Land Bank Commission — Portland, ME
Date: 2025-11-12
Time: 17:00

City of Portland
 Land Bank Commission Agenda

 The Land Bank Commission is responsible for identifying and protecting open space resources with the
 city of Portland. The Commission seeks to preserve a balance between development and conservation
 of open space important for wildlife, ecological, environmental, scenic or outdoor recreational values.




Commission Members:
Alaina Chormann, Daniel Herzlinger, Jon Kachmar, Joshua Barber, Michael Carey, Michael Scrameyer, Robert
Foster, and Simon Thompson.

City Staff: Ethan Hipple (Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Director), Doug Roncarati (Public Works-
Stormwater Coordinator), Jessica Teesdale (PRF Sr. Executive Assistant)

 November 12, 2025
 5:00 PM
 On the second Wednesday of the month at 5:00 pm, the Portland Land Bank Commission will hold a
 meeting at Parks, Recreation, and Facilities, 212 Canco Rd., Suite A conference room.

 The Land Bank Commission will conduct this meeting in-person. Public comments may only be
 submitted in person or in writing. To submit written public comment on an agenda item, email
landbank@portlandmaine.gov. Submissions must be received by 12:00 pm the day before the Land Bank
 Commission meeting to guarantee their inclusion in the agenda packet. All submissions must include the
 person's name and legal address. To help ensure your comment is submitted for the correct item, please
 include the name of the agenda item (see below).
 To view this meeting please visit the Livestream link:
 https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/7484/media

I. Call to Order
II. Citizen Comment Period
III. Agenda Items
 i. Acceptance of Meeting Minutes: September 10, 2025
 ii. New Business
 a. Secretary's Report

 • Annual Report

 b. Treasurer's Report

 • Allocations

 iii. Old Business
 iv. Communications and Parcel Updates
 a. Projects Review
 • Davis Pines
City of Portland
Land Bank Commission Agenda

The Land Bank Commission is responsible for identifying and protecting open space resources with the
city of Portland. The Commission seeks to preserve a balance between development and conservation
of open space important for wildlife, ecological, environmental, scenic or outdoor recreational values.




 • Hope Ave.
 • Murray Street
 • Redlon
 • Rocky Hill
 • Stroudwater Boat Launch
 • Stroudwater Pedestrian Bridge
 • 0 Gray Rd.
 b. Parks Division Report
 c. Land Bank Commission Report
 v. Commissioner requests for Agenda Items
IV. Adjournment

City of Portland
 Land Bank Commission Agenda

 The Land Bank Commission is responsible for identifying and protecting open space resources with the
 city of Portland. The Commission seeks to preserve a balance between development and conservation
 of open space important for wildlife, ecological, environmental, scenic or outdoor recreational values.




Commission Members:
Alaina Chormann, Daniel Herzlinger, Jon Kachmar, Joshua Barber, Michael Carey, Michael Scrameyer, Robert
Foster, and Simon Thompson.

City Staff: Ethan Hipple (Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Director), Doug Roncarati (Public Works-
Stormwater Coordinator), Jessica Teesdale (PRF Sr. Executive Assistant)

 November 12, 2025
 5:00 PM
 On the second Wednesday of the month at 5:00 pm, the Portland Land Bank Commission will hold a
 meeting at Parks, Recreation, and Facilities, 212 Canco Rd., Suite A conference room.

 The Land Bank Commission will conduct this meeting in-person. Public comments may only be
 submitted in person or in writing. To submit written public comment on an agenda item, email
landbank@portlandmaine.gov. Submissions must be received by 12:00 pm the day before the Land Bank
 Commission meeting to guarantee their inclusion in the agenda packet. All submissions must include the
 person's name and legal address. To help ensure your comment is submitted for the correct item, please
 include the name of the agenda item (see below).
 To view this meeting please visit the Livestream link:
 https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/7484/media

I. Call to Order
II. Citizen Comment Period
III. Agenda Items
 i. Acceptance of Meeting Minutes: September 10, 2025
 ii. New Business
 a. Secretary's Report

 • Annual Report

 b. Treasurer's Report

 • Allocations

 iii. Old Business
 iv. Communications and Parcel Updates
 a. Projects Review
 • Davis Pines


 Page 1
City of Portland
Land Bank Commission Agenda

The Land Bank Commission is responsible for identifying and protecting open space resources with the
city of Portland. The Commission seeks to preserve a balance between development and conservation
of open space important for wildlife, ecological, environmental, scenic or outdoor recreational values.




 • Hope Ave.
 • Murray Street
 • Redlon
 • Rocky Hill
 • Stroudwater Boat Launch
 • Stroudwater Pedestrian Bridge
 • 0 Gray Rd.
 b. Parks Division Report
 c. Land Bank Commission Report
 v. Commissioner requests for Agenda Items
IV. Adjournment




 Page 2
City of Portland | Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management
Ethan Hipple, Director
Alex Marshall, Director of Parks Division




Land Bank Commission September 10, 2025 Meeting Minutes
This meeting was recorded and is available to watch on the Agendas and Meetings Portal here:
https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/7482/media

Present Commission Members: Alaina Chormann, Daniel Herzlinger, Jon Kachmar, Joshua
Barber, Michael Carey, Michael Scrameyer, and
Robert Foster

Not Present:

Staff: Alex Marshall (Parks Division Director), Doug Roncarati (Public Works-
Stormwater Coordinator, Jessica Teesdale (PRF Sr. Executive Assistant), Amber Brooks (Principal
Financial Officer)



Call to Order: J. Kachmar called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm

General Citizen Comment Period- George Rheault East Bayside

Emailed comments-George Rheault, John Bowen, Louise Little, David Cowie

Agenda Items

Acceptance of Meeting Minutes:

August 13, 2025-Motion to accept meeting minutes: The motion was made by D. Herzlinger and
 seconded by M. Carey. Motion passed 6 yes votes, 1 abstention

New Business

Secretary's Report- D. Herzlinger reports that he has been in contact with the previous secretary,
 and he will provide an update on the Annual Report at the next meeting.

Treasurer's Report-R. Foster is coordinating with the previous treasurer and will be prepared with
 a financial report at the next meeting.

Old Business

Sumner Court proposal-




 212 Canco Road, Suite A, Portland, Maine 04103 | parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov

 Page 3
Discussion and Motion Regarding the Proposed Sale of Sumner Court Property:

Update on Sumner Court Property Proposal J. Kachmar provided an update on the request to sell
the property at Sumner Court. This included a recap of the recent site visit and a discussion of the
procedural next steps.

Departmental Support- E. Hipple communicated to J. Kachmar that the proposal to sell the
property does not have the support of the department heads from the Parks, Recreation &
Facilities Department, Public Works, and Planning and Urban Development.

Motion to Postpone Indefinitely R. Foster made a motion to postpone indefinitely the decision on
the Sumner Court property. J. Kachmar, A. Marshall, and D. Roncarati provided clarification on the
meaning and implications of an indefinite postponement. The motion was seconded by M. Carey.

Vote- The motion to postpone indefinitely passed with a vote of 7-0. The proposal is postponed
indefinitely, meaning no further action will be taken on this matter by the commission at this
time.

Communications and Updates

Parks Division Report- A. Marshall provided updates and answered commission questions on the
following projects:

 ●​ Preble field ribbon cutting
 ●​ Lincoln Park Fence
 ●​ Stroudwater Bridge bid proposal
 ●​ Maine Conservation Corps to spend 9 days at Riverton Trolley Park
 ●​ Dougherty Field renovation project

Parks Commission Report-R. Foster provided an update on the September 4, 2025, Parks
Commission meeting.

 ●​ Back Cove Music Festival
 ●​ 2027 CIP project selection process

Murray St.-D. Herzlinger provides an update on the letters of interest that were sent to the
property owners. J. Kachmar will work with D. Herzlinger on what the next steps need to be
taken.

Land Bank Community Outreach and PR- M. Carey opens the discussion about how the
commission can better communicate the need to balance the need for conservation land while
also promoting development on land that is appropriate to do so. Collaborate with Planning and
Urban Development more towards the common cause.

Redlon- M. Carey reported that the owner of the Barry parcels has not responded to the letter of
inquiry. The allocations list should be reviewed and could be a topic for a future agenda.




 212 Canco Road, Suite A, Portland, Maine 04103 | parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov



 Page 4
Commissioner Requests for Agenda Items

 ●​ Allocations list review
 ●​ Project list review
 ●​ Low Impact Development ordinance
 ●​ Davis Farm Rd.

Adjournment




 212 Canco Road, Suite A, Portland, Maine 04103 | parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov



 Page 5
​

​ CITY OF PORTLAND​ CITY OF PORTLAND
​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department
​ Ethan Hipple, Director​ Alex Marshall, Parks Director


 Memorandum
TO: Parks Commission and Land Bank Commission
FROM: Alex Marshall, Parks Director, Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department
SUBJECT: Parks Division Update
DATE: August/September/October 2025

Parks Division Staffing
 ●​ Total Budgeted positions in Parks Division: 43
 ●​ Vacancies:
 ○​ Arborist
 ○​ Parks Maintainer
 ○​ Contracted Project Manager

Citywide Unhoused Report
At this time, there are 33 encampments citywide, which is 12 fewer than this time in 2024 and 243 fewer
than that of 2023. Of the 33 active tent sites, 3 of them are located on City property. Overall, in 2025,
City Staff (primarily Rangers) have tagged and removed 632 tents citywide. Park Rangers continue to tag
and remove between 5 and 20 tents from City land each week and conduct a thorough clean-up
afterward with the help of other Parks staff or contractors. There continues to be a steady capacity
available at the Homeless Services Center.

Annual Ft Gorges Maintenance
On September 18th staff from the Parks Division took a trip out to Ft. Gorges with the help of Rippleffect
and their beach landing vessel. Overgrown vegetation and invasives were removed to allow for easier
accessibility and viewing from various locations throughout the park. The Friends of Ft. Gorges also
joined us to help with the project.

Riverton Trolley Park & Maine Outdoor Film Festival
Also on September 18th was an afternoon and evening event at the transforming Riverton Trolley Park
through a collaboration with the Parks Conservancy. There was a tutorial on mountain bike riding with
The Greater Portland New England Mountain Biking Association, a park history walk with former City
Arborist Jeff Tarling and a short film showing in the ballfield with the Maine Outdoor Film Festival. It was
a wonderful way to activate and shine a spotlight on this beautiful space.

Resurfaced Riverton Courts
The Riverton Courts are now open with 6 new surfaced and dedicated Pickleball courts and 1 multiuse
tennis court. The soft opening was highlighted on September 19th when we invited members of the
daily Deering Oaks pickleball group over to play in Riverton and show the Parks Director how it is really
done.

 212 Canco Road, Suite A • Portland, Maine 04103
 Page 6 • www.portlandmaine.gov
 parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov
​

​ CITY OF PORTLAND​ CITY OF PORTLAND
​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department
​ Ethan Hipple, Director​ Alex Marshall, Parks Director



Preble Field & Fitness Course Open
The long awaited Preble Field and Fitness Course are now open after a ribbon cutting ceremony on
September 5th. Members of the community, city staff, the project team and the mayor all joined in the
celebration of how impactful this new stormwater infrastructure will be for the city and how beautiful
this reconstructed recreation facility is. The underground tanks hold 3.5 Million gallons of combined
sewer/stormwater during each storm which is important as it will all be treated by the water treatment
plant as capacity allows instead of being discharged into the ocean due to that limited treatment
capacity. The playing field will be programmed for use in the Spring of 2026 while the fitness course is
open for fun and exercise.

Forestry Fall Planting & Co-Op Program
The Forestry Team planted a total of 166 trees this Spring and Fall as part of their annual tree planting
program. The focus in 2025 was in the low tree equity score neighborhoods and surrounding areas such
as continued efforts in Bayside. Additionally, of these 166 trees, there were 35 co-op trees planted across
the city. The 166 trees were watered with the previous 300 trees planted in 2024.

Annual Meadow Mowing
Each season the parks team identifies and promotes ‘no mow’ or ‘low mow’ areas within the parks.
These areas are typically established in underutilized spaces that would be better served to promote
pollinator habitat and activity. In order to keep these meadows flush with natives and desired
vegetation, we need to mow them annually so that woody plants and invasives do not overrun them.
This schedule starts around the end of September and runs through October/November as there is an
incredible amount of ground to cover before snowfall. Some locations see a mowing in the late Spring
after insects have left the space.

Annual Tulip Planting
The City Horticulture Team has removed all annual flower displays, prepped those beds for tulips and
planted the Spring tulip display for 2026. With upwards of 10,000 tulips in the ground this year we are
eagerly awaiting the beauty they bring each Spring. Some of these spaces include Fessenden Park,
Deering Oaks and the Western Prom. The Horticulture Team also partnered with the Yellow Tulip Project
to have a new Hope Garden prepped and planted with 1,000 yellow tulips at the Deering Avenue
entrance to Deering Oaks.

Monument Square Game Equipment
We hope folks were able to stop by Monument Square over the month of October to utilize some of the
new game equipment that was placed out there. A Ping Pong Table, a Bean Bag Toss set, giant Connect
Four, and a Foosball Table were the highlights of this activation. The items have been stored away for the
Winter so look for them to re-appear in the Spring of 2026.

 212 Canco Road, Suite A • Portland, Maine 04103
 Page 7 • www.portlandmaine.gov
 parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov
​

​ CITY OF PORTLAND​ CITY OF PORTLAND
​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department
​ Ethan Hipple, Director​ Alex Marshall, Parks Director



Maine Mural Festival
A local muralist who goes by the name The Color Wizard, initiated the first year of the Maine Mural
Festival which took place down in Bayside along the Bayside Trail. This festival brought in 25 professional
graffiti artists from all over New England to showcase some of their work on the exterior building walls
along the Bayside Trail between Cove and Diamond Streets. The artwork spans 20,000 sq/ft of primed
walls and is truly impressive to see.

Lincoln Park Fence Celebration
On November 3rd, City Staff and the Friends of Lincoln Park hosted a celebration of the completion of
50% of the Lincoln Park Fence restoration. Special guests included the contracted Conservator, the
Mayor, The District Councilor and others. It was a beautiful day to shine a light on this accomplishment.
A huge Thank You goes out to the Friends Group who carried the financial weight of the Pearl Street
section by raising over $100,000 of the $180,000 project.

Trott Littlejohn Fitness Station Installed on Peaks Island​
The Friends of Trott Littlejohn Park and city Playgrounds Staff worked to install a new fitness station near
the Peaks Island Community Garden. It was a great partnership that resulted in a wonderful new piece of
exercise equipment for folks to use out on the island.



Park Projects and Department Updates
Staff are working on the following Park Improvement projects:
 ●​ Deering Oaks Park ADA Walkway improvements: Phase 3, providing ADA access to the wading
 ravine, was completed in the Summer of 2023. Phase 4, which is the sidewalk along Tennis Court
 Drive, is going out to bid later this Summer for a potential Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 construction.
 ●​ Riverton Preserve: Recreation improvement plans are in progress and will consist primarily of a
 trail network with other improvements. This project is intended to fulfill LWCF conversion
 requirements, and final approval of the improvement plan rests with the state and National Park
 Service, which has a public engagement process.
 ●​ Lower Western Prom Park Improvements: This project has been bid out and did not receive a bid
 within the allocated budget, so it will be revised and re-advertised in the coming months.
 ●​ Longfellow Elementary School Playground: Playground Equipment has been selected. The project
 went out to bid in the Spring of 2025 only to receive one bid substantially over the budget for
 the project. Portland School Staff and Park Project Managers are working through the next steps
 to keep this project going.
 ●​ Portland Harbor Common: Ground breaking will be happening in November
 ●​ Stroudwater Bridge: Bids have been received and the contract is being finalized.
 ●​ Public Restrooms: So far, the city has installed 15 new public restrooms citywide over the past 3

 212 Canco Road, Suite A • Portland, Maine 04103
 Page 8 • www.portlandmaine.gov
 parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov
​

​ CITY OF PORTLAND​ CITY OF PORTLAND
​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department​ Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department
​ Ethan Hipple, Director​ Alex Marshall, Parks Director


 years. Recent modifications were done to the units at The Eastern Promenade, Commercial
 St/Fish Pier, and Fox Field to include a vault for increased storage capacity. 4 more public
 restrooms are on the way with one at Lower Western Promenade, 1 at the Spring and High
 street parking lot, and 2 at the Eastern Promenade near the existing bathhouse.




 212 Canco Road, Suite A • Portland, Maine 04103
 Page 9 • www.portlandmaine.gov
 parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov

City of Portland | Parks, Recreation and Facilities Management
Ethan Hipple, Director
Alex Marshall, Director of Parks




Commission Members:
Present: Daniel Herzlinger, Jon Kachmar, Michael Carey, Michael Scrameyer, and Simon
Thompson.
Not Present: Alaina Chormann, Joshua Barber, Robert Foster.
City Staff: Alex Marshall (Parks Director), Doug Roncarati (Public Works-
Stormwater Coordinator, Jessica Teesdale (PRF Sr. Executive Assistant), Amber Brooks (PFO)

Commission November 12, 2025 Meeting Minutes
This meeting was recorded and is available to watch on the Agendas and Meetings Portal here:
https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/7484/media

Note: The Meeting needed to be paused for technical difficulty at timestamp 15:23. The Meeting
resumed at timestamp 17:02.




I. Call to Order- J. Kachmar called the meeting to order at 5:04 pm

II. Citizen Comment Period- None

III. Agenda Items

i. Acceptance of Meeting Minutes: September 10, 2025-Motion to accept the minutes made by
 M.Carey and seconded by M. Scrameyer. Passed 4-0 with one abstaining

ii. New Business

Secretary's Report

• Annual Report-D. Herzlinger has created a draft of the 2025 annual report. Request for
 commission comments by December 5th. Aiming for the final draft at the December 10th
 meeting.

b. Treasurer's Report- R. Foster not present but submitted meeting updates via email, which were
 read to the commission.

• Allocations-Reviewed the last year of allocations and flagged the following that have not been
 expensed.

 ●​ Hope Ave-expired after 30 days of MOU



 212 Canco Road, Suite A, Portland, Maine 04103 | parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov
 ●​ Barry Parcels (Redlon) -commission vote needed to unallocate

Motion to remove allocation for Barry Parcels (Redlon)- M. Carey makes the motion to remove
the allocation for Barry Parcels. Seconded by D. Herzlinger. Passed 5-0

iii. Old Business-none

iv. Communications and Parcel Updates

a. Projects Review

• Davis Pines- J.Kachmar made contact with the realtor who is selling the property. The owner is
 interested in disposing of the undeveloped parcel. Hesitant because the full property is for
 sale. He is conservation-oriented but carving off 9 acres. The owner asked the Land Bank
 to wait. He will consider moving the parcel off before the sale happens as part of the
 transaction. They do not have an interest in the property for development purposes.

• Hope Ave.-M. Scrameyer provides an update about the results from the auction that was held to
 sell the property. The Trust for Public Land will keep the Land Bank updated on this
 process.

• Murray Street- D. Herzlinger provides an update on the letters of interest that were mailed to the
 parcel owners. One parcel owner responded who is interested in selling.

• Redlon- Barry parcels have been removed from allocations.

• Rocky Hill-J. Kachmar has made multiple attempts to connect with the landowner without
 success. Will try to connect through JB Brown.

• Stroudwater Boat Launch- A. Marshall provides an update. The Assistant Parks Director is
 investigating permits and plans for the project. S. Thompson will take over this parcel
 assignment. The allocation is over the bid limit, so this project will need to go through the
 bid process

• Stroudwater Pedestrian Bridge- A. Marshall provides an update. Under contract and being
 reviewed by the legal department. Permits have been requested. The project will start
 within a month and should wrap up by the end of June.

• 0 Grey Rd-no update

a. Parks Division Report-A. Marshall provides an update.

 ●​ Encampment numbers are down from last year
 ●​ CIP review and vote



b. Parks Commission Report-R. Foster provides an update via email

 ●​ Back Cove Music Festival discussion
 ●​ 2027 Capital improvement projects



 212 Canco Road, Suite A, Portland, Maine 04103 | parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov
v. Commissioner requests for Agenda Items

 ●​ Developer talking points
 ●​ Somerset Street Bayside Midtown planning update
 ●​ Tax benefits to Land Bank donations
 ●​ Conservation/project presentations



IV. Adjournment-5:




 212 Canco Road, Suite A, Portland, Maine 04103 | parkscommission@portlandmaine.gov