05/13/2008
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By a 3-2 margin, councilors agreed to a citizens' request to present voters with a nonbinding resolution on whether the town should explore the possibility of taking the dam by eminent domain in an effort to prevent its deconstruction. The referendum question will be added to the June ballot.
"In theory I have no problem letting the voters express their views," said Councilor Steve Russell, who joined Councilors James Byrne and Brad Grant in voting in favor of adding the resolution to the June ballot.
Councilor Paul Manson and Chairman Gerald Saint Amand voted against the resolution.
Councilors Roland Michaud and Catherine Nadeau were not present at the meeting.
Town Attorney Bill Lee, with input from two independent law firms as well as attorneys for those on both sides of the dam-removal issue, said the town would be inviting a lengthy, costly lawsuit if it pursued a takeover by eminent domain. There was mixed opinion whether the town would be forced to abide by a 1998 agreement that mandated the dam be fit with a fish lift or torn down.
"If we take the eminent domain option the one thing we know for sure is we'll be in litigation for years," Lee said.
Town Manager Michael Heavener estimated it would cost $1.5 million to purchase the dam and perhaps another $3 million to install the fish lift.
Saint Amand told a packed council chambers that the town had already fulfilled the resolution request of researching the eminent domain option.
"I am terrified of the eminent domain process," Saint Amand said. "I feel like we'd be putting things out to the citizens that couldn't really happen."
Lee suggested an alternative to taking the dam by eminent domain is to broker an agreement between the town, the dam's owner, FPL Energy, and Essex Hydro, which last year expressed an interest in purchasing the dam, an idea supported by councilors and residents who hope to save the dam.
The dam will also be at the forefront of tonight's Planning Board of Appeals meeting, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers.
After several month's of study and debate, the planning board in March approved FPL Energy's application to remove the dam.
Save Our Sebasticook, the local group that opposes Fort Halifax Dam's removal, sees several flaws in the Planning Board's decision on the dam and has filed an appeal as a result.
Group founder Kenneth Fletcher argued in his appeal that planners were victims of insufficient and sometimes inaccurate information from FPL Energy.
Resident Jane Edwards, who also has filed an appeal, believes the board did not consider the threat posed by chromium in the impoundment's sediment.
Despite recent developments, Saint Amand holds hope that the sides will somehow reach an agreement.
"My head and heart are in two places," Saint Amand said. "I still harbor the feeling that this dam can be saved, but not by the eminent domain process."
Craig Crosby -- 487-3288
ccrosby@centralmaine.com
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