Alna selectmen

Fri, 10/06/2023 - 7:45am

SUSAN JOHNS

File photo

Alna selectmen came out of an executive session Oct. 5 and announced they would like to have the town attorney “engage in further settlement discussions of the town’s enforcement action against (Jeff) Spinney, with Mr. Spinney’s attorney between now and Oct. 12.” Third Selectman Coreysha Stone read the announcement in open session and gave Wiscasset Newspaper it on request.

The enforcement action, which led to court, involves Spinney’s boat ramp off Golden Ridge Road. The town has maintained Spinney’s ramp project violated shoreland zoning. Spinney’s lawyer Kristin Collins has said Spinney has all along offered to formalize, as a court judgment, the settlement deal reached with a past selectboard.

Thursday night’s announcement from the board stated, “If agreement can be reached, a notice of those terms will be provided to the public, and specifically to each of the involved parties to Mr. Spinney’s pending appeal of his permit denial, and the town will hold a public hearing on that proposed settlement to be held on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.,” location to be announced with the published hearing notice.

Reached after the meeting, Spinney said he had no comment at this time.

First Selectman Ed Pentaleri – censured by the board this year over the possible appearance of bias in the town’s litigation with Spinney – did not take part in the night’s talks on the matter.

Also Oct. 5, the board decided to seek planning board and Maine Department of Environmental Protection permission to add a walkable material over an area of the rocks placed at Pinkham Pond last spring. And selectmen granted tax abatements on two Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum properties Pentaleri said have been exempt since the 1990s and should have still been; both are on Cross Road.

Ralph Hilton was the latest resident to suggest selectmen fill the code enforcement officer vacancy with either of two residents discussed recently. Pentaleri has said a resident as CEO risks conflict. Hilton looked through 40 years of town reports and found most CEOs were residents. He also found there was often an alternate CEO, which he said could work in this case and start getting building permits issued again.

“We’re not far from winter. People need to get going and this is a way to get it going. Just appoint (an) alternate while you’re shopping for the full-time one.”

Pentaleri thanked Hilton and the board made no new comment on the matter.