June 29, 2022

Dear Portlanders,

Today there's some good local news to share. 

"Two South Portland hotels that were expected to stop housing homeless people by the end of June will continue providing emergency shelter indefinitely, officials said Wednesday." To read the full article click here: South Portland hotels will continue housing homeless individuals. This is good, welcome news. There are about 280 individuals accessing emergency shelter at two hotels in South Portland at this time. The South Portland Council will hold a public hearing on the license consideration for the proposed continued use, probably sometime in August. While nothing, it seems, is ever for sure or final (these days?) - this is welcome, good news and is the result of very hard work and commitment by so many, including Portland and South Portland's City Managers, state-level officials, Maine State Housing, the hotel owner/operator, and community partner organizations. 

Ready for another bit of good news? I think we all are....
Today at 11am there was a Press Conference to officially announce the establishment of the "Safe In Maine" Fund, housed and managed by GPCOG (Greater Portland Council of Governments). This will be a capital campaign focused on raising money to support the creation of new and/or repurposed transitional housing, initially for Asylum Seeking Families. This is not the only effort to help people - Asylum Seekers and others - to move from emergency shelter to transitional housing. There's a lot of work being done by many to respond to our state's urgent housing needs: my thanks to private developers, Maine State Housing, the State of Maine, nonprofit organizations, and towns and cities that are partners in the work. But, this fund announced today is an important and active step that adds to the landscape of local, regional and state efforts to address challenges and opportunities. Read last night's article in the Press Herald here: Regional planners raise funds for communities of tiny homes to house asylum seekers. And keep an eye out for more media coverage from today's press conference. And - here's the link to give: https://safeinmaine.giv.sh/

Next - November's Election. On the local front: Nomination Papers for November 2022 Election Available Friday, July 1st. The City Clerk is alerting Portland residents that nomination papers will be available Friday, July 1 for several seats open for the November 8, 2022 Election. The deadline to return papers is no sooner than August 15, 2022 at 9:00 AM and no later than August 29, 2022 at 4:30 PM. The following seats are available:  
City Council Seats 1- At-Large (Three year term), 1- District Three (Three year term)
School Board Seats: 1- District Three (Three year term), 2- Two At-Large (Three year term)
Peaks Island Council: 4 - Four Seats Available (Three year term)
Portland Water District: 1 - One Seat (Five year term)1 - One Seat (One year term). 
Thank you to all people who consider public service. 

Upcoming Council Meetings:
July 11th - Double Meeting - Starts at 4pm - Hybrid
August 8th - Double Meeting - Starts at 4pm - Hybrid
September 1 - 5pm. (This represents a date change for the first September meeting (would have been Wednesday, September 7th) which is due to the need for a Public Hearing on the Council Action(s) to place Charter Commission recommendations on the November ballot. Why? We need to finalize Council actions with enough time to order ballots, and any later than September 1 cuts it too close. 

My next Mayor Zoom will be July 27th at 4:00pm. Thanks to all who joined me yesterday!
Topic: Mayor's Monthly Zoom
Time: Jul 27, 2022 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://portlandmaine-gov.zoom.us/j/88280706477?pwd=lk7sCXMPN5zZM2jXvnKMsRmxCdecAD.1

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

Sincerely,
Kate Snyder
 

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, July 11th at 4:00pm.

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

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