I have posted an excel file that has some of my detailed calculations that support a $25 million bond. The $25 million bond actually presents a $30 million project cost. The reason only $25 million needs to be borrowed is because the school already raised over $2 million in last year’s $5 million bond that was to be spent on the high school. In addition to this $2 million, the school has over $4 million in surplus from it’s over budgeted costs for the past several years. I am proposing that $3 million of this $4 million be used to fund the renovation. By state standards, the school should not have more than $1.2 million in surplus on hand.
My cost of $30 million vs. the school’s estimate of $47 million differs solely based on eliminating the 90,000 excess square feet of space in the project. The school plan is actually not really a renovation plan it is a 50% expansion of the high school from about 205,000 square feet to 307,000 square feet. The proposed plan equates to over 300 square feet per student based on the highest projected school enrollment of 1022 in 2018. This 300 compares to less than 200 square feet per student average for the high schools built over the past ten years. In addition, the enrollment after 2018 begins to decline. The most reliable studies are uncertain after 2019, but the enrollment is much more likely to go down after 2019 then it is to go up.
The proposed plan is to build 170,000 new square feet of space and to remove 65,000 square feet of space. It will also renovate about 115,000 square feet of space. This is not a “renovation” it is a major expansion. The issued that has not be answered is why would we need to expand a facility by 50%, when that facility has a capacity of 1200 students and currently has no projections where the enrollment goes over 1022? While this project will not go through a state review (because the state is not funding it) my discussion with Scott Brown (lead official who approves school construction projects) at the Maine Department of Education clearly suggests that it would not be approved by the state because of the excessive square feet of space and the lack of high enough utilization of the space.
Finally, no one likes it when I compare South Portland to Scarborough, but the SP property tax rate at $15.70 is already 24% higher than Scarborough’s tax rate of $12.64 and the projected rate increase to pay for this $44 million bond will increase the rate to $16.87 or 33% more than Scarborough. Good luck trying to get any new businesses to locate in SP vs. Scarborough.
Stock prices for General Growth Properties rose this week on news that Pershing Square Capital Management LP, a hedge fund manager, has become a major stakeholder in the cash-strapped company. General Growth owns 200 shopping malls, including the Maine Mall. Pershing Square Capital bought 20.1 million shares of General Growth Properties, giving it a 7.5 percent stake in the company. It has options on 33.4 million shares for a total of a nearly 20 percent stake.
The hedge fund is led by William Ackman, an investor known for his activism in turning troubled companies around. Pershing Square has become a major stock holder in Wendy’s International Inc., McDonald’s Corporation and Ceridian Corp. He has pressed those companies to cut costs and sell assets to improve returns.
General Growth officials have said they may be forced to seek bankruptcy protection because of looming debt.
UPDATE: The pair of turkeys apparently were the real thing, with Channel 6’s Pat Callaghan providing a news update that contained additional photos.
Officer Adam Howard wrote to fellow city employees:
“You know, every time I think I’ve seen it all, someone or something proves me wrong.” After finding the doors locked at the Food Court, the birds trotted over to JC Pennys.
While Mainers were gobbling down T-Day dinners, these birds may have been searching for their own meal.
ORIGINAL POST: Every Tom, Dick and Harry is out looking for shopping mall sales the morning after Thanksgiving. Is it possible this couple just flew in for a whirlwind shopping trip at the Maine Mall? The intrepid reader who was circulating these humorous photos certainly wants us to think so.
These photos were forwarded from the South Portland PD to municipal employees. Perhaps an officer captured these birds on film while making the rounds. But with the magic of PhotoShop we may never know.
To the editor-
The residents of South Portland have enjoyed off-leash access to public spaces with their dogs for many years. This access includes a close-knit community of people who choose to recreate safely with their dogs under voice control.
Due to complaints from individuals who live in the vicinity of Willard Beach and other residents who have had negative encounters with irresponsible dog owners, we now face a possible vote that could eliminate our access to parks throughout the city. City Council has brought up several options including: a city-wide leash law, leashes only at Bug Light Park and Spring Point, and banning dogs year-round or all summer on Willard Beach. All of these changes include a very strict micromanagement of behavior that is unnecessary for people who are in control of their dogs.
The South Portland Dog Owners Group (SoPoDOG) needs your help. We are working on a membership drive with membership dues ($5.00 per year per household) to help defray the costs of what we will need to do to prevent the loss of our access. People from other towns are welcome to join us.
SoPoDOG is not just a group of “dog people” as some say with disdain. We are your neighbors, friends, family members, taxpayers and registered voters. We choose to have domestic dogs as part of our family and we want to be able to continue to safely recreate with our dogs. In order to do this we need your membership.
Please go to http://www.sopodog.com and download a membership form. With your help we can continue to enjoy recreational facilities equally.
Sincerely,
Crystal Goodrich
President, South Portland Dog Owners Group http://www.sopodog.com .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Here is a press release from the folks at Spring Point Lighthouse about the group’s annual holiday light display:
Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse Holiday Lighting Set for Sunday December 7th
The Friends of Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse announce that their annual holiday lighting will take place on Sunday December 7th at 5pm. Hot cocoa and caroling will be a part of the estimated 30-minute event. Families are most welcome to this fun and free local event. Gatherers will meet between the breakwater and the parking lot at the end of Fort Road, next to the Portland Harbor Museum on the campus of SMCC in South Portland. Flashlights are recommended. Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse is America’s only publicly accessible caisson lighthouse (open house tours between June and October), and is listed in the National Register of Historic Buildings. The lighthouse is part of ‘Save America’s Treasures’ program and is solely maintained through the efforts of its non-profit organization, the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust. For more information, including charitable donations and volunteer opportunities, please visit http://www.springpointlight.org.
Youngs Furniture, at 130 Western Ave., sold in September for $2.5 million. The buyer is listed as Gnecco Group of Scarborough. The former owner, according to the South Portland Assessor’s online database, was Stephen Young, LLC. Check out all the city’s September real estate transfers, residential and commercial, in Real Estate.
Freshman City Councilor Tom Blake is poised to become South Portland’s new mayor, following a 6-1 victory at Monday night’s special caucus.
Blake took the vote after Councilor Linda Boudreau gave up her nomination. Boudreau and Blake had tied 3-3 at last week’s caucus, with current Mayor Jim Soule voting for himself.
After some intense discussion between the councilors, Boudreau volunteered to give up her nomination “for the good of the city” and asked Councilor Maxine Beecher to rescind her nomination of Boudreau. Beecher reluctantly agreed, saying she did so for “good of the community.”
Boudreau focused most of her critical comments on a South Portlander post on last week’s deadlocked caucus, which drew more than 2,200 readers in one week and was one of the most-read news items in several months. Boudreau said she believes the comments are skewed and a partisan conspiracy.
The council then voted Blake as its choice for the city’s mayor.
Voting for Blake were: Councilors Boudreau, Hughes, Beecher and Blake as well as Councilors-elect Patti Smith and Tom Coward. The one dissenter was Soule, voting for himself.
However, this was only a caucus, not an official vote.
The councilors will make it official at their first regular meeting in December, after Coward and Smith are sworn in. It was standard protocol for Coward and Smith to vote for the incoming mayor, who will preside during their first year in office.
Blake told fellow councilors that he listens to all and answers to no one.
“I do have a kitchen cabinet,” he said, referring to a comment Boudreau made in last week’s caucus, which at points turned bitter. “It’s a really big cabinet. Inside it are 25,000 people,” Blake said, referring to South Portland’s population.
Blake thanked the councilors for their support and said he will work hard to move the council in a positive direction.
“I try to do the best for everyone,” he said. “As mayor, I will do that.” Below is a video of Boudreau complaining about the South Portlander, and then agreeing to rescind her nomination:
Three Brothers Eatery—offering counter service, a dining area and delivery—is expected to open by the end of the month in the building that JP Thornton’s used to occupy.
Ryan Coulombe, 23, is the first-time business owner who will operate the restaurant, which will offer pizza, haddock sandwiches and subs as well as a menu of traditional family-style meals, like boiled dinners and turkey with all the trimmings.
Coulombe said his goal is to provide delivery of hot, freshly prepared home-cooked meals as well as pizzas and subs.
“When I was growing up, I always looked forward to my family having a home-cooked meal, a good meal on the table,” Coulombe said, adding that Three Brothers will be able to offer meals with “fresh out-of-the-oven taste.” He expects that Three Brothers will deliver to South Portland, downtown Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough.
Coloumbe and Chrysta Lacey, his fiancee, will run the business, located at the corner of Evans Street and Broadway.
Jim MacNaught, who used to own Mac’s Seafood in Auburn, will handle seafood preparation. Louis Giannula will make fresh pizza dough and create the pizzas. Matt Conley, who previously worked at Portland Pie Co., also will handle pizza and food prep.
Time is quickly running out for Maine Mall owner General Growth Properties, which faces $900 million in debt due Nov. 28.
The owner of the South Portland shopping mall is trying to sell off some properties and/or renegotiate its debt.
There is no word on whether GGP has considered selling the South Portland shopping center from its 200-mall portfolio.
General Growth bought the Maine Mall in 2003 for $270 million. A security agreement recorded at the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds in 2005 indicates that “GGP-Maine Mall LLC” had a mortgage in the amount of $230 million from CitiGroup Global Markets.
The document also contained a statement that borrowing by GGP-Maine Mall against the South Portland properties could not exceed $460 million.
Update: Power came back on just after 11 AM. Only parts of South Portland were without power.
Electric power is out this morning in South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Peaks Island, according to Central Maine Power. Power went out in South Portland just after 10 AM. A recording on the CMP hotline made at 10:10 AM said that power was out in the three communities and that crews had been dispatched to restore power. No other information on the outage was available. If you live in one of these communities and have Internet access, please feel free to report on the outage yourself in the Comments section below. We would like to know when your power went out, when it comes back on, and how you coped with this outage during the first cold spell of the season.
South Portland gets a positive mention in a New York Times article for its greenbelt. Not a bad plug for tourism in tough economic times. Titled “Winter Hikes, Skyline Views,” the author looks at some U.S. urban hikes. The recommendation for a day hike in Maine is South Portland’s popular trail. Here’s an excerpt:
“...The South Portland Greenbelt Walkway is one of the most popular and scenic trails in the region.
The 5.7-mile paved walkway was built by the City of South Portland and is accessible from three South Portland bus lines. The trail meanders through several neighborhoods, the Mill Creek shopping district and two city parks to Bug Light, a short white lighthouse on Casco Bay built in 1875.
The Portland skyline looms across Portland Harbor from Bug Light, which is accessible by car and has a parking lot. The view of the skyline and bay, Ms. Cumming says, is magnificent year round. ‘It’s sort of like looking over at Manhattan from Brooklyn,’ she added.”
UPDATE: The pair of turkeys apparently were the real thing, with Channel 6’s Pat Callaghan providing a 
Youngs Furniture, at 130 Western Ave., sold in September for $2.5 million. The buyer is listed as 
Freshman City Councilor Tom Blake is poised to become South Portland’s new mayor, following a 6-1 victory at Monday night’s special caucus.
