Open Space Acquisition Committee

Open Space Acquisition Committee - Jun 11 2026 Agenda Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 4:30 PM Municipal Services Facility Conference Room 929 Highland Ave, South Portland, ME Page A. Opening Procedure 1. Call to Order 2. Attendance/Roll Call 3. Approval of minutes from April 9, 2026, meeting 2 Open Space Acquisition Committee Meeting Minutes - April 9, 2026.pdf B. Administrative 1. Public Comment C. Meeting Items 1. Property Update Director Coughlin will provide an update on the New York Ave parcels and discuss any properties/parcels that have been recently listed for sale 2. Discuss Property Outreach Strategies 3. Review Property List D. Reports and Updates 1. South Portland Land Trust 2. Conservation Commission 3. City Staff E. Closing Procedures 1. Future agenda items 2. Date of next schedule meeting F. ADJOURNMENT Page 1 of 3  Open Space Acquisition Committee Meeting - April 9, 2026 Municipal Services Facility Conference Room, 929 Highland Ave. Members Present: Adrienne Jalbert, Michael Michaelson, Valerie Beggs, Tiffanie Bentley, Jonathan Breul, Matthew Civello, Tex Hauser, Rachel Coleman (ex oficio), Karl Coughlin (ex oficio) Staff Present: Kevin Anderson Members Absent: Peter Wilson Meeting Called to Order - 4:35 pm. Approve February Meeting Minutes - Jonathan Breul moved to approve the minutes from the February meeting. Tiffanie Bentley seconded. The vote was unanimous. Public Comment - No members of the public were present for public comment. New Vice Chair - Tex Hauser cannot serve as an officer of the committee because he is not a councilor appointment member. Michael Michaelson nominated Matthew Civello as the new committee vice chair. Jonathan Breul seconded Matthew’s nomination. The vote was unanimous. OSAC Website Feedback Requested - The committee discussed the OSAC website created by Jenna Martin-Fischer and provided the following feedback: ●​ Add Josh Reny’s contact information. ●​ Reorder the sections in the following order: Legacy, Community, Environment, Financial ●​ Add a map to show the location of the properties purchased. ●​ Add a “History of OSAC” section that includes info about the bond (amount, that it can only be used to purchase open space). ●​ Under “Success Stories”, change it to read, “We’ve had [x number] of successes. These are a few examples…” ●​ Add images from the properties. ●​ Link from the OSAC page directly. Meeting Frequency - The committee discussed decreasing the number of meetings to every two months or quarterly in order to ensure there is a full agenda at each meeting. Tiffanie Bentley moved to decrease the frequency of OSAC meetings to every two months. Valerie Beggs seconded. Vote was unanimous. Earth Day Resource Fair - The fair will take place at Mill Creek Park (rain location Community Center) from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm on April 25, 2026.Adrienne Jalbert will staff a table representing OSAC to publicize the work of the committee. Valerie Beggs will join her from 12:00 - 2:00 pm. Page 2 of 3 Land Bank Fund Cash Balance - The fund currently has $2,147,406.26 available. Karl Coughlin will work on a public friendly version of this statement to post on the website. New York Avenue Property - The committee expressed interest in having city staff investigate the possibility of purchasing this property. South Portland Land Trust Update - Tex Hauser ●​ SPLT will have a table at the Earth Day Fair. Participants will check in at the table and proceed to different locations for spring clean up activities. ●​ The Spring Appeal is underway. ●​ The newsletter is out. ●​ Work is progressing on the grant to fund improvements on the Long Creek Trail. Work may be delayed because an archaeological survey needs to be completed first. Conservation Commission Update - Adrienne Jalbert (on behalf of Peter Wilson) ●​ The Conservation Commission will have a table at the Earth Day Fair where they will hand out information about fireflies. ●​ They have received requests to the freshwater compensation fund to pay for water quality testing at Barbery Creek (an impaired stream) ●​ They are planning beach cleanups. ●​ Karl Coughlin will be contacting Adrienne Jalbert with an update regarding the Willard Beach Master Plan. ●​ There are currently two vacancies on the Conservation Commission - 1 At Large and 1 in District Four. City Staff Update - Kevin Anderson and Karl Coughlin ●​ Ralph from Home Construction and Finance, Inc. approached city staff regarding two parcels known as part of “Old Joe’s Pond,” and they may be available for sale. The committee members expressed interest in investigating this possibility as “Old Joe’s Pond” ranked highly in the committee scoring. ●​ A small gravel parking lot will be added at the Pilgrim Road entrance to the Petrolik Conservation Area. ●​ City staff are working on a grant to seek funds to add trails and boardwalks in the Petrolik Conservation Area and to fund improvements here and on trails in other city parks. Meeting Adjourned - Tex Hauser moved to adjourn the meeting. Valerie Beggs seconded. Vote was unanimous and meeting adjourned at 5:40 pm. NEXT MEETING - June 11, 2026, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm, Municipal Services Building Conference Room, 929 Highland Avenue Page 3 of 3