By Ed Pierce
Windham Town Councilors have endorsed a measure to apply for a grant from the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System’s (PACTS) Municipal Partnership Initiative (MPI) to create a sidewalk that will run along Gray Road (Route 202) from Swett Road to the main entrance to RSU 14 in Windham.
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| The Windham Town Council has endorsed applying for a grant to create a sidewalk along Gray Road from Swett Road to the Community Park and continue from Conifer Road to the school campus entrance across from Tate Road. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
During a Town Council meeting on July 9, Assistant Windham Town Manager Bob Burns said the town is in the process of designing this new sidewalk which will run for a total distance of more than 4,300 feet. The proposed sidewalk will be 5 feet wide and have granite curbing.
Burns said the sidewalk will be on the east side of Route 202 from Swett Road to the Community Park and then cross over to the west side opposite Conifer Drive and continue on that side to the school campus entrance across from Tate Road.
The application submitted to PACTS under their MPI program includes an estimated cost of $2,4 million with the construction year scheduled for Fiscal Year 2026-2027, he said.
“This gives us a chance to compete with neighboring communities for a $400,000 grant for this project,” Burns said.
Councilors voted unanimously to endorse filing for the grant.
Burns also asked the council to endorse a proposal from Windham Public Works Director Jon Earle to apply to the Maine Department of Transportation for a grant under the Municipal Stream Crossing Program, which offers funding for the upgrade of municipal culverts at stream crossings, with the goal of creating infrastructure that is resilient to future climate conditions and that provides community, economic, and environmental benefits.
If successful, the grant would be used at the Falmouth Road crossing of McIntosh Brook which currently consists of twin 36-inch diameter corrugated metal culverts.
According to Burns, on at least two occasions over the past year Falmouth Road has flooded when intense rainfall events exceeded the culvert capacity and flooded Falmouth Road causing erosion of the road banks and undermining the edge of the road. He said the current culverts are perched about 16 inches above the pool level on the downstream side under normal flow conditions. This condition prevents prevents migration of fish and other fauna between the upstream Little Duck Pond side of the brook and the downstream Highland Lake side.
He said the existing culvert needs to be replaced by a larger culvert structure that is designed to meet Maine DOT Q100 peak flow standards for capacity.
The Municipal Stream Crossing Program grant can provide up to $200,000 per crossing under this program and requires a minimum of $5,000 of local match.
“The preliminary estimated cost for designing and installing a new culvert crossing is $832,000,” Burns said. “We are asking to be granted the full $200,000 in grant funds so our match funds would need to be $632,000.”
Town Councilor David Nadeau said the culvert replacement is necessary and he supports applying for a grant to help fund the project.
“This area floods all the time,” Nadeau said.
Councilors voted unanimously once again to support applying for a The Municipal Stream Crossing Program grant.
The council also voted unanimously to award a contract to Khiel Excavation in the amount of $747,260 for the construction of a multi-use trail at the East Windham Conservation Area, and to authorize the town manager to execute a contract and to take any other necessary action related to the project.
There were two companies that submitted bids for the project and the other company’s bid was $798,000. Burns said that the difference in the two bids appeared to be in funding for tree clearing and he said Khiel Excavation also has a tree clearing business so that may have resulted in their lower bid. About $500,000 has been obtained already through a grant for this multi-use trail creation project.
Burns also briefed the council about a trash collection issue.
“In a review of the Curbside Collection contracts dating back to the inception of municipal curbside collection of trash and recyclables in Windham, it appears that multi-family dwellings of four units or less have been serviced,” he said. “Over time we have learned that the current contractor has collected at some multi-family dwellings of more than four units.”
He said in a review of the town’s Solid Waste Ordinance, it was discovered that “commercial solid waste” is defined as “Acceptable waste generated by a commercial or industrial use or activity located within the town, and acceptable waste generated by occupants of structures within the town which contain more than two dwelling units and which are occupied by more than two household units. Except as provided above, commercial solid waste shall not include household or special wastes.”
In addition, Burns said that in Section 192-9 Curbside Collection from Dwellings, that the “town shall collect acceptable waste and recyclable materials from dwellings in the town as provided in this chapter. The town shall not collect commercial or industrial solid waste and recyclable materials.”
“We have tasked our Town Attorney with recommending amendments to the Solid Waste Ordinance that will correct the discrepancy and continue to allow town trash and recyclable collection at multi-family dwellings with four units or less,” Burns said. “We believe this will disrupt fewer customers and continue with our past practices. We will advise all multi-family dwellings with more than four units in Windham by mail and by advertisement that they must contract on their own with a licensed waste hauler for which we will provide contact information for trash and or recycling services.”
The bottom line is apartment complexes with five or more units in Windham will have to negotiate with a private trash contractor to remove trash. It does not apply to condominiums, Burns said. <
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