Board: Lewiston City Council

Met: Tuesday night

Citizen budget committee

Issue: Councilors have been considering creating a committee to help prepare and review the city’s municipal budget each spring, with the goal of making the process more public.

The scoop:  Councilor Robert Reed presented his plan for an eight-member committee. Each councilor and the mayor would be allowed to name one person to the committee, preferably a person with a background or understanding of city government, large-scale budget or accounting. Members of the committee would be appointed each August and would be allowed to serve no more than three one-year terms.

Up next: Councilors agreed, adopting Reed’s suggestion.

Bennett deal

Issue: When councilors parted ways with former administrator Jim Bennett in July, they agreed to buy out the remainder of his $110,000 contract.  

The scoop: They also agreed to pay items that were part of his normal contract, including home Internet and cell phones and an automobile stipend.

Up next: Nearly five months later, councilors ratified that agreement. They voted Tuesday to approve Bennett’s separation agreement. 

Airport board

Issue: Lewiston and Auburn share control of the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport through a seven-member board. Each city appoints three members; the seventh is selected by the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber’s member must be a resident of one of the two cities, and the residency requirements rotate between the two. Lewiston is allowed to claim the seventh seat for three years, then Auburn is allowed to claim the seventh seat.  

The scoop: The chamber’s seat is due to expire at the end of December, and Auburn resident Albert Sargent is scheduled to end his run on the airport’s board as the chamber of commerce’s representative. But Manager Rick Cloutier said Sargent, a pilot with a financial background and experience handling negotiations, has been an especially valuable member. Cloutier and the chamber asked Lewiston to waive the requirement that the seventh member be a Lewiston resident for the next three years in order to keep Sargent on the committee.

Up next: Councilors agreed, reappointing Sargent to the term through December 2012.

Franco sign

Issue: Saying the current sign in front of the Franco-American
Heritage Center is old, ugly and in need of being replaced, members are
asking to put a modern, electronic sign in front of the building. They
wanted councilors to change city zoning to allow signs of up to 72
square feet in the downtown.

The scoop: Councilors approved a zoning change allowing the sign on first reading last month, but they asked
staff to come up with design standards before requests for future signs
come in. Councilors were worried the
change would let other property owners to put in neon
signs that were gaudy or that didn’t fit with community standards.

Up next: Councilors allowed the center to proceed Tuesday on final reading.

Storm-water management

Issue: New state and federal environmental protection rules require the city to begin
monitoring private storm-water systems. Those systems collect
rain and snow runoff and direct them into the Androscoggin River. A proposed plan would have the city monitor new construction
that creates
disturbed land or hard, water-resistant surfaces larger than an acre.
It would require those property owners to have plans in place to
mitigate
storm-water runoff from their hard surfaces and for those systems to be
inspected each year. Landowners would pay for those inspections. Councilors reviewed the monitoring plan in October but said they
were concerned it was too much of a burden on property owners and
developers. In November, councilors were told they would face a
lawsuit or other state penalties if they didn’t adopt the monitoring
plan. Councilors approved the plan on first reading in November, agreeing to require a performance bond for developers seeking
to pay for future testing and possible work that could be required.
They also limited the plan to the city’s urban area.

Up next: Councilors approved the plan’s final reading Tuesday.

Streetlight appeals

Issue: Councilors approved a plan earlier this year to remove a number of streetlights around the city. The move was meant to reduce costs and make the city more efficient.

The scoop: Some residents who have had lights removed from their neighborhoods have complained. Councilors on Tuesday were considering letting those residents challenge light removal decisions directly to the city’s Board of Appeals. That board has authority to overrule city staff or committee decisions pertaining to code enforcement or zoning.

Up next: Councilors agreed to let the Appeals Board handle further streetlight removal complaints.

Next meeting: 7 p.m. Tuesday , Dec. 15.

Contact government reporter Scott Taylor via phone at 689-2846 or via e-mail at [email protected].