Public Ideas
for Focus Areas in 2018 and Beyond
- Increased use of the beach with housing density and increased campsites. Do we need more community service officers? Do we need to expand patrol in marsh areas?
- Should we have a volunteer coordinator at GRB rather than an intern to get more assistance with educating the public.
- Kennebunkport needs to start planning for sustaining the Fire Department.
- We need to expand the sewer system.
- Need more workforce housing, especially for public servants.
- Reassess the Fire Department and Wastewater Department.
- Need to attract younger families with children through housing and other methods.
- We need to address the issue of how to control/limit out-of-state owners buying up residential properties to rent out via various online internet rental agencies.
- We need to develop better ways to control and deal with the traffic and parking issues we face during the summer tourist season, and particularly the pedestrian traffic coming from the visiting tour ships in the fall season.
- We have a great new and vibrant library in town, and the biggest problem is providing parking for those trying to visit the library.
- Town seems to be subject to an increasing number of sub division applications. Is there some way to limit or control the increased rate of these developments?
- Investigate ways to save tax dollars and improve efficiency of operations by rationalizing operations between Kennebunkport, Kennebunk and Arundel.
- A lack of young families moving in. We know the issue is our home prices, and with my generation and the ones after facing very real financial headwinds (student loans, health care, etc.)
- Develop a plan to address workforce housing.
- There is a very real problem with how the people of our town perceive the concept of "workforce housing", or "affordable housing", so we need to find ways to communicate ideas that address the underlying concerns, whatever those are.
- Street and sidewalk lighting on the more traveled streets and state highways is poor at best. Need more lighting like that in front of the police station. Sidewalk lights and crossing flashers like those nonobtrusive one in west Kennebunk would be beneficial
- A long-standing concern is dwindling public access to the ocean and the Kennebunk River!
- Install a sidewalk from the fire station to the Masonic Hall with non-obtrusive sidewalk lights like those in west Kennebunkport.
- Install a combination walkway and speed platform, not a speed bump, by the yellow nonblinking light by the Masonic hall.
- Maintaining the student population at KCS - Options to explore include:
- Working with RSU21 to proactively offer enrollment from Lower Village/Rte 35 area in Kennebunk and nearby parts of Arundel.
- Continuing to investigate options for housing for young families that are more affordable.
- Exploring intentional communities, eco-village.
- Diversifying our economic base, given tourism's ups and downs
- Explore sustainable options that fit well with tourism
- Parts of town where possible?
- Planning for impacts of climate change on local businesses, including:
- Flood risk
- Lobster fishery
- Biggest challenge facing Kennebunkport - the demographics of the town. Too old, retired, wealthy, absent second home-owners. No diversity, few young families, falling school enrollment.
- Market the town as a great place to settle, as a suburb of Portland or Portsmouth, to raise a family. Promote the great schools (Consolidated is a gem), the great Rec program, the lovely library, the abundance of natural recreational opportunities, to name a few,
- Affordable housing is more like it. Multi-family rentals are needed. Promote diversity of the population by providing diversity in housing.
- Housing for younger families as they are looking on the "other" side of 95, where land/houses/foreclosures are more affordable.
- Subdivision and Development - subdivisions currently being built are just laying down more pavement for seasonal homes. it drives up land and existing home prices for young people to try and settle down in Kennebunkport.
- Safeguarding people and Natural Resources at Goose Rocks Beach –
- Spending money on meaningful projects - Between Cape Porpoise and the Biddeford/Kennebunkport line Route 9 is long overdue for paving. Spend money where it has the most impact and effects the most people.
- I'm concerned about the sharp curve/intersection in Cape Porpoise. People cut across traffic from every direction. What has concerned me more recently, though, is bicycles are cutting across.
- Affordable Housing: I think we need to be relentless on this, so it doesn’t fall off our radar
- Our water and sewer model is more reactive in that new service lines are not added unless a developer is willing to foot the bill. Both of these services, when extended, come at a great cost but I do think it would be wise to incrementally and strategically increase the service area?
- I really like that we’ve widened some of the roads to include extra space for walking or biking.
- Pedestrian Village: reconfigure the first block of Ocean Ave to become a Pedestrian only area. Huge long-term economic benefits to Pedestrian Villages (Faneuil Hall, Burlington TV, Boulder Co, Baltimore, to name just a few).
- Bike Friendly: What if Kennebunkport set a goal to become the most Bicycle Friendly town in Maine with Bike Lanes, Bike Signage, and Bike Racks...
- Bike Lanes: narrow vehicular travel lanes and widen bike lanes. Install bike signage “share the road,” “bikes use full lane,” and “respect bicycles,” “bike love”.
- Bike Racks in Dock Square, Beaches, Etc. - would be a welcome addition to town.