UNANIMOUS OVERRIDE OF VETO TO TRANSFER LAND TO KITTERY
Transfer of John Paul Jones Park has been in the works for the past few years
AUGUSTA – Today, in a vote of 35-0, the Maine Senate voted to override a measure that would authorize the State of Maine to transfer land to the Town of Kittery.
Yesterday, Gov. LePage vetoed the bill along with 11 other bills. Ten of the bills were sponsored by Democrats and received a verbatim veto letter, stating, “As promised I am vetoing all bills sponsored by Democrats…”
“I am pleased that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle came together to put the people’s work ahead of partisanship,” said Assistant Democratic Leader State Senator Dawn Hill of York. “This location is a premiere gateway into Kittery Foreside and it is a great place for community events. It would have been unfortunate for the people of Southern Maine to lose this opportunity. The town has worked eagerly with the state to preserve this park for public use, and to the community’s benefit.”
Should the House override the veto and the measure becomes law, Kittery and the State of Maine can move forward in the land transfer–stipulating that ownership of the park would revert back to the state if its intended use as a public park is ever discontinued.
The land under consideration is known as the John Paul Jones Memorial Park in Kittery. Both the town and state have been working collaboratively over the past few years on the details of the land transfer. Kittery has been maintaining the park on behalf of the state since 2014.
John Paul Jones is considered colonial America’s first sea warrior. He was Captain of the Revolutionary War sloop, the Ranger, which was constructed and launched from the nearby Badger Island in 1777.
The bill, L.D. 780, will now go to the House for an override veto.