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39 Village Street Property owned by or formerly owned by Reginald Thiboutot
39 Village Street Property now questionabley owned by the Town of LisbonDear Lisbon Reporter and Citizens of Lisbon,
Last night I attended the Lisbon town council meeting, with a personal interest in one of the items on the agenda; the order of the demolition of the building at 39 Village Street in Lisbon. Yes I am friends with the owner of the building, but no one twisted my arm to get involved.
When one has been the victim of fraudulent practices, one tends to develop the ability to detect such practices. I sensed some time ago that the manner in which elected officials in Lisbon were dealing with this case, just did not add up, but I could not put my finger on it until the last few weeks.
Some years ago, Western Avenue extended the length of the fire station lot and intersected with Village Street just North of the fire station. This section of Western Avenue adjacent to the fire station lot was physically blocked by the addition to the fire station in 1986. Due to the lack of documented evidence at this time, it appears that this same section of Western Avenue was never officially discontinued. Careful study of the details will give an indication as to why this was not dealt with when the addition was built.
It could simply be described as a catch 22 for the town. Common sense dictates that the road should have been discontinued, but here is what would have happened, the Eastern boundary line of the lot at 39 Village Street would be moved to the center line of Western Avenue. Without knowing the width of Western Avenue, I'm not sure exactly where this line would be, but a quick check with a tape measure, leads me to believe that it could be in front of the fire station building.
In addition, the setback would be less than the 15 feet required by ordinance. As it stands right now, the setback on the Westerly side of the fire station to the municipal parking lot appears to be 14 feet, but since the town already owns the parking lot, who would complain. It's also very possible that to discontinue this section of road, would make the lot at 39 Village Street a landlocked piece of property, this would be an illegal act under Maine law. This same issue could also affect the driveway for 37 Village Street.
Now if the town were to obtain ownership of the lot at 39 Village Street, most of the issues I have mentioned here would go away.
Now in 2001, along comes Reggie Thiboutot, who like a lot of us, is not loaded with dough. Records show that shortly thereafter, town officials started to complain. They gave Reggie lists of things to correct. Although he may not have completed them in a timely manner as set forth by the town officials, I believe that Reggie did indeed comply with their demands.
According to information received from Maine's Bureau of Taxation, it appears that the town had two choices, either recommend demolishing the building, or repair it and set Reggie up with a payment plan of up to ten years. But you have to realize that only one of these options makes the problems go away.
How to arrive at the results desired? Keep hiring an engineering firm and give the impression to the town's people that it is a dangerous building, all the while adding fees and liens to the property.
Now if Reggie brought the property into compliance, wouldn't it make sense for the town to choose to repair the building? Oops, sorry short memory, it wouldn't make the problems go away. As I told the council last night, stop the shenanigans, work with Reggie for a solution that would benefit him and the town. Never mind the attorney, he could collect food stamps.
It might make the most sense if the town did own the property at 39 Village Street, I'm sure that Reggie and the neighbors wouldn't mind seeing an improvement in the scenery. But for gosh sakes, don't steal the man's property in an attempt to hide mistakes made by town officials, negotiate a fair price and resolve the dispute. The town council voted last night to demolish the building.
While Reggie is planning his appeal, the town attorney is planning his frequent trips to the bank, courtesy of the Lisbon Taxpayers.
It amazes me how so many public officials are unaware of, or totally ignore their primary responsibility, which is to help the residents to comply with the rules.
Simply enforcing statutes, rules or regulations may not always be in the best interest of all involved.
When one has been the victim of fraudulent practices, one tends to develop the ability to detect such practices. I sensed some time ago that the manner in which elected officials in Lisbon were dealing with this case, just did not add up, but I could not put my finger on it until the last few weeks.
Some years ago, Western Avenue extended the length of the fire station lot and intersected with Village Street just North of the fire station. This section of Western Avenue adjacent to the fire station lot was physically blocked by the addition to the fire station in 1986. Due to the lack of documented evidence at this time, it appears that this same section of Western Avenue was never officially discontinued. Careful study of the details will give an indication as to why this was not dealt with when the addition was built.
It could simply be described as a catch 22 for the town. Common sense dictates that the road should have been discontinued, but here is what would have happened, the Eastern boundary line of the lot at 39 Village Street would be moved to the center line of Western Avenue. Without knowing the width of Western Avenue, I'm not sure exactly where this line would be, but a quick check with a tape measure, leads me to believe that it could be in front of the fire station building.
In addition, the setback would be less than the 15 feet required by ordinance. As it stands right now, the setback on the Westerly side of the fire station to the municipal parking lot appears to be 14 feet, but since the town already owns the parking lot, who would complain. It's also very possible that to discontinue this section of road, would make the lot at 39 Village Street a landlocked piece of property, this would be an illegal act under Maine law. This same issue could also affect the driveway for 37 Village Street.
Now if the town were to obtain ownership of the lot at 39 Village Street, most of the issues I have mentioned here would go away.
Now in 2001, along comes Reggie Thiboutot, who like a lot of us, is not loaded with dough. Records show that shortly thereafter, town officials started to complain. They gave Reggie lists of things to correct. Although he may not have completed them in a timely manner as set forth by the town officials, I believe that Reggie did indeed comply with their demands.
According to information received from Maine's Bureau of Taxation, it appears that the town had two choices, either recommend demolishing the building, or repair it and set Reggie up with a payment plan of up to ten years. But you have to realize that only one of these options makes the problems go away.
How to arrive at the results desired? Keep hiring an engineering firm and give the impression to the town's people that it is a dangerous building, all the while adding fees and liens to the property.
Now if Reggie brought the property into compliance, wouldn't it make sense for the town to choose to repair the building? Oops, sorry short memory, it wouldn't make the problems go away. As I told the council last night, stop the shenanigans, work with Reggie for a solution that would benefit him and the town. Never mind the attorney, he could collect food stamps.
It might make the most sense if the town did own the property at 39 Village Street, I'm sure that Reggie and the neighbors wouldn't mind seeing an improvement in the scenery. But for gosh sakes, don't steal the man's property in an attempt to hide mistakes made by town officials, negotiate a fair price and resolve the dispute. The town council voted last night to demolish the building.
While Reggie is planning his appeal, the town attorney is planning his frequent trips to the bank, courtesy of the Lisbon Taxpayers.
It amazes me how so many public officials are unaware of, or totally ignore their primary responsibility, which is to help the residents to comply with the rules.
Simply enforcing statutes, rules or regulations may not always be in the best interest of all involved.
And that's my opinion, DYODD (Do Your Own Due Diligence)
Leon Bard
