have no doubt at all that once a week she shyly approaches St. Peter to remind him of her little brother working out his sins down there. Perhaps it might be his turn soon? She would be so happy to see him again ... she had forgiven him. When would God?
Warren Lemon
York
Hats off to our veterans
Dear Independent,
Civilians coping with the demands of everyday life often forget the sacrifice of our soldiers. As we pay the rent and go shopping and raise our children, we take for granted our relative security and prosperity compared to the rest of the world. Soldiers, however, know all too well the chaos and turmoil of trouble spots because they witnessed it firsthand.
May is National Military Appreciation Month and a fitting time to recognize the sacrifices American service members and their families make for freedom. Furthermore, our veterans deserve, and many desperately need, continuing confirmation of the value of their service as they cope with the aftermath of war. If the United States wishes to remain a society of justice and opportunity, we must continually find ways to support the people who laid their lives on the line to preserve it.
In addition to providing adequate healthcare, and educational benefits we must tend to psychological needs as well. Faced with budget cuts and swelling admissions, VA Medical Centers are not always able to fully address these psychological needs on an
individual, veteran-by-veteran basis. Furthermore, a chasm exists between veterans with needs, and independent citizens who are willing to pitch in, but don't know how. On the one hand, many veterans would like to participate in special outreach programs but are unable to find a sponsor. On the other, individuals and groups would like to help a veteran, but are often limited in the forms of assistance they can provide.
To bridge this gap, Manhattanville College has created a program called "Hats Off to Veterans." Hats Off promotes recognition to veterans, especially for those home- or hospital-bound due to injury while serving our country.
When a person enrolls in the Hats Off program, they agree to mail or deliver a respectful greeting and note of encouragement to a hospitalized veteran. They sign up at http://www.mysoldier.com/ to receive a Hats Off starter kit containing veteran contact information, guidelines for letter writing and optional care package preparation, a "My Soldier" bracelet to wear in support of veterans and American servicemen and women, and a specially designed "My Soldier" baseball hat to include with the greeting they send to their veteran. The program and kits are free to all who register, but donations are appreciated.
Participation is not limited to Manhattanville College, but is open to the public. In fact, it is the goal of the program to have participants from all 50 states .We hope every American registers to use Hats Off to honor, support and thank a veteran. It's an easy way for anyone to do his or her part to recognize and cheer a hospitalized veteran.
Sincerely,
Richard A. Berman
President, Manhattanville College
The Independent Letters Policy: The Independent welcomes letters and opinions on any subject. We do not accept anonymous letters. Letters should be 200 words or less. We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, accuracy, and/or legal reasons and to reject any material considered unsuitable for publication. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of The Independent or its staff.
Send your letters to the Editor at PO Box 6, York, ME 03909 or via email to editor@yorkindependent.net. Deadline for publication is 12:00 noon on the Monday prior to that week's publication
