Town Council Meeting Report

At the May 8, 2023 Town Council meeting, the council voted on the agenda items listed below.  Councilors Caitlin Jordan and Gretchen Noonan were absent.

1.  Approval of Draft Minutes for April 10, 2023 Regular Meeting and April 25, 2023 Special meeting; 5-0 vote.

2. Approval of Item #66-2023 Proposed Stormwater Amendments; 5-0 vote.
On August 8, 2022 the Town Council referred to the Ordinance Committee development of Stormwater Ordinance amendments required by the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges.  Following a recommendation from the Ordinance Committee, on December 12, 2022 the Town Council forwarded amendments to the Planning Board. On March 21, 2023, the Planning Board voted (6-0) to forward stormwater amendments to the Town Council for consideration. On April 8 the Town Council voted to schedule a public hearing for May 8. No public comments were made at the meeting.

3. Approval of Item #67-2023 Fiscal Year 2024 General Fund Budget - Motion to Schedule Vote; 5-0 vote.
Immediately following a public hearing in which no comments were made, the council voted to schedule on the proposed fiscal year 2024 General Fund Budget (municipal and school) for the Town Cape Elizabeth for Monday, May 15, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at a Special Town Council meeting.  The proposed Town expenditures of $20,501,521 and revenues of $10,568,140 and School expenses of $34,170,000 and revenues of $3,597,711. [See Proforma]

4. Approval of Item #68-2023 Fiscal Year 2024 Special Revenue Funds Budget - Motion to Approve; 5-0 vote.
Following a public hearing in which no comments were made, the council voted to adopt the Special Revenue Funds Budget for Fiscal Year 2024, as follows:  estimated expenditures of $4,126,254; estimated revenues of $3,591,294, transfers from the General Fund of $229,066 and the estimated use of fund balances totaling $305,894 as presented in the FY 2024 Special Revenue Funds Budgets Proforma.

5.  Approval of Item #69-2023 Audit Results for FY 2022 - Motion to acknowledge receipt of results; 5-0 vote.
The Town Council and School Board met in workshop session on May 3, 2023 to review the results of FY 2022 audit results prepared by Runyon Kersteen Ouellette.  Chair Jeremy Gabrielson said that the report came back clean for the Town and only a few small items on the School Board side relating to covid expenses, "I am pleased to see that the Town continues to make improvements in our financial oversight and management."

6.  Approval of Energy Committee's recommendation relating to a Climate Action Plan; 5-0 vote.
On February 13, 2023 the Town Council tasked the Energy Committee in proposing steps toward climate action goals.  Energy Committee member Sam Milton provided the an overview of the committee's recommendation to authorize the Town Manager to sign a contract with the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) for the Cape Elizabeth Climate Action Planning Proposal dated March 8, 2023. Said funding of $40,000 will be approved at a subsequent meeting.

7.  Approval of Item #71-2023 Proposed Amendment to the Dog Ordinance - Motion to refer amendments to Ordinance Committee; 5-0 vote.
In an April 21, 2023 Memo, Police Chief Paul Fenton writes that the Town is now sharing Animal Control Officer Maggie Maxwell with the City of South Portland. Officer Maxwell is recommending that the Dog Ordinance be streamlined to avoid excessive intervention at the first offense and avoid escalation.

8.  Item #72-2023 Motion to Reconsider Item #62-2023 4/10/2023 Entitled Request from Councilor Reiniger to Fund a Site Feasibility Study for Affordable Housing Development Purposes at Gull Crest; no motions were made to reconsider.
At the April 10, 2023 Town Council meeting, the council voted 6-0 in favor of authorizing funding, not to exceed $100,000, for a site feasibility study at town-owned land at Gull Crest, as requested by Reiniger.  Councilor Nicole Boucher requested a reconsideration of the item citing a concern with process and financial due diligence.  However, Town Manager Sturgis informed the council that immediately following the April 10 meeting, Sebago Technics was engaged to perform an evaluation expeditiously, given an extremely limited amount of time to conduct vernal pool mapping.  The contract for the feasibility study came in well below the authorized amount, at $18,700.  


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