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www.bridgton.com Vol. 143, No. 44
Serving Bridgton and the surrounding towns of Western Maine since 1870. 36 PAGES - 4 Sections
Bridgton, Maine
November 1, 2012
(USPS 065-020)
SIXTY CENTS
‘Dirty pool?’ FA, teachers at odds over pact
SANDY’S AFTERMATH — There were a few pockets of power outages in Bridgton following Hurricane Sandy’s visit on Monday, including portions of Upper and Middle Ridges. A tree fell onto powerlines on Church Street (above), forcing traffic to use alternative routes. At press time Wednesday, Central Maine Power reported that 16,000 customers remain without power, but the company expected to have power restored to all customers by late Wednesday night. Hurricane Sandy caused 165,000 outages as it passed through CMP’s service area. “We will be funneling crews into Cumberland (5,307 customers out Wednesday morning), Lincoln (1,783) and York (7,876) counties as we complete the work in other areas,” said Tom DePeter, director of electric distribution for CMP. “We have multiple crews assigned to every circuit in every town, and we have 17 fresh crew from our neighbor to the north, Bangor Hydro Electric and Maine Public Service, coming to help us close this out.” As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, outages by county were: York 12,473; Cumberland 11,250; Franklin 2,589; Lincoln 2,536; Oxford 881; Knox 274; Sagadahoc 151; and Androscoggin 95; total 30,249.
Why Avesta can’t build elsewhere By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Location. Location. Location. It’s the mantra for fixing the value of real estate. But in the case of Avesta Housing, Inc.’s plans to build low-income housing for the elderly and disabled, it’s the primary reason cited by residents who oppose their plans. So just why is it that the housing agency cannot consider building its proposed three-story housing project, with 24 one-bedroom apartments, anywhere else than the former Chapter 11 property at 247 Main Street? Many residents have said they’d be
happy to support the project, if only it were proposed for an off-Main Street location in the downtown. The answer lies in the site-specific nature of the funding it received for the $4 million project from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, administered through MaineHousing. According to Avesta Communications Manager Mindy Woerter, when it applied to the LIHTC for funding for the Bridgton project, “We had to select a specific site,” she said. “Based on our site evaluation process, feedback from
both funding entities, and the LIHTC scoring criteria, Avesta opted to pursue the Main Street site in November of 2011 as we felt it was more competitive,” Woerter said. Neither the LIHTC program,
nor Rural Development (its other funding source) required the project to be built on Main Street. But once Avesta’s application was approved by MaineHousing, the housing agency was obligated to focus all their designs and planning for the project based on the 29,185-square-foot Chapter 11 property it listed in its application. “The (LIHTC) funding is site specific, which means we cannot transfer the funding commitment to another site,” said Woerter. The funding from USDA Rural Development is not siteAVESTA, Page A
House 97 The District: Brownfield, Fryeburg, Hiram, Porter and Parsonsfield. The Candidates: Incumbent Helen Rankin (Democrat) is being challenged by Republican George Cunningham. Their Positions: The News asked the candidates the following questions (answers arranged alphabetically): Q. Gridlock is a problem, so how do you propose to overcome partisan politics? Cunningham: Gridlock is more an issue in Washington than it is in Augusta. The Republican leadership over the last two years has made a concerted effort to work across the aisles. My personal pledge, if elected, is to always put the interests of the state as a whole over everything else. Rankin: Passing good legislation is a complicated process. In order to succeed, legislators must have mutual respect. This includes leaders in the House and Senate, committee chairmen/ chairwomen and their members and the governor. We must debate all the issues. Because Maine is a large state with very different needs at opposite ends of the state, there are times when be must be willing to compromise. The governor is the Head of State. With all due respect, he should set the example by respecting the opinions of others and acknowledge that we can agree to disagree without being demeaning. Working together, we can accomplish much, but being bullied and insulted gets us nowhere. Q. What characteristics would you bring to the position that would make you an effective politician? Cunningham: The major part of my life has been spent as a chief school administrator working with individuals and groups from all segments of the community to solve and settle issues of broad, general concerns. I believe this to be one of my strengths and one for which I am generally very well respected. I am open to all sides of an argument and make my decisions based upon what I feel to be the fairest and most sensible course of action to take. Rankin: I am a good communicator, sensitive to the needs HOUSE 97, Page A
By Wayne E. Rivet Staff Writer FRYEBURG — Does a new three-year contract exist between Fryeburg Academy and the Fryeburg Academy Teachers Association (FATA)? James St. Pierre, president of the FATA, says, “Yes.” He signed his name on the bottom line of a new agreement on Oct. 1. As did A.O. Pike, as president of the Fryeburg Academy Board of Trustees, according to St. Pierre. However, a disagreement in regards to the new salary scale has left Academy officials claiming the terms were not what the two sides agreed upon. FA Headmaster Dan Lee and Principal David Sturdevant referred all questions to Academy attorney Linda McGill of the firm Bernstein & Shur of Portland. “Fryeburg Academy and the faculty disagree on the terms of the new salary scale that was the subject of negotiations between the Academy and the faculty association,” McGill said Monday. “The Academy believes that there was agreement to a salary scale that would give faculty members increases of about 8% over the next three years. The faculty now asserts that the agreement was for rais-
es that would amount to nearly 10% in the first year alone. This is obviously such a fundamental misunderstanding that we in effect do not have a workable agreement.” McGill added, “The Academy is committed to competitive and fair salaries for all its employees, but the Academy would not and did not enter into an agreement like the faculty claims. No different than any other educational institution, the Academy must balance its budget.” Negotiations between the Academy and FATA started in mid-January. St. Pierre says an agreement was reached on Aug. 13 and a new contract was signed “by both parties” on Oct. 1. “I’d first like to stress that there are no negotiation sessions scheduled because the members of the Fryeburg Academy Teachers Association firmly believe that the current contract is valid and binding,” St. Pierre said. “The Academy signed the contract and is thus obligated to fulfill it. Whatever their misunderstandings are, they stem from their lack of due diligence, not ours. They need to honor their commitments.” The FATA was formed in 1974, and currently represents 52 teachers. Four or five of the
By Gail Geraghty Staff Writer Next Tuesday’s referendum on amending downtown Shoreland Zoning rules in Bridgton is, officially, a question designed to give voters the opportunity to “do over” the vote they took in a special election on Dec. 13, 2011 (which passed, 200-100), that the Department of Environmental Protection later reworded in such a way as to change the language’s spirit and intent. Unofficially, however, next
Tuesday’s vote is widely seen as a referendum on Avesta Housing, Inc., since a negative outcome will prevent the affordable housing agency from submitting formal plans in December for its 24 onebedroom apartments for elderly and disabled housing on the former Chapter 11 property at 247 Main Street. “It’s highly unlikely” that Avesta can proceed with its plans if a “no” vote prevails, Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz said REFERENDUM, Page A
By Dawn De Busk Staff Writer NAPLES — A co-worker answering phones at the Naples Town Office commented that Town Clerk Judy Whynot has been going 100 miles per hour and staying straight out busy with the upcoming 2012 election. Per usual, a Presidential election year brings out a higher number of voters than other November elections. According to local municipalities, many residents in the region are electing to vote via absentee ballot. “We are busy with absentee ballots. Taxes just came in; and
that has slowed down a bit,” Naples Town Clerk Whynot said. “Now, the absentees are keeping us quite busy,” she said. According to Whynot, Maine voters are not required to cite a reason for voting absentee until today. “They don’t have to tell us why until Nov. 1,” she said, adding, “A lot of (people) are going out of town before the elections.” During the Primaries in June, three days before the election, voters had to provide a reason for voting absentee, according to Whynot.
CONTRACT, Page A
Vote seen as Avesta referendum
Absentee ballots keep towns busy
George Cunningham Republican • A resident of Fryeburg; retired Superintendent of Schools of SAD 72, which includes the town of Fryeburg and six other surrounding communities; resides with wife of 45-plus years, Priscilla, and rescue dog companion, Bonnie; grown son and daughter who live out of state and six grandchildren, ranging in age from 3 to 18. • Education: Bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and two earned doctorates; one of the doctorates is in educational administration (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Helen Rankin Democrat • A resident of Hiram, Rankin lists herself as a “young 80.” Husband deceased, two adult children • Education: bachelor’s degree, University of Southern Maine. • Business background: School Nutrition director/ SAD 55/ one high school, five elementary schools and 14 employees. • Community groups: Hiram Community Church, Women’s Club, Enhancement Society and Hiram Historical Society. • Awards, honors: Maine
CUNNINGHAM, Page A
RANKIN, Page A
ABSENTEE, Page A
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