Saco City Council Meeting - August 25, 2025
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Saco City Council Meeting - August 25, 2025
The Saco City Council met on Monday, August 25, 2025, at 6:30 PM in the City Hall Auditorium. The meeting included public comments, approval of the August 11, 2025 minutes (passed 6-0 with one abstention), and action items on a special council meeting, annual report filing extension, lease purchase of six vehicles, budget amendment for a beach management plan, a public hearing on technical design standards, and acceptance of a temporary construction easement. New business included an update to the administrative code. The city administrator provided an update on bids, road closures, and upcoming meetings. The council also entered executive session at 7:38 PM and exited at 8:42 PM. The meeting adjourned at 8:42 PM.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Melissa (no last name given): Expressed concerns about the grievance committee's recommendations, stating that the court in the Lincoln Village Project case affirmed the planning board's decision by considering public testimony alongside expert evidence. She urged that language be added to the recommendations clarifying that both expert guidance and public testimony are critical.
- Kevin Roach (18 Vines Road, speaking on behalf of SOS Saco Bay): Expressed full support for a beach management plan, noting the urgency after recent erosion events. He highlighted past efforts (2015-16 leash law discussions, 2018 Coastal Commission) and emphasized that the city has tribal knowledge to build on. He also thanked City Administrator John Mahanko for his leadership in advancing coastal resilience projects.
- David Plabbin (36 Lower Beach Road, Chairman of the City of Saco Shoreline Commission, Vice President of Saco Bay): Thanked the city administrator for progress on the Army Corps project, the county dredge program, and support for a beach management plan. He stressed the need for a comprehensive plan following weekend erosion.
Action Items (Discussion and Votes)
- Special Council Meeting (September 9, 2025, at 5 PM) – Councilor Gunn moved to add a special meeting for city administrator candidate interviews. Motion passed 7-0.
- Annual Report Filing Extension (45 days) – Councilor Gunn moved to extend the deadline due to delays in receiving FY 2024 post-audit report excerpts from the auditing firm. Councilor Johnston voiced strong frustration, noting the audit is now over a year late and calling it unacceptable. He cited that of the firm's 24 municipal clients, 11 are still waiting for FY 2024 audits, while other firms deliver timely reports. He urged the council to consider an RFP for a new auditor. The motion passed 7-0.
- Lease Purchase of Six Municipal Vehicles (Not to Exceed $465,000) – Councilor Hatch moved approval, noting the approved capital budget was $488,276, resulting in a potential $23,276 savings. Motion passed 7-0.
- Budget Amendment for Beach Management Plan (First Reading, $46,000 from Unassigned Fund Balance) – Councilor Berman moved approval, citing the need for a comprehensive plan after recent storms and erosion. The total plan cost is estimated at $141,000, with a grant application planned. Councilor Johnston expressed support for the plan but objected to using unassigned fund balance without the FY 2024 audit, suggesting alternative funds. Councilor Berman argued the expenditure falls within the allowed range. Motion passed 7-0. Final reading scheduled for September 8, 2025.
- Public Hearing: Technical Design and Construction Standards Manual (TDCSM) Update – Councilor Hatch opened the hearing at 7:06 PM; no public comment. Closed at 7:07 PM. Second/final reading scheduled for September 8, 2025. Motion passed 7-0.
- Acceptance of Temporary Construction Easement for Saco School Project – Councilor Gunn moved to authorize the city administrator to accept easements. Motion passed 7-0.
New Business
- Administrative Code Update – City Administrator John Mahanko and Deputy City Administrator presented a revised draft, citing it had not been updated since approximately 1995. The update streamlines language and reflects current operations. Councilors are to submit comments by September 5, 2025. Councilor Johnston praised the effort, noting it was long overdue.
Administrative Update
- John Mahanko reported on an RFP for a 2026 Chevy Tahoe for the Fire Department (bids due September 10, 2025), Boom Road culvert replacement (closed August 18 to September 30 for local traffic only), a joint BPAC/Traffic Safety Committee meeting (August 27), open city positions, and the Labor Day closure (September 1). He also thanked the council for their support during his tenure, highlighting progress on coastal resiliency and city-school maintenance collaboration.
Council Discussion & Comment
- Councilor Gunn commented on a public commentary about the grievance committee process, noting the need to balance staff advice with planning board discretion. He expressed support for the upcoming council discussion.
- Councilor Edwards reminded residents of school starting Wednesday, urging drivers to be cautious.
- Councilor Johnston raised concerns about aggressive door-to-door solicitors, particularly those who entered his property and approached his back door. He noted that the city code requires permits and suggested updating Chapter 156.
Executive Session
- The council voted 7-0 to enter executive session at 7:38 PM and exited at 8:42 PM with no report.
Key Outcomes
- All action items passed unanimously (7-0), including the lease purchase of vehicles, the budget amendment for the beach management plan (first reading), and the extension for the annual report.
- The council scheduled final readings for September 8, 2025, on the TDCSM update and the beach management plan budget amendment.
- The special council meeting for interviews will be held on September 9, 2025 at 5 PM.
- City Administrator John Mahanko received widespread gratitude from councilors for his leadership, especially on coastal issues and organizational culture. He will remain as a consultant in September during the search for his successor.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Socca City Council meeting for Monday, August 25th, 2025, at 630 p.m. I would like to make note of all counselors present this evening, with the inclusion of our city administrator, Mr. Mahanko. Would you please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance? Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Moving on to item four, there is no general this evening. Item number five is committee correspondence to the council. Are there any counselors wishing to speak? Okay, not seeing anyone seeking recognition. Moving on to item six, that is public comment. If there are any members of the public wishing to speak, please step forward to this podium, state your name and address for the record, and you will have three minutes to address counsel. And I wanted to offer some comments on the grievance committee recommendations, standard operating procedures. It's a good discussion. But the court didn't see it that way. On page eight in the last paragraph of the court ruling, the court conceded that the developer of the Lincoln Village Project probably had better quantity and quality of evidence. Despite that, the developer did not persuade the board. The public did. The court affirmed the planning board's decision. The grievance committee recommendations seem to indicate that only if and when the expert evidence falls short, is the board able to consider the public hearing testimony. Perhaps more specific language needs to be added to the Grievance Committee recommendations, explaining that at the very outset, guidance from experts and the persuasive voice of the people are both critical to fully informing a reasonable mind. The court seemed to put experts in the public on equal footing, despite the imbalance of technical evidence favoring the experts versus those who just understood the local conditions, which would be the residents. Thank you. Thank you, Melissa. Anyone else wishing to speak this evening? Hello, Kevin Roach, 18 Vines Road. Here to speak first on behalf of SOS Sacco Bay. Of all weekends, I was away, and uh I guess some fun things happened this weekend. So I want to thank uh the city uh for their attentiveness down there. Um haven't even checked it out yet, but um but uh all the more reason why before you tonight is to um pass the first um step in a beach um management plan. Uh I want to just go over just a quick history on that. Um I'm all for um the consultant help here and to develop and I know there's gonna be concerns about cost. And I I think we get to this step first, but but when you think about costs, we have a lot of tribal knowledge and also history with beach management plans. I I promised that I was gonna look up um I couldn't find the full detail, but there was a couple of stages that we'd certainly had discussed and also passed something which was in 2015 or 16, what led to the say the the leash law on dogs, that that that was discussed uh at length while we were trying to get the Army Corps to come on to the beach, and then the second phase of when we dredge the Sacco River. If you check the minutes of the Coastal Commission back in 2018, you know, that was discussed as well. It's like, well, we got sand coming on, but we need to have a beach management plan. So we've had kind of too many go-arounds of this, and I just don't think it has to be too elaborate and use some of the some of the knowledge, the documents, tribal knowledge that we had to get to that point. And I I think and also too, you I've said this before, you have 46 million dollars coming into this community. And our cost share, our official cost share is zero. I know there's labor and time and all that, but but I do think that to manage what is going to come to us here the long term, this is a beach management plan for all our beaches, and it's worthy of that attention. Um then the final thing uh I'll say is um uh SOS president, as school board member and as a citizen. Um sad to see uh John um O'Hankler leaving. Uh he has done yeoman's work uh for the city, for us. Um I've had good relationships with the prior city administrators and and um but I just want to say how how helpful he has been to get us to almost the finish lines of this, and uh we're gonna miss some, and I appreciate his professional and uh personal demeanor and friendship with us. Thank you. Thank you, Kevin. I'm David Plabbin. I live at 36 Lower Beach Road in SACO. I'm also the chairman of the City of Sacco Shoreline Commission and the Vice President of Sabar Shore, Sacco Bay.
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