Press release April 2, 2018

April 2, 2018

MDOT reneges on yet another Wiscasset promise

MEDIA CONTACT: SensibleCitizens2018@gmail.com

(Wiscasset, Maine) Dismissing the relevance of an impending municipal referendum, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) has begun soliciting construction bids for a proposed road project in Wiscasset. In doing so, the agency exposed another broken promise that it had made to Wiscasset citizens.

MDOT posted a variety of construction-related documents on its website last week, describing the impending construction in Wiscasset. One surprise hidden in the documents is that the agency plans to work on the project this summer, a reversal of what MDOT project manager Ernie Martin promised Wiscasset citizens at a public meeting on October 5.

In a transcript of that October meeting, published on the town’s web site, Martin outlined the construction schedule for the assembled residents, promising, “…construction (will) begin roughly April and then we're going to take that summer break, move out of town July and August in the peak times and then construction will start back up after Labor Day.”

A local group, Citizens for Sensible Solutions, sharply criticized the new plan as a betrayal.

“MDOT has lied to this town from the beginning, and every town in Maine involved in a project with them should beware,” said a spokesperson for the group. “They have lied to promote a project that won’t work, they have lied to cover their tracks, and now they are trying to bully and intimidate the town to push through this flawed project. Apparently, MDOT is a state agency with no oversight, and they think they can do whatever they want.”

Wiscasset is a coastal town that depends on summer tourists. Breaking another promise is one in a series of deceitful maneuvers that MDOT has executed, to propel its road proposal forward.

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In 2016, the agency promised that the project would be federally funded, thus guaranteeing stringent environmental and historic review tied to that funding. Only after voters endorsed MDOT’s federally-

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funded plan in a non-binding referendum did the agency secretly move to evade the stringent reviews. Without telling Wiscasset’s elected officials, MDOT turned away the federal funding.

MDOT told the people of Wiscasset that it would not use eminent domain to seize private property. In late 2016, it seized property by eminent domain.

MDOT promised to sign a “project agreement” with the town. It is starting construction without any such project agreement.

Project manager Martin told a local newspaper that if citizens didn’t like the plan, they could “opt out” of the project. Wiscasset voters rejected MDOT changes to the plan in June of 2017. The town’s select board followed with a vote to withdraw support for the project. With MDOT having posted bid documents to begin construction, that Martin promise is now also broken.

In September, MDOT spokesman Ted Talbot announced, “MaineDOT takes very seriously the consideration of impacts to historic places and properties in its decision making.” In court documents filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit between the agency and the town, MDOT is arguing strenuously that it is under no obligation to respect Wiscasset’s historic preservation ordinance.

MDOT promised a final public hearing in January to review project design. The hearing never took place.

Downtown parking is the key issue in the ongoing controversy. Yet MDOT expunged from the record any statement by its own professional traffic consultant that confirmed the critical importance of retaining downtown parking. For example, MDOT struck a statement describing downtown parking as "state-of-the-practice for communities to create economically viable, walkable, and vibrant downtowns or villages." In fact, the agency censored all similar statements, and strongly hinted to the consultant that he would not be paid if he did not eradicate from the report all such conclusions.

“It’s perfectly clear that MDOT planned this from the beginning, thinking no one in Wiscasset would notice. But we did,” the “Citizens” spokesperson said.

Continuation of the ongoing lawsuit, The Town of Wiscasset v. State of Maine Department of Transportation, is dependent upon a referendum that the Wiscasset Select Board has scheduled for April 17. Some citizens have expressed concern about the cost of defending town ordinances in court. The question to Wiscasset voters will be, “Do you wish to continue with the lawsuit

filed by the Town of Wiscasset against the Maine Department of Transportation regarding the Wiscasset Downtown Project?�

The town is represented in the lawsuit by attorneys John Shumadine and Peter Murray. Contact information, Murray Plumb & Murray, www.mpmlaw.com, 207.773.5651.

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