KITTERY, Maine — Voters have four choices for three Town Council seats in the 2024 election.

Incumbents Judy Spiller, Colin McGuire and Cyrus Clark are joined on the ballot by William Peirce, a Kittery Housing Committee member and local landlord who has run for Town Council in the past.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=12RaqE_0wPXCZPy00 — Four candidates are running for three spots on the Kittery Town Council in the town's Nov. 5, 2024 election. Clockwise, from top left, they are incumbent council member Cyrus Clark, incumbent council vice chairperson Colin McGuire, past council candidate and local landlord William Peirce, and incumbent council chairperson Judy Spiller.

The town’s election for the School Committee will be an uncontested race, as only incumbent members Annie Cicero, the group’s existing vice chairperson, and fellow member Nikolas Franks filed for candidacy.

All elected positions in Kittery carry three-year terms. The municipal, state and presidential election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kittery Community Center.

Seacoastonline asked the four candidates for Town Council for their views on key Kittery issues, including the preservation of working waterfront properties, preparing for future coastal storms, a lack of housing inventory and more. Here are their responses:

Cyrus Clark

Education: Associates degree from Great Bay Community College

Occupation: Maine state dispensary owner

Political or civic experience highlights: Two-term member of the Kittery Town Council

What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?

To find a solution to the economic impact caused by budgetary shortfalls of the Federal Impact Aid received for hosting of military families in the school district.
Working with the Traffic Ad-Hoc Committee to create a walk and bike-friendly Foreside while raising commercial visibility through art installations.
Finishing the Teen Hub at the KCC with the Youth Ad-Hoc Committee.

What is the biggest problem Kittery is facing and how you would solve it?

One of Kittery’s biggest challenges is the traffic impact from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Pilot programs produced by the Joint Land Use Study working with ride shares have shown potential benefits. Following through will be essential to ensure change.

Kittery was one of several local communities hit by coastal storms last winter. What should the town be doing to properly prepare for worsening storms and preventing damage to public infrastructure and private and state properties in Kittery?

Kittery is actively preparing for sea rise through the hard work of Judy Spiller and Cameron Wake with the Kittery Climate Plan Task Force.

What will the town’s biggest needs be in the next budget cycle and why?

Kittery’s greatest budgetary need is to find a solution to the economic impact caused by budgetary shortfalls of the Federal Impact Aid received for hosting of military families in the school district.

How can town officials work to increase civic engagement in Kittery, specifically in attracting more residents to volunteer for town boards and run for the Town Council and School Committee?

Civic engagement can be best increased through community events which can foster a sense of ownership and accountability.

Should the town try to preserve working waterfront areas in Kittery? If so, how should the town go about this? What waterfront areas in town need to be preserved?

Working waterfront preservation such as (Warren's Lobster House) can hopefully be achieved with federal grants and private business partnerships.

How can the town work to help address a lack of rental and single-family home inventory in Kittery, in addition to the high costs of housing in town? What solutions should the town focus on to address the housing crisis?

Kittery housing has been increasing with large projects such as the Seacoast Residences and smaller single family home like the Love Lane development. The Council also helped architect the Affordable Housing code to increase affordability.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s economic impact grows each year and the yard is continuing to hire workers. How can the town address traffic and parking issues in town as more and more workers are hired?

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard traffic is one of Kittery’s greatest challenges. As previously mentioned pilot programs produced by the Joint Land Use Study working with ride shares have shown potential benefits. Following through will be essential to ensure change.

Colin McGuire

Education: University of Kansas, University of Nebraska. Various IT and InfoSec certifications.

Occupation: Small business owner and network engineer/IT guy

Political or civic experience highlights: Elected vice chairperson of the Town Council (by my fellow councilors) for the past two years. Member of Kittery’s Block Party Committee for the past two years.

What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?:

1.) Retaining and attracting high quality town personnel.

2.) Climate adaptation.

3.) Housing affordability.

What is the biggest problem Kittery is facing and how you would solve it?

Retaining and attracting high quality personnel for the town. Kittery town personnel are our most valuable asset. Having professional and dedicated police, fire, public works, and administrative staff is the key to the town running smoothly and cost effectively. Kittery has historically, and continues to, run a lean municipal operation – which means that the quality and professional satisfaction of our people has more of an impact than it might in larger municipal organizations. It’s an extremely competitive market, and the Town Council needs to continue to empower the town manager, police and fire chiefs, and the other department heads to recruit and retain the team that we need. If re-elected, I’ll continue to support and prioritize the recruitment and retention of our town personnel.

Kittery is ahead of the curve compared to a lot of communities in terms of the amount of planning and analysis that has been done. We have an excellent and comprehensive climate action plan that prioritizes resiliency and hardening key town infrastructure to survive the growing threats. We have a great group of people on the Climate Adaptation Committee (recently renamed the Climate Action Committee) and I suspect that they will find that the timelines for planned mitigation measures will need to be accelerated. The town will need to continue to leverage federal and state funds wherever possible, including FEMA funds when high impact storms occur. Lastly, we’ll need to continue partnering with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard around our shared climate adaptation priorities.

What will the town’s biggest needs be in the next budget cycle and why?

I’ve been the town council representative on the Capital Improvement Committee for the past three years, so I’ve had a lot of visibility into the increased prices that the town is having to contend with. This is most noticeable in the cost of road and storm water projects, and the heavy equipment the town purchases and maintains. The town has a long and solid history of planning and budgeting our paving projects years in advance, but cost increases are making that most challenging for us each year. Continuing to prioritize capital projects is key to avoiding unnecessary expenses in future years. Additionally, we must prioritize paying competitive wages to our town employees to retain and attract the talented individuals that the town needs to operate efficiently.

How can town officials work to increase civic engagement in Kittery, specifically in attracting more residents to volunteer for town boards and run for the Town Council and School Committee?

I’ve been really pleased with what I’ve seen during the past 3 years. The addition of Zoom as a way to attend meetings and public hearings has greatly enhanced who is able to attend. I firmly believe that more participation and hearing a greater diversity of opinion/ideas is key to an effective town government. The increased resources devoted to communications has noticeably enhanced the amount of information going out to residents, and in the places that they prefer to get their information. That said, it’s a constant battle to keep people engaged, and I know all of us on the council would like to see more folks weighing in earlier in the process, and not just when issues are coming up for a vote.

Should the town try to preserve working waterfront areas in Kittery? If so, how should the town go about this? What waterfront areas in town need to be preserved?

Absolutely, and this has been a priority for both the council and the town manager. The council has updated the town ordinances to enhance the protection and prioritization of working waterfront, which is extremely important. The Warren’s site has obviously been in the news a lot recently. What a lot of folks don't know is that the town manager and her team have been actively working behind the scenes for multiple years to try to find funding to preserve the Warren’s site as working waterfront. Unfortunately, the current federal and state funding channels aren’t geared towards purchasing property. That said, we’ve empowered and directed the manager to pursue any and all paths that might be available to preserve working waterfront at the Warren’s site. We certainly hope that a solution can be found, including support for private/public partnerships.

Kittery has an excellent and very active Housing Committee, which is constantly working to develop innovative ways to tackle this very challenging issue. Housing availability and affordability is both a regional and national problem, and there are a lot of market forces pushing costs upward. In my time on the council, I’ve voted to increase affordable housing requirements in our zoning and to update our short term rental rules based on feedback from residents. The (accessory dwelling unit) grant pilot program has been a positive one and has been successful in creating new affordable units in Kittery that wouldn’t have existed otherwise. I expect we’ll need to continue to update our ordinances based on the recommendations of the housing committee on an ongoing basis to keep up with changing conditions.

As the vice chair of the council, I’ve been part of the team representing Kittery in meetings with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The shipyard is an important employer, and an important part of Kittery’s history. Kittery’s ongoing partnership with the shipyard is key to working through our shared traffic and parking challenges. The Town Council and town manager will need to continue to collaborate with and continue pushing to develop additional transportation and parking options to reduce the impact on Kittery residents and businesses.

William Peirce

Education: Master's degree in professional writing

Occupation: Landlord

Political or civic experience highlights: Chairman of one of Kittery's political parties for 10 years, passed Kittery's 2009 Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law, originated Maine's Binding Mandatory Arbitration law, Conservation Commission, Chairman of Kittery Board of Assessment Review, Kittery Sewer Assessment Appeals Board and J1 support group.

What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?

1) Stop 5% tax hikes. Solution: Expand our tax base, spend tax money with care, consolidate some services with Marshwood.

2) Conserve our beautiful open spaces and wild lands. Solution: thoughtful zoning.

3) Housing: Allow development of multifamily housing.

What is the biggest problem Kittery is facing and how you would solve it?

Kittery should not be giving out a $50,000 low-income housing grants to a dead person. Or her unqualified, seemingly wealthy real estate trust. I have spent about a year trying to get someone in our town government to re-examine a housing grant that appears to have been obtained by fraud. They don't care to. That's the biggest problem facing Kittery. They don't care. It's "OPM (Other People's Money)."

Editor's note: According to Town Manager Kendra Amaral, the spouse of an accessory dwelling unit grant applicant in town died after the applicant received a grant and had already built the accessory dwelling unit on their property.

Portsmouth is expanding storm water system capacity. We should do the same.

What will the town’s biggest needs be in the next budget cycle and why?

The school budget is always our town's biggest single expense. The town council should participate in the school budget making process. We don't need to be spending money on a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) committee until we have more diversity.

Our police officers are amongst the lowest paid in York County and they have to work mandatory overtime, which is tough on their families. We need to hire more officers so we don't have to pay expensive overtime.

How can town officials work to increase civic engagement in Kittery, specifically in attracting more residents to volunteer for town boards and run for the Town Council and School Committee?

To keep citizens on town boards, the Council should respect their suggestions.

I would be happy to help people who are thinking about running for office. That was my job as a political party chairman.

Should the town try to preserve working waterfront areas in Kittery? If so, how should the town go about this? What waterfront areas in town need to be preserved?

The loss of working waterfront is a problem throughout Maine. We should make sure that the Warren's lot doesn't end up as a gated, private waterfront condo project. Kittery has many knowledgeable people who know how to make a waterfront work for everybody. Let's form an ad hoc committee to get suggestions on suitable uses; maybe a commercial pier, a boat launch ramp, a recreational park space or a combination of uses.

Kittery is resistant to housing development. Surrounding towns are much more accommodating. Kittery has a Housing Committee. (I'm on it) We don't need it. It's very expensive and counterproductive. We should do what Portsmouth and Dover do: Have our expert town planners develop housing policy. We pay them. Let's use them.

Taxes are part of the high housing cost equation.

Kittery has a Traffic and Parking (Ad Hoc) Committee that will submit a report to the Town Council. Our planners are the most knowledgeable people about this complex subject and I'm inclined to support what they suggest. They are professionals. We pay for their advice. Let's take it.

Kittery should allow new housing so the shipyard workers don't have to commute from Sanford. During World War II, the shipyard employed far more people and many of them walked to work.

Judy Spiller

Education: Ph.D., Earth and space science, Stony Brook University Ph.D. (marine science and ecology)

Occupation: 34-year employee University of New Hampshire, retiring as associate provost

Political or civic experience highlights: 18 years on the Kittery Town Council, including eight years as chairperson (Climate Action Committee, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee, Land Issues Committee; Rice Library Advisory Committee. Previously, Shapleigh School Reuse Committee, Community Center Building Committee, Rice Library Working Group, Dogs Working Group. 6 years York River Study Committee, 3 years as chair, and with designation, Stewardship Committee, 2 years as chair and currently, vice-chair. Team Leader, York Beach, Southern Maine Beach Profiling Program. Volunteer: Footprints, Gather, Kittery Land Trust Nooney Farm Giving Garden.

What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?

1.) Continue work on implementation of town climate action plan with emphasis on responding to extreme weather events, developing a resilient power gird, and strengthening emergency response services.

2.) Support strategies to create more affordable housing in Kittery, including exploring regional initiatives.

3.) Bring an updated Comprehensive Plan, addressing issues of growth and natural area protection, to the voters in November.

What is the biggest problem Kittery is facing and how you would solve it?

Town councilors do not solve big problems individually. They need to work collaboratively for the community, perhaps the most important trait of an effective town councilor.

We face a critical housing shortage because of high cost and short supply. In 2018, Council formed a housing committee to address affordability and availability. We subsequently amended the land use code to increase housing density in areas with sewer, water, and access to shopping amenities. We required that any development of three or more units to include a per centage of affordable housing or an equivalent value payment into a Town affordable housing fund. We expanded options for accessory dwelling units (ADU) so that residents could earn income from their property while offering relatively low rents. The ADU amendments prohibited use as short term rentals. We also licensed short term rentals, restricting the number of non-owner-occupied units.

We continue to support Fair Tide housing initiatives, developing low-income housing. One example: Next to Legion Pond, the Town is working with Fair Tide to create low-income housing on a foreclosed property.

I have supported and played an active role in the development of all the above. We need to build on regional efforts to address this issue.

In January, we had a sobering encounter with the future as we experienced 14-foot seas, flooding Seapoint Road, Gate 2, Pepperrell Cove, and other areas of Town. Storm water flooding filled basements. The Fort Foster pier was lifted off its pins. Storms of this magnitude will only increase as the seas warm.

Since 2019, the Council’s Climate Action Committee (KCAC), formerly Climate Adaptation Committee, and of which I am vice-chair, has been addressing the impacts of rising seas and increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather on Kittery. We have identified flood prone areas and through the Town Manager successfully sought funding to address the feasibility of raising portions of Seapoint Road and the area outside Gate 2 (of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard). This June, Council approved KCAC’s Climate Action Plan with 29 strategies and associated action steps, ranging from salt marsh migration to microgrids.

What will the town’s biggest needs be in the next budget cycle and why?

A constant driver in budget preparation is providing the services residents require while minimizing property tax increases. We are a land rich, income poor community. We run on property taxes. Each year about sixty per cent of our budget goes to support our schools. (We receive state aid for schools because our property valuations are so high.) The rest goes to cover payments for taxpayer approved bonds; the county; and municipal services. Periodically, we do ask residents what services to do without; the answer, they want more services.

Last year, we saw increases as inflation caught up with us and with the necessary addition of full-time firefighters. An aging population and the changing nature and location of work had shrunk our on-call force to point it could no longer provide adequate service; hence, the addition of full-time fire firefighters. To continue, would have placed homes at risk and increased insurance rates. Similar increases are not expected next year, but building budgets comes with no certainties.

An important note: We have encouraged our talented town manager to recruit the strongest staff possible. We have a small but highly dedicated town staff. High staff turnover comes with a very high cost; much greater than that of fair compensation.

How can town officials work to increase civic engagement in Kittery, specifically in attracting more residents to volunteer for town boards and run for the Town Council and School Committee?

Kittery has a high level of civic engagement. We regularly have new people seeking appointments to our boards and committees and volunteering with our local service organizations. Residents juggle family, work, and other obligations. Willingness to give spare time to Town service reflects our residents’ exceptional commitment to our town. As for the Town Council and School Committee, some years we have only a few people running; other years more. The number seems correlated more with happiness or unhappiness with the Council or School Committee.

Should the town try to preserve working waterfront areas in Kittery? If so, how should the town go about this? What waterfront areas in town need to be preserved?

To the extent that it can, of course. Kittery has always been a maritime community. The Town owned portion is limited to the Town Pier, Pepperrell Cove, and the Shapleigh put-in. Privately-owned working waterfront has become highly desirable residential property. This year, we updated the working waterfront ordinance, attempting to slow the transition. It clarified functionally water dependent uses, restricting them to those associated with a working waterfront and put limits on their change in use. Further, we added a definition of aquaculture.

We all have looked with dismay at the potential sale on the Warren's property. There is a powerful opportunity for the town to enter a public-private partnership on that land: Working waterfront, that includes our traditional fishery and new fisheries coming from warner waters but also a regional research and development aquaculture hub. Council has, through our energetic town manager, intensively lobbied our congressional delegation and sought support from the state and other maritime-related groups. We do have their support. The money is apparently there but not currently available. We will continue to push this issue, but success is uncertain.

See above. (it's the) biggest problem Kittery is facing.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery plays a central role in our maritime history, culture, and local economy. But we need to get the traffic out of core area and reduce workers speeding on our roads. We need satellite parking outside of Kittery with a transit system into the Shipyard. This effort with federal funds could be the foundation for a much-needed regional public transportation.

Kittery has taken the first step with remote parking behind the malls along I-95. The shipyard has funded bus transportation to the Yard. Employees get off the bus, walk through security and get to their work sites far faster than the 30-to-60-minute waits for one driver vehicles. Expansion would greatly reduce back-ups in the Foreside and at Gate 2.

Those of us who experience early morning shipyard drivers going 40 to 50 mph in 25 (mph) zones also need relief. Conventional policing has little lasting impact. Town Council’s newly formed Traffic and Parking (Ad Hoc) Committee has traffic calming high on their agenda. Perhaps that will help.

Housing shortages/cost that has resulted in workers living far from the shipyard will not be solved in Kittery alone. It is a regional issue of great urgency.

Sample ballots: kitteryme.gov/town-clerk/pages/voting-elections

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kittery Town Council election: Read candidates views before you vote