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Palermo Contractor Shifts Blame for Wetland Cutting by Sheepscot Lake

June 19, 2010 - PALERMO -- Larry Knowles said he was just following orders when he built a road through wetlands and cleared a building site on the shore of Sheepscot Lake, in violation of state and town land use regulations.

Knowles, a Norridgewock contractor, said Laure and Real Robidoux of Scituate, Mass., hired him to build a road as inexpensively as possible from Banton Road to the shore and prepare a house site.

"They told me, do as you're told, by the hour," Knowles said.

Therefore, he argued, the Robidouxes were responsible for the violations -- not him.

Selectmen were unsympathetic. They held landowner and contractor both responsible.

Code Enforcement Officer Darryl McKenney agreed.

"You cut 'em [trees in wetlands and the shoreland], so you're as guilty as they are," he told Knowles on Thursday evening.

The consent agreement selectmen gave Knowles to discuss with his attorney calls for a $7,500 penalty. Selectmen gave him a week to sign and return it and until the end of July to pay the penalty or discuss payments.

If Knowles does not accept the consent agreement, the town will take him to court, McKenney said.

He warned that a judge would be likely to assess a far higher penalty, based on the schedule of fines in the town ordinance.

Knowles said he replanted 90 trees to replace some that were cut.

The trees Knowles planted died, McKenney said. McKenney and the Robidouxes' representative, engineer Elliott Thayer, told selectmen the Robidouxes are about to start replanting again.

Thayer estimated they will spend at least $100,000 on work to resolve the violations. They are using a different contractor.

Selectmen intend to fine the Robidouxes, also.

On two other land-use violations, involving the Haskell property on Sheepscot Lake and Merton Hickey's road across a wetland off Banton Road, selectmen await state action.

In other business Thursday:

* Selectmen unanimously approved the 2010 local property tax rate recommended by the assessors: $12.50 for each $1,000 of valuation. The figure is an increase of 70 cents per $1,000 over 2009. The increase is from school costs that rose by almost $198,000.

* Selectmen decided not to close Morse Road to winter maintenance.

* Board members had a draft 2009 audit report for review that shows a $600,000 surplus at the end of 2009.

by staff writer, Kennebec Journal, June 19, 2010

Lakes: Sheepscot Pond
Regions: Belgrade


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