02/15/2013

Council establishes committees to plan future of Town Center, Thomas Memorial Library

The Town Council on Feb. 11, 2013 established an ad hoc committee to plan for the future of the Thomas Memorial Library, and a second committee to update the 1993 plan for the Town Center.

Each committee is directed to work with the other to consider opportunities to enhance the Town Center.

Councilors approved the committee charges as first steps toward realizing two top goals for 2013:

• Planning for the future of the Thomas Memorial Library following the 2012 defeat of a $6 million referendum to build a new library; library; and,
• Appointing a committee to develop a new plan for the Town Center, using the existing plan as a resource.

At the same meeting, councilors appointed from their members Jessica Sullivan, Kathy Ray and Frank Governali to serve on the Library Planning Committee; and David Sherman and Jamie Wagner to serve on the Town Center Planning Committee.

The Town Center Committee will ultimately have nine members, including five residents to be recruited and appointed by the council's appointments subcommittee; one Planning Board member and one School Board member. The library committee will also include a School Board member and a member of the library's trustees, but will not include at-large members of the community.

From 2008-2009, an ad hoc library study committee composed of the seven-member board of trustees, and representatives of the Town Council, Thomas Memorial Library Foundation and Cape Elizabeth Historical Preservation Society, formulated its recommendation to construct a new library to meet the needs of the community for the next 25 years. Funding for the plan failed at the polls in November 2012, but "most citizens who commented on the library plan indicated that some work is needed ..." according to the Town Council's goal document for 2013.

The adopted charge directs the five-member committee to take a "fresh look" at most recent library planning, seeking public input and considering lower-cost alternatives. Use of existing, unused spaces is suggested to achieve efficiencies.

The Town Center Plan Committee is also charged with taking a fresh look, but at the Town Center as a whole with the goal to support a vibrant, business- and pedestrian-friendly environment. The five residents appointed will include at least one Town Center business owner and one resident of the Town Center or adjacent neighborhood.

The committee will provide a status report to the Town Council within six months of its first meeting, and final recommendations by the end of the year. The library committee is expected to provide a "substantial" progress report in October, after which the council will consider future directions and actions.

At the School Board meeting Feb. 12, Chairman John Christie said the board would approve their nominations for membership to these committees at their March meeting.