‘We’re using a butter knife, when we should be using a chainsaw,’ says Biddeford City Councilor Marc Lessard

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

As the Biddeford City Council continues slogging through its review and recommendations for next year’s municipal budget, one particular issue has clearly become a contentious hot-button topic.

Councilors seem extremely split on how to best fund programs and services related to the city’s unhoused population.

On both Tuesday and Thursday evenings this week, councilors carefully reviewed information presented by Jake Hammer, the city’s unhoused service coordinator and director of the city’s General Assistance Department.

Opinions split sharply among councilors on whether to allocate $480,000 to the Seeds of Hope, a Biddeford-based non-profit organization that provides resources to the community’s “unhoused neighbors.”

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The challenges and complexities surrounding unhoused populations is not limited to Biddeford. Many other communities in Maine and across the nation are grappling with how best to address a complex issue that seems to be growing.

While some members of the council say they are comfortable with the Seeds of Hope’s $480,000 annual price tag, other councilors — including at-large representatives Marc Lessard and Lisa Vadnais — challenged the effectiveness of the organization and raised concerns about the neighborhood center’s downtown location and its impact on nearby businesses and residents.

On Thursday, Councilor Jake Pierson suggested cutting $100,000 from the Seeds of Hope budget allocation. Councilor Dylan Doughty seconded the motion, but the proposal failed to gain traction, ending with a 5-4 vote against (Pierson, Lessard, Doughty and Councilor Roger Beaupre, in favor)

Lessard — clearly frustrated during Thursday’s marathon discussion on the unhoused subject – rejected other councilors’ suggestions of incremental cuts to funding of unhoused services and the need for further discussion.

“We’re using a butter knife when we should be using a chainsaw,” Lessard quipped during Thursday’s budget workshop meeting.

Lessard then offered a motion to completely eliminate any funding for the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center.

Other councilors soundly rejected Lessard’s plan, 8-1.

Although Vadnais offered some of the most biting and skeptical questions about the Seeds of Hope and its existing programs, she did not support Pierson’s proposal to cut $100,000 nor Lessard’s proposal to completely eliminate funding.

When asked after the meeting why she rejected both funding reductions, Vadnais said she missed the opportunity to offer her own proposal about the budget allocation. “Obviously, I didn’t play my cards right,” she said.

Both Lessard and Vadnais repeatedly said the issue of unhoused residents and the Seeds of Hope operations are a dominant concern of their constituents, both pointing out that nearly every call and email they have received reflected declining public support for Seeds of Hope.

In fact, Lessard said the city’s downtown area has been significantly and adversely impacted ever since the Seeds of Hope Center on lower South Street began offering services.”

“People no longer feel safe going downtown,” Lessard said. “Downtown’s business climate has declined, probably because of this issue.”

Vadnais said a large portion of the community is opposed to any further funding of the city’s only unhoused services program.

“People no longer feel safe
going downtown. The business
climate has declined,
probably because of this issue.”

— Councilor Marc Lessard

Other councilors pointed out that York County’s only unhoused shelter program – located in Alfred – closed last year and said they support more of a “regional approach” to addressing the needs of Biddeford’s unhoused residents.

In fact, Doughty sought support from his fellow councilors for establishing a “blue ribbon” commission to review alternative options, including state and federal sources and the feasibility for creating a regional shelter program that would also be supported by neighboring communities.

“We don’t have a definitive next step in front of us,” Doughty said, pointing to the current lack of available programs. “We have already dedicated millions of dollars to this. If we just stop now, we will be facing reimbursements from emergency hotel vouchers.”

Doughty proposed setting aside $25,000 to create such a study group, an idea that was narrowly passed 5-4 with Councilors Lessard, Pierson, Kurtz, Doughty, and Woods voting in favor.

Councilor Brad Cote said he liked Doughty’s concept but could not support any additional expenditures during an already lean budget process.

“This is a really tough budget year, and it just doesn’t make sense to spend any additional money,” Cote said.

Pierson said the city needs to find an alternative, long-term solution.

“We really need a Plan B because what we have in front of us is just a temporary fix to a larger issue,” Pierson said.

Councilor Pat Boston said she was surprised Thursday to hear such dramatic calls for reductions of funding for unhoused services.

“We had a really robust conversation about this on Tuesday, and now we’re talking about pulling the plug with no back-up plan,” Boston said. “Are we supposed to go back to chasing down and closing [homeless] encampments?”

But Lessard said the public is demanding a dramatically different approach to tackling unhoused issues.

“Times like these require substantial move and efforts,” Lessard said. “We have been carrying the water for so many other communities on this issue. I am being told we can’t afford upgraded breathing apparatus equipment for our firefighters. I’m having a hard time squaring this budget line [general assistance/unhoused] with so many of our city’s pressing needs.”

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COMMUNITY COMMENTS

Resident Melissa Caminiti appeared before the city council on Tuesday and urged them to address some very “concerning issues” that she has encountered in her own neighborhood and while visiting some of the city’s downtown park areas.

“It is becoming an issue that deserves our attention,” she said.

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State Rep. Ryan Fecteau — Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives – appeared before the council and said he ‘is fully committed to helping find state resources to help develop a regional center that could provide more robust services for the area’s unhoused residents while also seeking financial support from other communities.

Tom McPheeters of Biddeford has been a volunteer at Seeds of Hope for nearly three years.

When asked his thoughts about the council’s discussion, McPheeters said he is trying to keep an open mind.

“The [Seeds of Hope] staff is doing the best they can, considering the current circumstances,” McPheeters said. “No matter what, there is never going to be enough services. Seeds is evolving but the reality can be overwhelming. It is what is what it is, but we are talking about our fellow humans. And we should all remember that.”

“We are talking about
our fellow humans.
We should all remember that.”

— Tom McPheeters, Biddeford

Real time issue | Long term solutions?

Hammer – who spent considerable time before the council on both Tuesday and Thursday – said without any viable options, the Seeds of Hope program remains as “the most effective and humane way” to address the needs of Biddeford’s unhoused residents.

“It is the only option we have in front of us,” Hammer said. “We can certainly look at alternatives going forward, but for today – in real time – there is a need, and Seeds of Hope is our best and most cost-effective choice.”

Hammer reminded councilors that the city’s state-mandated General Assistance program determines benefit eligibility on a case-by-case basis. The city’s receives 70 percent state reimbursement for each eligible person who requests funding, he said.

According to Hammer, somewhere between 35 and 45 percent of the Seeds of Hope funding line is eligible for state general assistance reimbursement.

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An Unfortunate Reality

Vassie Fowler, executive director of the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Resource Center, was out of town this week and unavailable to appear before the council during the meetings on Tuesday and Thursday.

During a brief telephone interview with the Gazette, Fowler said it is the council’s decision about how to address today’s current needs, but she also said the city’s elected leaders should remember some other realities that are equally as important as budget spreadsheets.

“No one dies at Seeds of Hope,” Fowler said. “People die when they live in hidden encampments – from exposure in the winter or from desperation after jumping in front of an upcoming train.”

Fowler said her program’s overnight warming center accommodates up to 50 adult residents, estimating that 75 percent of them are full-time Biddeford residents.

“No one dies at Seeds of Hope.
People die when they live
in hidden encampments –
from exposure in the winter
or from desperation after
jumping in front of an upcoming train.”

— Vassie Fowler

While Councilors Lessard and Vadnais raised concerns about other financial impacts and public service demands at Seeds of Hope, Hammer said that more than 75 percent of emergency and fire services for unhoused service take place well beyond the vicinity of the South Street resource center.

The council is expected to continue debating this issue and other budget items over the next few weeks.

There will be at least two public hearings on the proposed budget before the FY ’27 budget is adopted and implemented.

For More Information | GA Department Funding Request [View/Download PDF]

For More Information | SEEDS OF HOPE

For More Information | Biddeford FY ’27 Budget Documents

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DISCLOSURE | Vassie Fowler serves on the Biddeford Gazette’s Community Advisory Council.

CORRECTION | An earlier version of this story contained a factual error. City Councilor Abigail Woods caught the error and contacted the Gazette to clarify our reporting. Despite our earlier reporting, Councilor Doughty’s proposal to establish a study commission was, in fact, narrowly passed 5-4 with Councilors Lessard, Pierson, Kurtz, Doughty, and Woods voting in favor. The story has been updated. We apologize for the error. If you see or find a factual error in our reporting, please COTACT US

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