Proposed South Portland public safety bond is just too much | Letter

In support of the South Portland police officers and firefighters, I took a tour recently of the South Portland police and fire stations to look at the conditions requiring their complete replacements: inadequate space, water leaks, basement flooding, outdated systems.

Many people in South Portland live in old housing that can suffer from these same issues. Our modest-sized house was built in 1916, and we have spent years addressing these kinds of issues while raising four children in it and working from home. I think many others in South Portland are in the same situation. Meanwhile, the city is asking residents to financially support an approach most people could never afford or justify: tear down their house and build a new one.

When I considered the state of the police and fire stations, it looked to me like deferred maintenance and correctable issues. At the police station, built in 1967, they should fix the leaky roof, direct water away from the building, add a sump pump in the basement, convert unused jail cells into offices and upgrade the HVAC system.

At the fire station, built in 1955, there are similar issues, but with even more deferred maintenance. It seems like there should be money set aside yearly for maintenance and upgrades to address these issues, rather than letting them fester and grow worse.

I will not be supporting the bond for this work. The city should consider other approaches short of full replacement of both stations.

Dave Falatko
South Portland

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