By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
Dog owners nearly lost the right to walk their pets along Willard Beach in South Portland, instead they now will have to visit the shoreline between 6 and 9 p.m., until a task force formed by the South Portland City Council comes up with a final solution.
The council announced members of the task force on Monday night during its meeting: Elizabeth Ross, a community leader; Dr. Douglas Howell, a gastroentologist at Maine Medical Center and Willard Beach property owner; Bob Johnson, the owner of Scratch Bakery and Magic Hat Brewery in Vermont; Gary Crosby, a South Portland resident; Rita Nappi, a member of the energy and recycling committee and Devon Gray, a Willard Beach property owner, will join councilors James Hughes and Claude Morgan on the task force. Assistant City Manager Erik Carson will be the city’s staff assistant to the task force.
“I’m looking forward to all of these folks being very objective fact finders,” Morgan said.
The council narrowly approved the suggestion made by Councilor Maxine Beecher to amend the current ordinance to allow dogs on Willard Beach 6 to 9 p.m. from July 8, to Sept. 30. City Clerk Susan Mooney said although the item made it onto the official agenda, her office had not received proper notice of the motion and the council agreed to add it to the docket with a 4 to 3 vote and approved it with another 4 to 3 vote with councilors Tom Blake, Morgan and James Soule in the minority.
Morgan, who also voted against adding the item to the agenda, said the motion had changed that very morning, and it “seemed like it was slipping in the back door with the lights off.”
“You insult me,” Beecher responded.
Hughes, who said he received input from an overwhelming number of people who were opposed to allowing dogs on the beach, took Beecher’s suggestion a step further and proposed eliminating all dog access to the beach from July to September this year.
“We’ve gone from the ridiculous to the absurd,” resident Tom Ayers said during public comment.
South Portland resident Jeff Inglas said he received all emails sent to the councilors on the issue via the Freedom of Information Act, and Beecher had received none in favor of banning dogs from the beach, and Hughes had received “a few.”
“The emails do not support what you have proposed and what you said you have received,” he said.
Hughes’ motion to eliminate dog access to Willard Beach failed in a 3 to 4 vote with Hughes, Beecher and Councilor Linda Boudreau in the minority.
“I want us to start working together, and the sooner the better,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the task force could begin to meet as soon as next week, and although their meetings will be accessible to the public, he did not expect public input would be allowed during the meetings.
CIP budget approved
The council also unanimously approved the allocation of nearly $1.5 million for the city’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) as proposed by City Manager Jim Gailey. In addition to $245,000 for environmental protection – including a new utility truck and trailer for  Water Resource protection – $135,000 for public safety – including a new fire department service truck – and $888,000 for public works and transportation – including adding several crosswalks to the Mill Creek area and funds for a street paving program – the CIP also includes $80,000 for renovations to municipal buildings to make them more energy efficient.
“I think we’re all looking to that in our own home,” Boudreau said.
At a council workshop last week, Gailey had originally asked to increase the CIP by $65,000 for energy efficency projects, but increased the amount in reaction to an “overwhelming amount of support” shown by the council, he said.
Service monument
The council approved the construction of a monument honoring all U.S. servicemen and women in the corner of Mill Creek Park abutting the property that is now home to the Maine Memorial Museum.
“Instead of it being stuck on a side street somewhere, we want to show our respect for those who have served,” Service Monument Committee Chairman Kevin Battle said.
Boudreau abstained from the vote, saying she “was in a very unusual situation” as she had taken part in a separate discussion on the issue during her involvement with the Friends of Mill Creek Park organization.