WISCASSET, Maine — Two weeks before voters will decide whether to continue a lawsuit filed against the state seeking to force a traffic project to comply with town ordinances, some 100 residents and business owners argued both sides of the issue during a two-hour hearing Tuesday.
Wiscasset residents will vote April 17 whether the town should continue a lawsuit filed against the Maine Department of Transportation, seeking to force the proposed project to comply with town ordinances and reconsider plans to remove on-street parking.
[Wiscasset schedules townwide vote on lawsuit against state]
Proponents of the suit criticized the Transportation Department for changing the project because it was supported by voters in a referendum, including turning down $400,000 in federal funding because it would have required the state to comply with federal standards and local ordinances.
They said they object to removing 54 on-street parking spaces downtown, which they argue would destroy Wiscasset businesses and create a ghost town.
They appealed to the board to continue the lawsuit in part because a group of business owners and residents led by Ralph H. Doering III have offered to pay the entire legal cost of the suit, although the town has not yet indicated whether it would accept such an agreement.
“We see Wiscasset as a quintessential Maine coastal town,” Doering said in a March 19 letter to town officials. “Its history is worth protecting and its laws are worth protecting. These are the motives of the Doering family. Therefore, we make this decision as a family. We are planning on paying for the town’s litigation cost in [this] matter. I cannot state this any more plainly.”
Selectmen have said voters would decide whether to accept funds to finance the lawsuit.
Town attorney Peter Murray said he believes the town has a strong case, but could not guarantee a win.
[With LePage threat looming, Wiscasset rejects deal to settle suit over Route 1 traffic fix]
Wiscasset resident and business owner Brad Sevaldson said he represents a group of residents and business owners who have formed Wiscasset Thinks Forward, which believes the town’s legal action will result in permanent damage to the town, the residents and businesses.
Sevaldson said Wiscasset Thinks Forward has retained the law firm Moncure & Barnicle to file a motion to intervene as defendants in support of the Transportation Department.
Wiscasset resident Mikael Andersson suggested the town use the money that would otherwise be spent on a lawsuit to beautify the town.
Wiscasset resident Sherri Dunbar, a local real estate agent, said she is concerned for the town. She said she has shown a piece of commercial property in Wiscasset several times, and no one has made an offer yet because of the uncertainty surrounding the Transportation Department issue.
“Change is not always a bad thing,” she said.
Claudia Sortwell, speaking in favor of the project, said men should sit in their cars and let the women do the shopping. She said she has observed the shopping behavior in Freeport and Portland and discovered that women are the shoppers, they like to walk, and it is good for them.
Because selectmen voted at the beginning of the meeting to only allow Wiscasset business owners and residents to speak, a representative of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission who asked to speak was denied.
Former selectwoman Judy Flanagan asked Murray what the Transportation Department would do if the town wins the case. Murray said he believes it would come back and work with the town.
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