February 2, 2022

Dear Portlanders,

Our next City Council Meeting is on Monday, February 7th at 5pm. Some items of interest on the agenda include:

• Repeal or Extension of the Local Mask Requirement. As required in the recently adopted (1/3/22) ordinance, the Council must act to either Repeal or Extend. (I have submitted an amendment that ties the review to the First Council Meeting of each month, rather than a 30 day requirement that may not align well with Council meeting dates. Why? Well, there would be less than 30 days between 2/7 and 3/7, for example - and I believe first meeting monthly review is appropriately predictable and understandable.)
• First Read: Hazard Pay Amendment. D2 Councilor Pelletier is sponsoring a Hazard Pay amendment to the City of Portland's Minimum Wage Ordinance. This is separate from the adopted Hazard Pay provision that is tied to the existence of a State of Emergency which was approved by voters in 2020. This new/proposed amendment would trigger a local 1.5x Hazard Pay provision when Portland's Masking Requirement Ordinance is in effect. There will be a First Read on Monday, 2/7, a Council Workshop on 2/14, and the Council will act on this proposal on Monday, 2/28. Preliminary Coverage in today's PPH
• Possible Ban on the Sale of Flavored Tobacco. This has been 'on the radar' for some time now - it was considered in the HHS Committee and recommended for approval. There is a Workshop this evening (2/2) and the Council action will take place Monday. If approved, Portland would join Bangor which took action to ban the sale of flavored tobacco several months ago. 

My next Monthly Zoom will be Tuesday, February 15th at 4:00 PM.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84486609178?pwd=dmhXNWJad2FscUJVYWxkRlBxMnRFdz09

As you have likely read about, the City of Portland is currently providing emergency shelter for about 1,200 people each night. Significantly, about half of the population needing shelter are Asylum Seeking families. Please see a staff update to the Council:
Staff Memo from Jan 19th re: Sheltering for Asylum Seekers
Additional information provided through press coverage from January 24th:
Portland officials ask for help as number of asylum seekers continues to grow
Communications about the challenges and opportunities are ongoing with many constituencies. The Council's Legislative Committee meets jointly with Portland's delegation to Augusta (next joint meeting is 8am on 2/8). The City Manager and I have been meeting regularly since October with Governor Mills' staff. We have met with staff from Maine's Federal Delegation. City of Portland HHS Staff meets regularly with community organizations and partners. We will present information and status to the Metro Region Coalition next week. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation with considerable challenges and opportunities.

Housing in Portland
The creation of more affordable housing - both rental and home ownership is a top priority of the Council. This is an issue on the minds of so many Portlanders. And while there's a lot of new, approved housing in the pipeline and showing up on the skyline!, it will be important for us all to monitor housing applications in the City of Portland, and to seek to understand the various drivers that impact new developments being contemplated. There are so many factors that inform the 'environment' for building. Covid-19 has clearly changed the landscape regarding supply prices and availability, as well as the workforce available to move projects along. Here's some recent coverage on the issues to consider, one from MaineBiz: Residential construction permits in Portland down 82% since Green New Deal , and another from the Press Herald: Is Portland’s Green New Deal killing new development?

Portland's Bicycle Infrastructure:
How should the City prioritize bike investments? Where should existing bikeway infrastructure be improved? New bikeways added?
Over the course of the first half of 2022, the City of Portland is gathering public input on potential bikeway improvements - where and what types of new infrastructure or investment in existing infrastructure is needed. This input will inform choices about bikeway investments for the 2022 construction season and beyond. Please offer your input!
Better Bikeways interactive map and survey

The City Clerk’s Office is alerting Portland residents that nomination papers will be available on Monday, February 7 for the June 14, 2022 Special Municipal Election. Papers can be taken out in the City Clerk's Office at City Hall. Please use the Myrtle Street entrance. Masks are required. The deadline to return signatures and papers is no sooner than March 21 at 9:00 AM and no later than April 4 at 4:30 PM. 
The following seats are available:   
School Board District Five -       2-year term     -         1 seat
School Board At-Large      -      6-month term   -        2 seat
For more information, please call the Clerk's office at 207-874-8677 or email [email protected]. 

Thank you for reading, engaging, and being in touch. 

Sincerely,

Kate Merchant Snyder
 

Please see below for general information regarding access to City Updates, and City Council work:

City Council Meetings: 
The Portland City Council meets the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. In the case of a Monday holiday, we typically meet the next Wednesday. In the case of school vacation weeks, we typically push the meeting by a week. Agendas and Info, go here.

The next City Council meeting is Monday, February 7th at 5pm.

Council Workshops: Please Check in here to see all upcoming meetings.

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If you’re generally curious about City updates and news - please click here to subscribe to the ‘City News’ group. You can also go to that page to click on the latest weekly update - and look back through the news, too. The weekly compile has everything from Council decisions to construction updates to news about things happening around town. It’s a fantastic, concise, easy to read resource.