Windham to wait to apply for some bond funding

By Ed Pierce

Windham voters approved a $6.9 million bond for various projects during the Annual Town Meeting in June, but upon the recommendation of the town’s bonding agent, the town will wait before seeking some of that funding.

The town of Windham will wait to apply for bonding for some
upcoming projects authorized by town voters in June including
creating a new sidewalk from Boody's Corner to Shaw's
Supermarket and the acquisition of land for planned 
connector roads in North Windham.
PHOTO BY KEITH MANK    

During a discussion at the Windham Town Council meeting on Nov. 10, Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts briefed town councilors about the bond application status of eight different projects.

Tibbetts said from a financial standpoint, it would save money by waiting to apply for bonding for some of the projects by avoiding paying bond interest and associated fees in the coming year.

According to Tibbetts, the bonding agent thinks bond interest rates could fall in the months ahead and not paying additional interest and processing fees to bond issuers in 2023 on projects not scheduled to start until 2024 would result in significant savings for the town.

“Financially that’s a really smart move for us to get to where we want to be,” Tibbetts said.

He said that if councilors agree, the town will proceed as originally planned to obtain bond funding for four projects in January for work to begin in 2023 that includes improvements to the Collonwood Drive and Running Brook Drive intersection; adding Merrill Preserve to the East Windham Conservation land; adding open space land abutting the conservation project property at the old Phinney Lumber property; and obtaining trash and recycling carts for town residents.

The total bonding of these four projects for 2023 is $2.95 million, Tibbetts said.

The Collonwood Drive/Running Brook Drive project bond amount is $50,000 with the Merill Preserve/East Windham Conservation project bond amount of $1.8 million.

The Phinney Lumber open space bond amount is $500,000. The town will also seek a $600,000 bond for the purchase of trash receptacles as part of a new trash collection system and contract with Waste Management expected to begin next fall.

Bonding for four other projects authorized by town voters in June will wait to be applied for until a more favorable time, Tibbetts said.

Those projects include a $775,000 bond for River Road/Route 302 intersection/sidewalk in 2024 or 2025; a $275,000 bond for creation of a sidewalk from Blue Seal Feed on Gray Road to Depot Street in South Windham in 2024 or 2025; a $200,000 bond to create a sidewalk from Boody’s Corner to the Shaw’s supermarket along Router 302; and a $2.5 million bond for land acquisition in North Windham for the purpose of creating new connector roads in 2025 to alleviate traffic congestion on Route 302.

“In doing analysis, we determined that the $2.5 million bond for the connector roads can wait 12 to 18 months to save on interest we would have to pay,” Tibbetts said. “Combine the sidewalks with the connector road projects the amount of that bonding would be $3.75 million and we can wait on that to save money.”

Windham Town Council Chair Mark Morrison said the issue of delaying the application process for the sidewalks and connector roads has been discussed by members of the council’s finance committee and they agree with Tibbetts and the bonding agent.

“It makes perfect sense to wait and see,” Morrison said.

Windham will formally seek bonding for the Collonwood Drive/ Running Brook Drive, conservation acquisitions and new garbage and recycling receptacles on Jan. 17, 2024.

The East Windham Conservation Project would acquire the forested acreage for recreational opportunities in Windham while also adding 1,545 feet of undeveloped water frontage on Little Duck Pond, the 150-acre Deer Wintering Area for hunting, and the 580-foot Atherton Hill, the tallest hill in Windham. In June, the Lands for Maine’s Future organization awarded the East Windham Conservation project $998,000 to help fund the initiative.

The project will directly abut more than 1,000 acres of other conserved land in Windham and Falmouth, including Lowell Preserve, North Falmouth Community Forest, and Blackstrap Hill Preserve, providing 20 miles of interconnected trails and five trailheads for public access and amounting to one of the largest unfragmented forests in the Greater Portland region.

During the 2022 Annual Town Meeting, Windham voters approved a bond to match the LMF award with open space impact fees so there will be no impact upon the mil rate for local homeowners. <