at a glance

Speed table progress slowed

LEWISTON – City leaders want proof that a speed table in front of Pettingill school didn’t cause problems for emergency services before they’ll let the traffic control devices spread.

The city put the bump in the road in front of the school in June 2005 to see if it slowed traffic without making life miserable for neighbors. According to a public works memo, the table reduced the speed on College Street in front of the school from 36 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour.

Now Bates College hopes to install something similar at College Street and Mountain Avenue. Councilors said they want more information before they say yes. They’ve scheduled a public meeting on the speed bumps for Sept. 19.

“The other day, I went that way and I did hit that speed table, and I felt like I was in the ‘Dukes of Hazzard,'” said City Councilor Renee Bernier Tuesday. “It obviously cuts down on speeding there, but what about police and fire? I’m afraid it slows them down, too. I have a lot of questions before I’ll agree to more speed bumps in town.”

– Scott Taylor
Treasure Chest building to come down

LEWISTON – Councilors signed off an a plan to knock down the home of the Treasure Chest III Tuesday.

Repairs to the building at 308 Lisbon St. would be more expensive than knocking the building down and starting from scratch, according Phil Nadeau, deputy city administrator.

“We’ve assessed the situation, and there are several things that would need to be repaired just to make the building meet life safety and code enforcement regulations,” Nadeau said. “The cost to do that and then renovate the building would be higher than just starting over.”

The city purchased the building for $315,000 in April 2005. That included the adult bookstore, the former home to the Hurricane Club and 29 apartments. The building was burned in a fire at the Hurricane Club in October 2004. The club and 14 of the apartments were damaged in the fire.

Nadeau said the city has no plans to use the building currently, but said it could be used for parking the Lewiston Police Department or for future expansion of the police station there.

“But nothing has been decided, or even discussed, at this point,” Nadeau said.

The city will hire environmental firms to remove asbestos from this building later this month and should begin demolishing the building in October.

Personnel Board cuts on November ballot

LEWISTON – A plan to scrap a city board created in the City Charter will go to voters in November.

Councilors opened up a public hearing to discuss the city’s Personnel Board one last time before asking voters to get rid of the board on November’s ballot. Nobody spoke, however, and councilors quickly moved on.

The Personnel Board was created to keep politics out of hiring and make sure police and fire crews met certain standards. The board, made up of three people, meets each spring to test applicants for police and fire department jobs.

But tough state standards for police officers have made the personnel board an unnecessary step that costs the city money, according to officials. The city’s human resources department handles most of the other functions that used to fall to the board. The testing can be handled by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for less than what it costs to keep the board running.

The Personnel Board is part of the City Charter, and the City Council can not eliminate it. The city must put any charter change before the voters for approval. It set to go before Lewiston voters on Nov. 7.

– Scott Taylor
City Council rebroadcast Friday

LEWISTON – Great Falls TV viewers might have missed seeing city councilors Tuesday night, but they probably heard them.

Mayor Lionel Guay said a glitch in the signal kept the video portion of Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting from airing. The sound portion was working, however.

Guay said a copy of Tuesday’s meeting should be rebroadcast in full beginning at 7 p.m. Friday. It should include the video and audio portions, he said.

– Scott Taylor