ROCKLAND, Maine — The area school district is standing firm that a proposed $8.25 million package of energy conservation projects — a cornerstone of its realignment of schools — is legal, despite a contention that the financing for it could result in a lawsuit.
The district offered its comments Thursday night after the attorney for Thomaston, one of the towns in Regional School Unit 13, warned school officials there were questions about whether the plan to finance the work is legal.
“Our attorney is confident and we are confident in the process,” RSU 13 Superintendent John McDonald said Thursday night after the board voted 6-1 to allow him to proceed with developing the financing package.
The superintendent made his comments after attorney Paul Gibbons of Camden, who represents Thomaston, sent a letter to the district Wednesday, saying RSU 13 should receive a letter from its attorney certifying that the financing meets all the requirements of state law. He pointed out that he sent out a similar request on Jan. 5 but did not receive a response.
“I reiterate that demand now. The urgency has never been greater,” Gibbons said.
The law being referenced allows school administrative units to enter into an agreement of up to 20 years with an energy services company for energy conservation projects that are eligible for state subsidies.
RSU 13, which serves Rockland, Cushing, Owls Head, South Thomaston and Thomaston, plans to realign and consolidate the high schools and middle schools in time for the start of the next school year.
In addition, sometime in the future, the RSU expects to enlarge the cafeteria at the high school in Rockland and to expand the elementary school in Owls Head that would allow closure of the elementary school in South Thomaston. Residents in Owls Head and South Thomaston must still vote to approve the school closing. The total cost of these projects is estimated at about $5 million. That cost would be covered through a loan that would be paid back from savings in efficiencies in having fewer buildings.
The additional $8.25 million in energy projects, which are expected to start this summer and continue into the fall, would be paid for with a projected $181,000 in annual energy savings and savings from consolidating schools.
The district and Thomaston have received freedom of access requests from two Portland law firms seeking documents related to RSU 13’s proposed energy projects with Siemens Energy. Gibbons and school officials say they do not know who the attorneys represent, but one lawyer, Paul McDonald of the firm of Bernstein Shur in Portland, maintains that the deal is “inconsistent with a number of requirements of Maine law.”
“There is every indication that you are about to be sued,” Gibbons told the board. “There is no need to dance on the edge of this canyon. There is too much at risk.”
Gibbons said he was not opposed to the projects but was concerned about making certain it was legal. He urged the board to hold off moving ahead with the Siemens projects until the school district’s attorney could issue a letter of certification.
Paul McDonald was in court Friday and not available for comment. But a letter he sent to Thomaston on March 10, after receiving documents from RSU 13, sought any documents the district had sent the town. He contended that the projects would not meet the law, for one, because the payback on the energy saving projects would exceed 20 years, the maximum allowed by the law.
He contended that proposed window replacement and ventilation projects would have minimal energy savings and would not be eligible for any state incentives. The attorney also claimed that the costs for the work as proposed by Siemens could be done for half the price, if the project went out through a normal bid process with state school construction standards.
On March 11, attorney A. Robert Ruesch of the Portland law firm of Verrill Dana also sent a freedom of access request for records related to the Siemens project. Ruesch could not be reached for comment Friday.
The superintendent said the district’s attorney is confident that the package of projects meets the law and that a letter stating such would have no practical impact if someone wanted to sue.
The district’s attorney, Greg Im of Drummond Woodsum in Portland, also offered a response for the district in an email issued Thursday afternoon.
Business Manager Peter Orne said he believes there is confusion on the part of some people that proposed additions such as to the Owls Head Central School would be part of the current energy financing package. The Owls Head project is separate, however, and has yet to receive final approval.
Im pointed out that energy conservation work at individual schools will not exceed $2.5 million as is the limit under the state law. The RSU 13 attorney also maintained that the Siemens project provides performance guarantees on the energy savings for the work.
Donald Robishaw Jr. of Rockland was the only board member to vote against authorizing the administration to continue developing the financing package. But his reason for doing so was because the board had said it would take the plan to residents in each community for their support before proceeding and that this has not been done.
The financing package for the energy projects does not require voter approval. The reason for that is that no taxpayer dollars would be used to pay for them. The costs will be repaid through projected energy savings over the life of the financing, school officials have said.