Portland council votes to enter executive session on Midtown properties after public objections

Portland City Council voted 7-1 to enter an executive session to discuss the disposition of city-owned land known as the Midtown properties, after multiple members of the public urged the council to hold the conversation in public.

The vote, held during a virtual meeting, was to go into executive session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. §405(6)(C) to discuss the disposition of city property described in the agenda as the Midtown parcels at 2529, 75 Somerset Street and 0 Elm Street. The motion was made by Councilor McNevich and seconded by Councilor Phillips; the roll call recorded seven votes in favor and one opposed.

Public commenters urged transparency and a broad community planning process before any decisions. Joe Brunell, a Portland resident who identified his address as 37 Pine Street, said he opposed the use of executive session and described a past pattern — during the previous administration — in which decisions on city land were worked out behind closed doors, leaving the public to respond after details were final. "An executive session only [should be] used when absolutely necessary. It should not be used to hide where real…