By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — Voter approval during the Limestone special town meeting on Oct. 20 granted the Selectpeople authority to proceed with the Davis Long Term Care Group land purchase and appropriated the funding necessary to do so.
Davis Long Term Care Group is the owner of Limestone Manor and is planning to build a new facility that is estimated to cost over $5 million. While minor suggestions were made during the town meeting regarding the wording of the contract, the bottom line remains that the wheels are spinning faster and faster toward a new boarding home in the community.
The positive nature of the town meeting was ultimately overshadowed by the negativity produced following a public hearing regarding the renewal of permits for Caldwell Auto LLC and Ricky’s Recycling. David Blade — who was an investigator for the Air Force for 20 years — spoke on behalf of Camille Frank whose property abuts Caldwell Auto’s. Frank requested that the Selectpeople not renew Caldwell’s auto graveyard and junkyard permit or, at least, table the matter. Blade told the Selectpeople “Frank wants a survey done and a fence immediately installed along the entire length of [Caldwell Auto]. If you do not respond to his request, I have asked Mr. Frank to seek a court injunction to stop all activity on his abutting property with Caldwell’s and Brooker until this is settled.”
Blade stated that he had documentation to support that Caldwell’s Auto has been operating without proper building permits and without a site plan as well as insinuating that Limestone Code Enforcement Officer Rebecca McBreairty was not using the right kind of checklist while conducting her surveys. At various points, Blade also claimed that the Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan operated outside of his authority when he told Frank that a previous survey was not valid. He added that he’s “talked to representatives with the county and talked with representatives of the state, but the problem is at the local level and the enforcement is done at a local level.”
As the meeting progressed it became apparent that this wasn’t Blade or Frank’s first time speaking with town officials regarding this matter.
The issue — referred to as a feud by Selectperson Jimmy Pelletier — apparently began well before McBreairty became Limestone’s Code Enforcement officer in 2007. McBreairty sited for the Selectpeople specific dates of numerous instances where she’s addressed the matter. It seemed from her perspective, that the subject is a non-issue due to numerous surveys and investigations that failed to yield a single violation.
McBreairty also shared with the Selectpeople a letter issued by DEP Regional Director Nick Archer of Presque Isle that stated that due to the number and frequency of complaints generated from Mr. Frank about Caldwell’s that all employees of DEP have been instructed to forward all additional complaints to his office. McBreairty also stated confirmation that neither DEP nor Limestone officials have found violations at the Caldwell’s site. She also added that the Caldwell facilities are some of the best managed facilities that she’s ever seen.
Blade’s claims dated back to 2005 when he contends a property survey was never conducted. Blade stated that because the survey was never made, Caldwell Auto has been parking vehicles on Frank’s property and has never submitted an acceptable site plan to the proper authorities in Augusta.
McBreairty stated that Caldwell’s Auto has a tentative site plan and added that “even if there was an ongoing violation, that is no reason to refuse a permit.”
Tense discussion continued until tempers flared and Blade turned in his chair to accost Caldwell’s Auto co-owner Robert Caldwell. Selectperson Chair Walt Elliott had asked all parties to avoid speaking out of turn.
After listening to about a half hour of discussion, Selectperson Jimmy Pelletier spoke his piece.
“This is a feud. And I’m not playing any games with feuds,” he affirmed. “If you’ve got legal wise to take us to court, so be it. But this is one of the biggest businesses we have in our community; our community needs this business and I’ll be damned if I’m not going to vote to give them a license renewal.”
The board unanimously voted to approve the permit requests for both Caldwell’s Auto and Ricky’s Recycling.
“We’ve followed the direction that was given to us, we’ve done what was needed, what we think is right and what’s been expressed to us as right, so really it’s between [the two property owners],” said Elliott, calling the public hearing to a close.
Shortly after the public hearing came to a close and the regularly scheduled Selectpeople meeting began, the selectpeople addressed another property boundary issue of a relatively unique nature.
The selectpeople listened as Tom McCormack described a boundary discrepancy on his Pondview property. The property deed states that McCormack’s land begins 30 feet from the Old Starch Factory, but the factory is no longer in existence.
McCormack informed the selectpeople that the town has been routinely mowing a parcel approximately 50 or 60 feet from his home, and that he would have no problem using the previously mentioned “mow line” as the official property line should the selectpeople agree.
Selectperson Fred Pelletier inquired as to whether that line was satisfactory for McCormack, who replied that it was. Without much further discussion, the selectpeople voted to approve the previously implied property line.
The selectpeople were again addressed with a property issue during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Randy Brooker, owner of Hometown Fuel and Hometown One Stop on the corner of Access Highway and Route 1A, addressed the people with a concern regarding the seemingly permanent placement of a semi-trailer inches from the Hometown One Stop Citgo sign, partially obscuring it from view. Brooker stated that the trailer has been parked in front of the sign for six months and has negatively impacted his evaluation from Citgo.
While it was alluded that the issue was scheduled to be discussed by the selectpeople in executive session later that evening, it was mentioned that should a court decide that the abutting property owner was in the wrong, then the owner could be held in contempt should he fail to move the trailer. At the time of the meeting, however, the selectpeople didn’t have a solution to what was referred to as a feud between property owners.
The next meeting of the Limestone Selectpeople is scheduled to take place tonight, at 6:30 p.m. in the Limestone Municipal Building.
