Do Some Lisbon Councilors Have Special Benefits?

PERKS FOR COUNCILORS

Let’s take a look at some of the perks of being a councilor in the Town of Lisbon. The first and probably the most important perk is you get to attend a pre-council meeting in Eldridge’s office in order to insure you have your script rehearsed for the meeting before you get into the meeting. This secretive meeting is really illegal but because the council determines what is legal and what is not legal who is going to stop them. These meetings last approximately 15-30 minutes prior to the actual meeting and all the councilors are invited except Cote. I wonder why this is. I believe this meeting is for Puppet-Master Bowie to attach the strings to his puppets.

Next, if you live in a Rural Open District you can run to the Planning Board with an Application for Conditional Use and get it approved without any conditions. The Planning Board uses a wide interpretation of the ordinance. An example is the reference cited was 70-353-3-G which states “Temporary construction, excavating, fabrication or processing”. The Planning Board states the temporary condition is ONLY for the construction and not the other uses which are listed in alphabetical order. Of course, all the other uses are under 70-353-3-G are listed individually such as junkyards; aviation; campgrounds; sawmills and boathouses. If excavating, fabrication and processing were not temporary conditions, why aren’t they listed individually like the other uses in the section? If they are temporary conditional uses, as I believe they are, then why is there no Expiration Date on the approval form? The management of the Town of Lisbon uses any excuse to protect the councilors whether they are right or wrong.

Now let’s move on to my favorite one, the Town Attorney files papers on David & Lori Pomelow back in September 9, 1997 for operating a business out of their residence. Since then it has been an ongoing battle between the Town of Lisbon and the Pomelows’. In April 9, 2008, the Code Enforcement Officer sent a Notice of Violation to them stating “…Town Code Section 70-294 located in the Limited Residential Zone and not allowed to have any type of business or having business equipment located there.”   In 2009, Mrs. Pomelow was elected to the Town Council and since her election there have been no further violations of Town Ordinance even though every piece of paper indicated the residence is still being utilized as the Headquarters for Pomelow Transport. The commercial tractor trailers are still driving up and down Wing Street which is posted “No Through Trucks” and the police department does nothing about it. These commercial rigs are parked overnight on Scottsdale and Dumas Streets but according to the Code Enforcement Officer there is no business operating out of their residence. However, according to the Town of Lisbon Personal Property Commitment Book Pomelow Transport pays personal property taxes to the Town of Lisbon for trailers; a clear indication of a business being operated from this residence. The United States Postal Service delivers mail to the councilor’s residence for Pomelow Transport but there is no business being conducted from the councilor’s residence according to the Code Enforcement Officer.

I call this corruption on the part of Eldridge who is responsible for the daily operations of the Town of Lisbon. The police do not ticket trucks on Wing Street; Code Enforcement Officer does not acknowledge a business operating in a Limited Residential Zone and the Planning Board interprets the ordinances any way they want to in order to protect a member of the Town Council.

Let’s eliminate these perks for Town Council members. If you agree with me, please call Eldridge at 353-3000 Extension 102; Lunt at 333-2811 and most important the puppet master Bowie at 353-2607. Trust me; nothing will change because there is too much corruption in the Town of Lisbon until the residents decide to take back the Town of Lisbon.

Larry A. Fillmore

Concerned Citizen