On Aug. 17, Timothy Harrington sent his first Maine Freedom of Access Act request to Edgecomb officials. On Aug. 22, he sent his fourth. He believes town officials are taking too long to deliver the information. 

Harrington, 53, lives on Merry Island Road. He grew up in Houlton and worked as a Merchant mariner for 21 years living in Houston, Texas among other places. In the early 2000s, he bought two land parcels in Edgecomb. One is a 90-acre section on River Road. The second is 30 acres on Merry Island Road where he has lived since 2021. After retiring from the Merchant Marine, he worked several years as a gas and oil inspector in Texas. He is now involved in manufacturing and distributing ukuleles. 

On Aug. 24, Harrington  explained his rationale in seeking town records. He is planning on developing his property and providing as many five to 30 new house lots in Edgecomb. “Pending litagation” with an abutter has necessitated his seeking of records. His first document request sought access to municipal records from 1972, according to an email response sent from Edgecomb Selectman Dawn Murray to Harrington.

Harrington applied to build a sawmill and pole barn at his River Road location. He is working on submitting a second application, which would alter his subdivision lot lines.

Harrington is researching Old County Road’s status as either discontinued or abandoned. Harrington reports the road’s status is unclear due to a five-decade-old law change.“In 1976, the state took ownership of county-owned roads. “Old County Road aka Mount Hunger Road, aka Town Road, and couple of other names. I don’t even know if these records even exist,” he said. 

Harrington said he sought records from the planning board and code enforcement officer earlier this summer prior to sending his FOAA requests. On Aug. 22, Edgecomb selectmen discussed hiring an administrative assistant to find the records. Harrington found the proposal and possibility of taking 30 days to comply as absurd. “This is a bunch of foolishness. It should take about five minutes,” he said. 

Murray reported the town began Aug. 25 searching for the records. Murray, along with administrative assistant Barbara Brennan, searched municipal records. She added Harrington had made additional FOAA requests bringing the total to around 10. “We will respond in the order each request is received,” she said. “Many of his requests aren’t specific which makes it difficult to properly respond. We will respond to all his requests in a timely manner.” 

One request pertains to the Aug. 4 planning board meeting. Harrington is seeking records for a blasting permit approval. Planning board minutes show an approval for Alan Whitman’s Merry Island Road property. The Aug. 4 minutes reported the applicant plans on building a house on Merry Island Road abutting Harrington’s property. 

Planning Board Chairman Barry Hathorne spoke to Harrington prior to the meeting. On Aug. 25, Hathorne told the Boothbay Register, “I told him if he wanted the information, attend the meeting. He didn’t. And if he wanted those documents, he should contact the code officer or town officer. That is not the chairman’s responsibility,” he said.

Harrington doesn’t like to communicate in-person. He prefers emails. “That’s how I do all my communication,” he said. “If I have to attend a meeting I may hire a deputy because tempers flare. I’m a charismatic personality, and I like to talk. I don’t want any problems so the deputy may show up and drink coffee for two hours.” 

Harrington’s idea for developing house lots came after meeting a deputy sheriff regarding a conflict with an abutter. Harrington heard the deputy discuss the region’s long history of lack of affordable housing.“The deputy told me he was priced out of the market, and I had an epiphany. I had all this land so why not do something productive. There were so many people like law enforcement, health care providers and others who would love to work here, but had no place to live,” Harrington said. 

Code Enforcement Officer George Chase confirmed Harrington has sought municipal records from him. On Aug. 26, Chase reported many of the requests didn’t apply to him. “He asked for a daunting amount of information,” he said. “He asked for copies of his map and lot number. So I told him to go to the town office for that. It’s all right there.”

Chase also spoke to Harrington about a second possible application. Chase reported Harrington plans on changing his subdivision property lines. “This may complicate his current application because of setback requirements,” he said. 

The planning board will review Harrington’s application for a pole barn and sawmill permit. Harrington said he applied over two weeks ago.  Chase said an application for changing subdivision lines hasn’t been submitted.