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08/17/2016 10:00 AMA proposed town ordinance for managing blight could appear on the November ballot as a referendum question, but first, the Board of Finance will weigh the proposed plan for funding enforcement of the ordinance. That meeting was to take place this week (after press time).
On Aug. 10, the Board of Selectmen approved moving discussion of the blight ordinance on to the Board of Finance, which will weigh the funding to hire the enforcement officer to implement its provisions.
Before the selectmen took this action, Ad Hoc Blight Committee Chairman Dennis Hallahan presented a report to the board.
“I tried to use other communities’ blight ordinances as a model. In addition, I tried to make enforcement [of it] similar to zoning enforcement in town. In order for the ordinance to work, we need a person dedicated to making it work,” said Hallahan.
Hallahan asked that $10,400 be allocated to pay for the services of a part-time blight enforcement officer during the first year that the ordinance is in effect. During the first year, he said the officer would likely spend as much as 15 hours a week on enforcement to address existing blight issues. After that first year, he anticipates the number of hours required to enforce the blight ordinance would likely be reduced.
The selectmen have already held two public meetings over the past two years on the issue of blight and its control. After the first, an ad hoc committee was formed to develop a draft ordinance appropriate to Westbrook’s situation. That draft ordinance was then the subject of a second public meeting to take comments on the draft plan. After that public meeting, the selectmen agreed to postpone any action to move the ordinance on to town meeting or referendum until this summer of 2016 when summer residents would be in town.
The selectmen did take action last week to move the ordinance forward. The action was in two parts.
First Selectman Noel Bishop committed to develop a job description for a blight enforcement officer and agreed to send the draft to selectmen John Hall and Mary Labbadia for comment before the Board of Finance meeting of Aug. 17. That draft job description and the funding needed to hire a body to fill the slot were to be discussed at the Aug. 17 meeting.
Second, the Board of Selectmen voted to accept the draft ordinance as presented with the minor changes suggested by Town Attorney Michael Wells.
“I believed this should go to referendum in November for a final vote,” said Bishop.
The Board of Selectmen will discuss the outcome of the Board of Finance meeting and plans for putting the ordinance on the November ballot at the selectmen’s next meeting of Thursday, Aug. 25.