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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Biddeford City Council Meeting - March 17, 2026

City Council & Committees — Tuesday, March 17, 2026

BodyBiddeford, Maine

SessionCity Council & Committees

DateTuesday, March 17, 2026

StatusFILED

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Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

1:15

Good evening.

1:17

I will call the March seventeenth, twenty twenty six City Council meeting to order.

1:23

All members are present.

1:25

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Unassigned speaker

1:51

Thank you,

Speaker 1

1:52

Council Elisard.

Speaker 2

1:54

I was a little late on the draw on that one, but it was a request that I made to the mayor to have a flag put on that wall because even though it's been something that I've been doing for thirty years, it struck me at the last meeting

Unassigned speaker

2:08

that

Speaker 2

2:09

we turn our backs to the public and the people that are watching the meeting to do the Pledge of Allegiance, which is really not, you know, uh a very nice thing to be doing.

2:18

So my request was to have a flag in which you know the council can then face the public and face everybody here instead of turning our backs.

2:26

It's just not a it's just not a very polite thing to do.

2:28

So that's the reason why we have it.

2:30

Now everybody will be able to see each other as we have our meetings.

Speaker 1

2:35

Thank you.

2:36

That takes us to adjustments to the agenda of which there is one.

2:39

I'll be adding an executive session for legal matters to the end of our agenda.

2:53

Whereas Eid El Fatur holds pronoun profound significance with the in within the Islamic faith as a celebration commemorating the conclusion of Ramadan, a sacred month observed by Muslims, rooted in charity, fasting and prayer.

3:06

And whereas Muslims in Biddeford and around the world gathered during this time to rejoice in the blessings of the month of Ramadan through shared spirituality and celebration, and whereas the state of Maine is home to 17,000 Muslims who observe Eid El Fatur as a as a time of generosity by visiting family, friends, community members, and offering service, food, gifts, and charity.

Speaker 3

5:01

For Lisa and Mark, this is number 16 that we've done together, even though I was only been here 14 years, but those first years we had a couple of false starts we needed to uh address.

5:13

For some of you familiar faces, I've seen you back again, and uh not much has changed in our budget process over the years.

5:21

I like to keep it uh similar so it's something the community and us can remember and have faith in um what we're putting together.

5:30

So I thank you guys.

5:31

So this year's um let's just start off with last year when we did this meeting, we had some follow-up meetings afterwards, and we weren't exactly in the place we wanted to

Unassigned speaker

5:43

be.

Speaker 3

5:43

Um tides have changed a little bit this year, and we're gonna go through that in the subsidies where we're uh starting in a pretty good place and hopefully have some opportunities to do some things that we may not have had uh an opportunity to do in the in the past.

6:00

Now, schools are much more than just classes and and textbooks and and bus stops, and so I want to just um quickly uh highlight on a couple of bright spots uh throughout our schools that we're experiencing right now.

6:17

Um is we are very close to finishing and the completion of the building project at the primary school.

6:26

We hope to have the doors um the doors will be open in the fall, but uh we sus we anticipate being done with most of the interior stuff in April.

6:37

Uh that will give us our teachers some time to move, uh be thoughtful about that.

6:42

Uh certainly in mud season, I was over there the other day, and we're not going to bring too much in right now because it would be a uh quite a mess.

6:50

But if anyone wants to go over and see that during completion, it's starting to look really, really nice.

6:55

Um at our intermediate school, um, big shout out to our principal um Lindsay Neto.

7:02

Last year when we closed uh JFK, we had to scramble a little bit to figure out exactly where all of our pre-K classes would go for a year so that we could make that reduction in the budget.

7:13

Um having our some of our littles over at the at uh the intermediate school has just been a really good thing.

7:20

Uh we've used some good space.

7:22

Um they're looking forward to their new home, but again, can't give enough of a shout out to her for how making something uh go so smoothly.

7:31

Um a lot of interesting things as happens in our middle schools over the year, but one of those I really want to highlight uh is our middle school was named uh the outstanding best buddies chapter of the year.

7:44

Best Buddies is a program that works with our special education students, uh includes our unified sports, uh, and it shows the inclusion that we have for our kiddos in that population at the middle school where it can be one of the tougher levels for some of those transitions.

8:03

When we look at our high school, um just a couple of things is we had a couple of students who are really recognized uh for some uh prestigious um art awards.

8:17

Um students just supporting families on their own through Thanksgiving baskets.

8:24

Um and then the other piece that I would mention is if you guys haven't had an opportunity to see our winter percussion groups and band.

8:34

Um there's a competition on Sunday at Tiger Gym.

8:38

And we have three teams, about 75 to 80 students participating in winter marching band.

8:46

It's pretty amazing.

8:47

Uh and the show they put on is spectacular.

8:51

Um when we came here 14 years ago, marching band was something that had kind of fallen off.

9:00

Uh and we really, as a school department and school board, wanted to see that back in for our kids.

9:08

And uh couple of really good hires and some de and some vision on what we wanted to be uh and some good community volunteers and it's back in a place, so something that we're really proud of.

9:20

Um our Center of Technology, which has done uh many great things over the last couple of years, uh just recently in year number two completed a uh competed in a hospitality uh contest, culinary and you may have seen it on the news on 207, it was really neat.

9:36

Um we know where we know who we're going after in the future, because it seems like Augusta Capitals winning that every year.

9:44

But to see kiddos uh put together a three-course meal using no running water.

9:49

Um I think they only had propane stoves and an hour to cook it, and if you saw the plate, you were like, okay, I'll take that for lunch any day of the week.

Unassigned speaker

10:00

Um that was just a really impressive job as you see those kids out there really putting the skills that they learned into the classroom and to work, and we'll talk a little bit more about the Vocational Center in a few.

Speaker 3

10:12

And then also, not forgetting about adult education and our literacy program, um family literacy program who received a pretty prestigious grant this

Unassigned speaker

10:21

year.

Speaker 3

10:23

So every year uh I come and I talk to you guys about uh valuation because the school budget is really about two things student counts and property valuation.

10:38

And I think that we've done a really good job understanding that impact here because every time value goes up in the city, it impacts the school subsidy that we receive.

10:52

And so one of the things that's a little bit different this year than other years is that we actually are underneath the state average growth for our three-year average.

11:03

So after the the last several years, we have been significantly above, which has dropped our overall state subsidy.

11:11

This year we were a little more than a percentage point underneath, uh, and then next year, if you look at the three-year average moving ahead, we will be under again, which is a very good thing subsidy-wise for us because when you look at uh the calculation of the mill rate expectation from the state times your city valuation, uh, if you're on the on the bottom side, that's a positive thing for you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Education███████████████████████23%

Parks and Recreation█████████████████17%

Community Engagement██████████████14%

Procedural████████8%

Waste Management███████7%

Fiscal Sustainability█████5%

Engineering And Infrastructure████4%

Public Health Awareness███3%

Immigrant Rights███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Biddeford City Council Meeting - March 17, 2026

Meeting held at 6:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers and via Teams. Mayor LaFountain presided with all councilors present. The agenda included a school budget presentation, appointments, second reading of an EMS ordinance, several orders of the day, public comments, and an executive session.

Consent Calendar

Adjustment to Agenda: Added an executive session for legal matters.
2026.34 Approval/ Mayoral Appointments to a Committee: Kayla Lewis (Ward 3) promoted from associate to regular member of the Planning Board; Richard "Chico" Popman (Ward 6) appointed as associate member. Vote unanimous.
2026.43 Approval/ Council Appointment of Interim Tax Assessor: Karen Fortier appointed as interim tax assessor until a permanent hire. Vote unanimous.
8.a Consideration of Council Minutes from 3-3-26: Approved unanimously.

Proclamation

Mayor LaFountain read a proclamation declaring Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.

Presentation: FY27 School Budget

Superintendent Jeremy Ray presented the FY27 school budget. He highlighted student population growth (2,451 students), 64% economically disadvantaged, 21% special education, 18% English language learners, and rising vocational program enrollment. Ray urged advocacy for LD 2226, a state funding formula change that could bring significant additional state aid by adjusting cost-of-living, ability-to-pay, and economic weighted counts. The proposed budget includes a $3.4 million (6.8%) expenditure increase, driven by salary/benefits ($1.5M), health insurance ($600K), and new positions ($755K) including ELL director, teachers, guidance counselor, and intervention teachers. The projected local tax impact is 3.87%. Councilors asked about ELL hardship funds, capital improvement planning, and potential city-school shared efficiencies. Ray noted the first draft is in a good place and will be refined for the joint meeting on April 1st.

Public Addressing the Council (First Session, 3-minute limit)

Delilah Poupore (Heart of Biddeford Director) reminded the community that Biddeford and Saco's Restaurant Week is this week, encouraging support for local businesses.
Holly Culliton (Ward 6) spoke in favor of a new skate park at the former site at Rotary Park, citing community preference.
One citizen spoke about the school budget, focusing on unfunded mandates for special education and healthcare costs.
Joshua Wolf (Ward 2) reported resident frustration over the removal of flower planters at City Hall, saying the stated reasons felt like a "slap in the face" and appeared to target homelessness and drug issues.
Richard Ames (Ward 3) criticized the lack of a natural resources chapter in the comprehensive plan and broader policy costs.

Second Reading: Emergency Medical Services Ordinance

2026.31 Revised Division 2 EMS Ordinance Sec. 30-26 through Sec. 30-30: A citizen asked if the service generates profit. Fire Chief Best explained that fees partially offset costs but do not cover the full expense of staffing and operations. The ordinance passed unanimously.

Orders of the Day

10.a Approval of MOU with SMPDC to Complete Comp Plan

City Planner David Galbraith confirmed the MOU will help meet the state deadline of June 29, 2026. Citizen Richard Ames (Conservation Commission) expressed disappointment that the natural resources chapter was not presented tonight but will be on April 7th. Councilors voiced strong support for leveraging SMPDC assistance to finalize the plan. Vote unanimous.

10.b Approval - General Assistance Emergency Mutual Aid MOU with Saco

General Assistance Supervisor Jake Hammer reviewed the MOU, which allows Biddeford to administer GA applications for Saco residents during a trial period, with costs billed to Saco. Councilors supported regional cooperation. Mayor asked for an update next month. Vote unanimous.

10.c Approval Amend Household Waste Definition and 2 Bag Overflow Limit

Public Works Director Jeff Demers explained the change aims to reduce overflow bags (which require driver to exit truck multiple times), decrease tipping fees, and improve worker safety. The amendment removes "hazardous waste; commercial or industrial waste" from the definition of unacceptable waste to avoid confusion. Councilor Boston voted against the amendment (8-1) but the amendment passed. The order as amended passed unanimously. Effective after second reading and 30-day waiting period.

10.d Approval of Recreation Grant Projects

Recreation Director Lisa Thompson presented two options for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and Maine Trails Program grants. Option 1: multiple smaller park projects (fencing, repairs, etc.) at existing LWCF sites. Option 2: a skate park at Rotary Park. After discussion, Councilor Pierson moved to adopt Option 1 with the addition of the Clifford Park Trail Management Plan from Option 2 (using Maine Trails Program). Councilors noted Option 1 projects are more shovel-ready and will free up more recreation bond funds for other priorities like the skate park. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Addressing the Council (Second Session, 5-minute limit)

John Collins (Ward 6) read from James Joyce's "The Dead" and reflected on St. Patrick's Day. He challenged the council to resist scapegoating immigrants and to confront threats to democracy at the local level.

City Manager Report

City Manager Truc Dever announced that City Clerk Robin Patterson will leave after April 10th; an interim plan is being developed. Audio/visual technician Steve will retire at month's end. The FY27 budget packets will be available by Thursday before the weekend.

Committee Updates by Council

Councilor Woods: Public Art Commission has a small budget to spend by June for temporary murals (up to five) and is seeking location suggestions.
Councilor Kurtz: Heart of Biddeford is hosting "Food Feud" on March 18th from 5-7 PM at the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology; tickets $15.
Councilor Boston: The Institutional Zone Review Committee has scheduled six meetings through April, staffed by Robbie Fecto and David Galbraith. The Cable TV Committee has been reactivated and will meet next week.

Other Business

Councilor Kurtz praised the Fire Department's D Shift after a recent ride-along, citing their professionalism and dedication.

Council President Addressing the Council

Council President Beaupre expressed satisfaction with progress on the comprehensive plan. He reminded of upcoming committee meetings: Veterans Committee (March 23, 4:30 PM), Policy Committee (March 23, 6:00 PM), and Traffic Committee (rescheduled to March 31, 6:00 PM).

Mayor Addressing the Council

Mayor LaFountain thanked Elaine Danis and Danica Lamontang for the Irish flag raising ceremony. He reported visiting a second-grade class that wanted residents to stop littering and suggested recreation bond priorities: expand Rotary Park disc golf, build a skate park, add more playgrounds and splash pads, and improve accessibility. He congratulated the Biddeford/York/OOB hockey team (Class B state champions) and the Biddeford girls 3rd/4th grade basketball team (New England champions). City Theater's production of "The Secret Garden" is receiving rave reviews. He invited councilors to tour the new York County EMS facility.

Executive Session

Council entered executive session at 8:51 PM under MRS 405 (6) A (Personnel) and added MRS 405 (6) E (Legal Matters). Exited at 9:56 PM. No votes were taken.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 9:56 PM.

Key Outcomes

All consent items, second reading, and orders of the day passed unanimously, except the amendment to the waste ordinance which passed 8-1 (Councilor Boston opposed).
The waste ordinance amendment requires a second reading at the first meeting in April.
Recreation grant projects: Option 1 (multiple park projects) plus Clifford Park Trail Management Plan adopted.
Executive session addressed personnel and legal matters; no decisions announced.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I will call the March seventeenth, twenty twenty six City Council meeting to order. All members are present. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, Council Elisard. I was a little late on the draw on that one, but it was a request that I made to the mayor to have a flag put on that wall because even though it's been something that I've been doing for thirty years, it struck me at the last meeting that we turn our backs to the public and the people that are watching the meeting to do the Pledge of Allegiance, which is really not, you know, uh a very nice thing to be doing. So my request was to have a flag in which you know the council can then face the public and face everybody here instead of turning our backs. It's just not a it's just not a very polite thing to do. So that's the reason why we have it. Now everybody will be able to see each other as we have our meetings. Thank you. That takes us to adjustments to the agenda of which there is one. I'll be adding an executive session for legal matters to the end of our agenda. Whereas Eid El Fatur holds pronoun profound significance with the in within the Islamic faith as a celebration commemorating the conclusion of Ramadan, a sacred month observed by Muslims, rooted in charity, fasting and prayer. And whereas Muslims in Biddeford and around the world gathered during this time to rejoice in the blessings of the month of Ramadan through shared spirituality and celebration, and whereas the state of Maine is home to 17,000 Muslims who observe Eid El Fatur as a as a time of generosity by visiting family, friends, community members, and offering service, food, gifts, and charity. For Lisa and Mark, this is number 16 that we've done together, even though I was only been here 14 years, but those first years we had a couple of false starts we needed to uh address. For some of you familiar faces, I've seen you back again, and uh not much has changed in our budget process over the years. I like to keep it uh similar so it's something the community and us can remember and have faith in um what we're putting together. So I thank you guys. So this year's um let's just start off with last year when we did this meeting, we had some follow-up meetings afterwards, and we weren't exactly in the place we wanted to be. Um tides have changed a little bit this year, and we're gonna go through that in the subsidies where we're uh starting in a pretty good place and hopefully have some opportunities to do some things that we may not have had uh an opportunity to do in the in the past. Now, schools are much more than just classes and and textbooks and and bus stops, and so I want to just um quickly uh highlight on a couple of bright spots uh throughout our schools that we're experiencing right now. Um is we are very close to finishing and the completion of the building project at the primary school. We hope to have the doors um the doors will be open in the fall, but uh we sus we anticipate being done with most of the interior stuff in April. Uh that will give us our teachers some time to move, uh be thoughtful about that. Uh certainly in mud season, I was over there the other day, and we're not going to bring too much in right now because it would be a uh quite a mess. But if anyone wants to go over and see that during completion, it's starting to look really, really nice. Um at our intermediate school, um, big shout out to our principal um Lindsay Neto. Last year when we closed uh JFK, we had to scramble a little bit to figure out exactly where all of our pre-K classes would go for a year so that we could make that reduction in the budget. Um having our some of our littles over at the at uh the intermediate school has just been a really good thing. Uh we've used some good space. Um they're looking forward to their new home, but again, can't give enough of a shout out to her for how making something uh go so smoothly. Um a lot of interesting things as happens in our middle schools over the year, but one of those I really want to highlight uh is our middle school was named uh the outstanding best buddies chapter of the year. Best Buddies is a program that works with our special education students, uh includes our unified sports, uh, and it shows the inclusion that we have for our kiddos in that population at the middle school where it can be one of the tougher levels for some of those transitions. When we look at our high school, um just a couple of things is we had a couple of students who are really recognized uh for some uh prestigious um art awards. Um students just supporting families on their own through Thanksgiving baskets. Um and then the other piece that I would mention is if you guys haven't had an opportunity to see our winter percussion groups and band. Um there's a competition on Sunday at Tiger Gym. And we have three teams, about 75 to 80 students participating in winter marching band. It's pretty amazing. Uh and the show they put on is spectacular. Um when we came here 14 years ago, marching band was something that had kind of fallen off. Uh and we really, as a school department and school board, wanted to see that back in for our kids. And uh couple of really good hires and some de and some vision on what we wanted to be uh and some good community volunteers and it's back in a place, so something that we're really proud of. Um our Center of Technology, which has done uh many great things over the last couple of years, uh just recently in year number two completed a uh competed in a hospitality uh contest, culinary and you may have seen it on the news on 207, it was really neat. Um we know where we know who we're going after in the future, because it seems like Augusta Capitals winning that every year.

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