Variance considered to manage inmate population
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
HOULTON — A presentation on legislation that would alter the authority of the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) dominated a good portion of the County Commissioners’ Oct. 6 meeting in Houlton. Phil Merletti and Roger Ek, both of Lee, made a formal appearance at the meeting to the three commissioners stating they hoped to have enough support for the legislature to reverse the 1971 act granting authority to LURC over the unorganized territories. A bill earlier in the year failed to get out of committee by one vote. A new bill could go before the legislature in January.
Ek and Merletti said LURC is proposing policies that will further inhibit economic development and use of machinery or motorized vehicles and boats. Merletti also stated that a proposal for a takeover of private land resulting in a 3.2 million-acre national park could be accomplished through eminent domain procedures and other acquisitions through use of LURC’s authority. He criticized the seven-member LURC panel calling it a “bureaucracy in Augusta that is telling you what needs to be done in the counties. This needs to go right back to the counties as it was in 1971.”
Ek said current LURC policies “are crushing the Maine economy” by discouraging development. “Seven unelected functionaries govern over half our state. There is no appeal. If we can’t create business we cannot have a viable economy,” Ek stated. He cited the example of a retired couple who sought to open a take-out stand. Ek explained they wanted to operate it September through November each year to sell hot dogs, chili, coffee and sodas to hunters and fishermen. “They went to LURC and LURC said ‘no you are not in the commercial zone,’” according to Ek.
Among others attending and speaking to the commissioners were Rep. Henry Joy, (R-Crystal), Sen. Roger Sherman (R-Hodgdon) and Durward Humphrey, chief executive officer of the Northern Valley Health Center. Sherman expressed concern for the future of Maine’s multi-billion dollar forest products industry. Joy stated that “a big problem with LURC is that it wants the same zoning on abutting towns which would wipe out half the state.”
Referring to his experience with changing rules and escalating permit fees, Humphrey related his troubled relationship with the commission that, he said, caused him to lose his land. However, Humphrey did state that he did not want to see LURC abolished since the original concept was a good one that just went too far.
Paul Underwood, a County Commissioner from Presque Isle, stated that the opportunity for growth is in the unorganized territories: “We need development. That is our growth. That is the only place we have real growth in the state.”
Before the nearly 30-minute presentation concluded, Norman Fournier, a County Commissioner from Wallagrass, expressed concern that new bill could result in unfunded mandates and negative budgetary implications for the county. That point was also addressed by County Administrator Doug Beaulieu who urged special attention be made in any proposed legislation to include a funding mechanism that would assure adequate financing to administer the program. Fournier also stated that the commissioners had taken a position opposing an expansion of LURC’s influence and authority.
Aroostook’s growing
inmate population
Ralph Nichols of the Department of Corrections spoke to the commissioners about a temporary variance to deal with the growing population of inmates in the Aroostook County Jail. “You are probably the only county right now experiencing that kind of growth. Most counties have gone the other way. Their growth has either dropped off a little bit or is remaining the same,” he stated.
Nichols, who is charged with enforcing standards, commended Aroostook County officials for boarding out prisoners to avoid overcrowding. He stated that the variance process “gives the county breathing room without putting anyone at risk” in resolving the jail population issue.
In his reference to growth in the jail population and the backlog in the court system, Aroostook County Sheriff James Madore said: “We are moving people as fast as we can.” Madore added that the number of sentenced inmates is relatively low compared to the number of pre-trial inmates.
Nichols suggested a two-year variance that would increase the time allowed to transport inmates to other facilities from 48 hours to 72 hours so that the budgeted capacity of 72 long-term inmates is not exceeded.
The commissioners unanimously voted to apply for a two-year variance to address the average length of stay of inmates at the Aroostook County Jail. At presstime, Beaulieu said he was waiting for additional information from the Department of Corrections to prepare and submit the variance request.
The next meeting of the commissioners will be a budget session in Caribou at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 19. A regular commissioners’ meeting in Sinclair is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 5:30 p.m.
