Who Needs "Bob Marley" When We Have The Lisbon Town Council

LISBON COMEDY CENTRAL

 

 Lisbon Town Council 2013

At Tuesday’s nights Town Council meeting, the only excitement was the discussion pertaining to the Home Occupation Ordinance.  Mr. Cote and I believe this ordinance violates the Comprehensive Plan and have decided to challenge this ordinance in court.  Of course, the only person going to get rich off doing this is Mr. Roger Therriault, the town attorney, because he has to prevent this from ever being heard by a Judge. 

The councilors had a heavy conversation about this ordinance and I am going to try and recap what they said:

Councilor Mark Lunt

 

Councilor Lunt had no real input at all and just sat there.

 

 Councilor Gina Mason

Councilor Mason stated that the two illegal businesses need to be compliant and giving them an additional 3 years was too much time because they already had at least a year to take corrective action.  This is significant because it is the first time the council recognized there are two businesses operating on Route 9 illegally.  The last time the question was asked by Councilor Ward, Mr. Don Fellows told the council there were no illegal businesses on Route 9.  Mr. Fellows is an intelligent individual but is a YES man all the way and is a strong supporter of the “Good Old Boys” network. 

 

Councilor Pesce and Co-Chair Lisa Ward

Co-Chair Councilor Ward and Councilor Pesce thought the three years for the illegal business was much too long.  If there are no illegal businesses on Route 9, why was paragraph D2(g) written?  It states and I quote “…Operations that are not in compliance with subsections a through f above shall be grandfathered for a period of 3 years from the effective date of this ordinance, at which point they shall be required to come into compliance with the criteria for home occupation as established in this ordinance, or else discontinue use or come into compliance with the regulations for the specific zoning district in which they are located. …”  Now new businesses starting up after the effective date of this ordinance must IMMEDIATELY comply or shut down.  There is no 3 year grace period for them.  A PRIME EXAMPLE OF A DOUBLE STANDARD!

 

 Councilor Bickford

 Chairman Larochelle and Town Manager Stephen Eldridge

 

Councilor Bickford and Chairman LaRochelle wanted the ordinance to stand as it was because it allows their friends to continue to operate an illegal business on Route 9.  It is very apparent that both Councilor Bickford and Chairman LaRochelle are members of the “Good Old Boys” network and would do everything they can to protect members of the Good Old Boys network.

 Councilors Garrison and Bickford

Councilor Garrison asked the most important question of all during the discussion and that was; once this ordinance goes into effect and someone refuses to comply with it what are we going to do? 

 The response came from Ms. Amanda Bunker, Town Planner, and it was; if the owner does not meet the requirements of the Home Occupation ordinance then it is a business.  This is without a doubt the dumbest statement I have ever heard.  This statement implies that Home Occupations are NOT businesses even though they receive payment for services rendered.  I am sure Governor LePage will be impressed when he hears that Home Occupations do not have to pay taxes on earned income because according to Ms. Bunker they are not a business.

After all the discussion, the council first voted to change the 3 years to 2 years for grandfathering and then vote 6-1 to pass the ordinance.  Councilor Pesce was the only councilor that stayed true to his belief.  All the rest of the councilors who originally had concerns voted to approve, proving once again the Good Old Boys network is still intact.

Now I am going to leave you with this thought.  As Councilor Garrison asked what are you going to do when someone does not comply with the new ordinance.  Remember we had an ordinance on the books, the Code Enforcement Officer served written notice to the business owners they were violating town ordinance and these neighbors ignored these notices and nothing was done.

 In the town of Lisbon the enforcement of the ordinances is not by the violations but who is doing the violating.  If you are a member of the Good Old Boys network, the town will simply change the ordinance to meet your needs, as they did last night, but if you are a normal citizen they will utilize all means possible to shut you down.

Larry Fillmore
Concerned Citizen