Board: Lewiston City Council

Met: Tuesday night

Time limits

Issue: Last week’s marathon six-hour City Council meeting was too much for Councilor Mark Paradis. Councilors completed their agenda at the Aug. 28 meeting, but not until after 1 a.m.

The scoop: Paradis recommended a three-hour time limit, requiring City Council meetings to end by 10 p.m. Councilors would be able to override the time limit for pressing matters and urgent business with a five-member vote. But Paradis said it would go a long way toward making city government friendlier for the public.

Up next: Councilors approved the plan. It was the last regular item on Tuesday’s agenda. The vote came at 10:30 p.m.

Graffiti rules

Issue: A plan to give artists a place to put up their graffiti art while cracking down on vandalism elsewhere in town is officially the law.

The scoop: Artists can spray paint the wall behind the 12 Hour Club at 120 Lisbon St. to their hearts content. They gave artists until Sept. 1 to register with the city and reserve the right to paint on the wall. People who leave graffiti anywhere else run the risk of paying a steeper fine: First-offense fines will be $250; second offenses will result in a $750 fine; and any offenses beyond that will bring a $1,000 fine.

Up next: Amnesty for graffiti artists officially ended last weekend.

Oak Park liquor ban

Issue: Nightly conflicts between Park Street bars and elderly neighbors in the Oak Park Apartments came to a head last summer, with the neighbors complaining of dangerous, drunken and noisy behavior from bar patrons. Councilors responded by banning new liquor licenses there while the Planning Board researched more permanent solutions.

The scoop: The Planning Board hasn’t made any recommendations yet, but the liquor license ban was scheduled to end Sept. 2.

Up next: Councilors renewed the ban for 180 days and made it retroactive to Sept. 2. That gives the city until March 2008 to come up with a permanent fix.

Schemengee’s moving

Issue: A city plan to put a cistern for storm runoff between Lincoln Street and the Androscoggin River will close Schemengee’s, the billiards hall at 15 Lincoln St., in October. The building will be knocked down to make room for the cistern project.

The scoop: Councilors agreed in April to relocate the business. They’ve spent the months since then finding a new place for the billiards hall. Schemengee’s will move into an unfinished warehouse at 545 Lincoln St. The city will pay owners David and Kathy Lebel $100,000 to buy out their lease, $25,000 to replace lost income and will give them a $160,000 block grant loan to help pay for renovations.

Up next: Schemengee’s should reopen in its new location next spring.

Police get drug-bust money

Issue: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency shares the proceeds from drug busts with the other police agencies involved. In Lewiston’s case, that money is put into a special account to help pay for drug enforcement actions.

The scoop: Councilors on Tuesday accepted proceeds from two drug arrests, amounting to a share of $5,212 in seized assets.

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