Good evening.

I will call the

line.

Call the City Council meeting, special council meeting for Monday, June 29th, 2026 to order.

All council members are present.

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Adjustments to the agenda, there is one.

We do have our new interim city manager Cornell Knight, who I'd like to provide a few words of introduction, and we want to welcome him as well to the City of Bidiford and thank him for serving the city.

Thank you, Mayor.

I am Cornell Knight.

I'm on my fifth day here at the office, uh enjoying it very much.

Uh a little bit about myself.

Uh I grew up in Cape Elizabeth, University of Maine, degree in public management.

I managed uh six communities over 40 some years, all in Maine, and um retired uh at the beginning of twenty-two.

And uh got a little antsy after five months and talked to Don and uh Gerish, who's uh be speaking to you later tonight, uh about doing interim work.

So uh I'm now on my this will be my seventh uh interim job.

I enjoy working part-time, some of the time, uh just not full time.

Um I do find uh municipal management, municipal government uh interesting and uh rewarding.

And uh after five days, Biddeford is definitely an interesting uh interesting place.

Uh but I am enjoying it.

I mean a lot of staff getting brought up to issues on a number of items and uh so enjoying my

time.

Thanks.

Thank

you, Cornell.

And we look forward to working with you, and thank you for serving us.

And with that, I will read a proclamation for the 250th anniversary of our country's independence.

Whereas on July fourth, seventeen seventy-six, the thirteen colonies declared their independence as the United States of America and affirmed the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that have guided our nation for two hundred and fifty years, and whereas the years since have been a steady effort to live up to the founding promise marked by a growth of our nation, the end of slavery, the widening of the vote, and the work of each generation to bring our country closer to its ideals.

And whereas in 2026, the United States marks its semi-quincentennial, the 250th anniversary of its independence, an occasion to remember our full history, to recognize those who built and defended this country, and to learn from the full record of our past.

And whereas from the earliest days, Biddeford has been part of that history, its families and workers among the generations of Americans whose labor and devotion have shaped the life of this nation.

And whereas throughout this anniversary year, the Bediford Cultural and Heritage Center, the Bedder Historical Society, the Biddeford Mills Museum, Biddeford Schools, and the many organizations and residents who promote our history are offering programming that honors the semi-quincentennial and keeps our shared history alive for the years to come.

And whereas this anniversary is a fitting occasion for the people of Biddeford to join their fellow Americans in gratitude for the freedoms we share and in pride for all that the United States has accomplished in its first 250 years.

Therefore, be it resolved that I, Liam LaFountain, Mayor of the City of Biddiford, do hereby recognize 2026 as the year of the 250th anniversary of American independence and invite the people of Bidiford to reflect on the principles of our founding, to honor those who built and defended this country, and to celebrate the enduring promise of the United States of America.

And be it further resolved that I extend the city's gratitude to the Biddeford Cultural and Heritage Center, the Bidiver Historical Society, the Biddeford Mills Museum, Biddeford Schools, and all who work to keep our history alive and teach it to the next generation.

Thank you, and also want to wish everyone a happy Fourth of July coming up this weekend.

That will bring us to our public addressing the council.

This is a three-minute limit per speaker for a total of up to 15 minutes during this session.

This is for items not on tonight's agenda.

So if you would like to speak, please come up to the podium and state your name and your ward.

Seeing none, we will move on to the second readings.

We have a series of second readings beginning with approval of chapters of the Biddeford Comprehensive Plan.

Sorry.

Move by Council President Beaupre, second by Councillor Dowdy.

Out to the public for any comments on the Biddeford Comprehensive Plan chapter approvals.

Hi,

I'm Lauren McCready Ward 2.

Just want to I already spoke last time that this was uh part of the first council reading a couple weeks ago.

And just want to once again reiterate what the purpose of what we're doing right now.

Um, as you all know, this will be sent back to the state, I think tomorrow uh for review, and what we're looking for is consistency with Maine's Growth Management Act.

And the thing that was flagged for most of you were here last time was uh especially the area around the Thatcher Brook watershed as being identified as a growth area, and that was removed from a growth area.

And what I without like just repeating what I said last time, what I really want to emphasize is this has been a public process, even though it's been kind of scattered for many years, but just this single uh state review of it, this started back last August.

And so last August, the state sought comments from the public about what they had concerns with in the comprehensive plan that was sent to them.

And so I worked with many other residents to address a lot of the things that you are talking about now.

So a big concern was the coastal forest area.

We all are aware of that now.

But in addition, again, me and many other residents flagged Thatcher Brook as an issue.

And so what happened is the state reviewed those comments, the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, they gave tons of comments, and so it was reviewed by their experts, and IFNW focused primarily on coastal forests, DEP focused primarily on Thatcher Brook.

And DEP's main concern was that nowhere in our previous comprehensive plan was Thatcher Brook identified as urban impaired.

There was no mention of it.

And so our new water resources chapter does flag that very clearly.