At the regular September meeting on Sept. 3, the Town Council voted to reconsider the referendum question approved in August that included relocating tennis courts from Gorham High School to Robie Park. They were able to amend the original motion for a bond request for capital improvements to school properties and new tennis courts at Gorham Middle School (GMS) by voting (5-2, Phillips, Gagnon) to approve two separate referendum questions to go before voters in November.
The first question is for two projects they agreed upon in August, $9.3 million for improvements to GHS and $460,575 for HVAC replacement at Narragansett Elementary School. The second referendum question will ask voter approval for $2.4 million to build the tennis courts at GMS.
In proposing that the action taken in August be reconsidered, Councilor Virginia Wilder-Cross said that she had spoken to voters concerned about put-ting tennis courts in Robie Park in opposition to the Robie Park Master Plan and concluded the council had made a mistake. Other councilors also expressed regret over the earlier vote. Councilor Seven Seigel said, “We all make mistakes.” Councilor Lou Simms thanked the public for expressing their concerns over the council’s decision.
Councilor Phillip Gagnon, who had proposed locating the tennis courts to Robie Park, voted against reconsidering the August decision. He opposed the GMS location because it was the proposed site for a new elementary school to be built in the future with state funds. Superintendent Heather Perry said that according to a study by CHA, a firm that surveyed locations of town and school buildings, there would be room for both tennis courts and an elementary school on the GMS site. However, the state would determine the location for the school built with state funds. Perry explained that the cost savings for building five courts instead of the six would be about $165,000.
The $2.4 million referendum proposal includes funds for lighting six courts. Tim Spears, GHS athletic director and Norm Justice, district facilities director, explained the difference between five and six courts, and agreed that lights would increase use, particularly by the public. Perry explained that a state approved project would require a year-long study “to determine where best to place a site.”
Chair Suzanne Phillips joined Gagnon in voting against the two bond referendums, as she did on the referendum question in August, citing then that she did not agree on the amount. The total requested in the two new referendum proposals is the same amount requested in the one passed in August: $12,035,825.
There will be a public hearing on these referendum questions in October.