By Robert Lord

Special to the Sentry

It is no secret that a long-held dream of South Portland City Hall
insiders is to be rid of the ancient and venerable building that has
been their place of employment and, for decades, the heartbeat of the
community. Some would have us believe it was built before the collapse
of the Roman Empire, but more likely, it was constructed sometime
around the landing of the Puritans at Plymouth Rock.

It is most unfortunate that our dedicated municipal employees must
suffer the lack of companionship of colleagues banished to satellite
locations nearby for lack of space in the main building, and are now
forced to communicate with each other by e-mail or phone.

That this morale-dampening, lack-of-elbow-room inconvenience still
exists in our proud city, even as smaller neighboring cities and towns
construct beautiful, spacious and comfortable new town halls and
municipal buildings all around us, begs the question of such economic
disparity.

The answer to that query lies in the imprudent management of our
financial affairs over the last two decades; and the apparent inability
of disparate sensibilities to coalesce around proven governing
practices that anticipate the reality of unforeseen consequences.

But, any attempt to improve the situation of city hall overcrowding at
this time, by the method currently under review, in a period of pending
economic uncertainty and unsustainable municipal funding levels, would
be to ignore the consequentiality of reckless imprudence.

In the just concluded 2006/2007 fiscal year, the city of South Portland
distributed nearly $15 million dollars in employee wages. It generously
added nearly another $5 million in additional benefits. I suspect the
city hall workforce might, in all probability, suffer gladly any
inconvenience a while longer.

As for the city council, thwarted time and again by public outcries for
fiscal constraint, on Sept. 7, 2005, underhandedly took it upon itself
to be the “deciders” for the rest of us on the issue of reckless
spending, and set in motion a furtive process that would eventually
realize the prize for the supposed long-suffering managers and
employees of whom I spoke. It would elevate their sense of worth and
glee right up there with the municipal happy campers of Westbrook,
Gorham, and Scarborough.

Let me point out here that my use of the words “city” and “council” are
not intended to paint every member of that oft polarized body with the
same brush. I, they, and most who pay any attention to South Portland
politics, know full well who is whom, what each stands for and where
the sleeping dogs lie. They are all good people with loving hearts.

However, the old state armory building and grounds had become available
for the third time and, with the apparent plight of the city hall
dwellers in mind, the council threw all due process to the wind in its
attempt to “do the right thing” in the matter of taking care of their
own.

They first swiftly and quietly plopped down $25,000 for an appraisal of
the building, inspections, and legal fees. This, without public notice,
a scintilla of information or consultation with their municipal
stakeholders (we, the people) who are expected to cover the tab, along
with (a supposed) zero indication as to the targeted building’s
condition or projected use.

Then, as a perfunctory, face-saving afterthought on the
hope-no-one-noticed issue of illegality, on Thursday evening, March 2,
2006, the public was belatedly invited to offer its after-the-fact
insight as to the commonsensical logic of the council’s illicit slight
of hand. The audience was more conspicuous for its absentee count
(roughly 17,460) then the 40 assumed South Portland residents in
attendance whom, among them, was a roundly-loaded and assertive group
of municipal administrators, employees, family and friends that, not
surprisingly, were unanimous in ballyhooing the need to acquire the
aging monstrosity. That they were coyly reticent to suggest any
specific use is understandable, under the circumstances.

The resulting anemic public discussion/head count was deemed favorable
to the proponents, which gave them the green light to move forward with
the quest for their prize.

In a celebratory mode, Mayor Maxine Beecher, matter-of-factly referring
to the council in the Feb. 3, 2006 edition of the South Portland-Cape
Elizabeth Sentry said, “I think we all think that the city should own
the Armory.” But, at least for public consumption, the city council was
inexplicitly mute as to any particular or favored future use.

This obvious attempt by the Council to cover its backside and
temporarily skew the financial reality of its ultimate aim – a new city
hall in the old Armory – was under way. The council, on March 2, 2006,
submitted a bid of $650,000. On March 6, 2006, it was accepted by the
Bankruptcy Court.

Once purchased, Mayor Beecher personally handpicked a group to explore
the building’s possible uses. It was not exactly, as former City
Manager Jeffrey Jordan had suggested prior to skipping town, a “Blue
Ribbon” commission, i.e., “an independent and exclusive commission of
non–partisan statesmen and experts formed to investigate some important
governmental issue.”

It was anything but expert, statesmanlike, or non-partisan. Council
member Kay Loring, not known for her tact or timidities under fire, and
heavily slanted from the outset to reach the conclusion so stated,
chaired it.

After a year-long period of meetings, suggestions, and so-called
deliberations, Councilor Loring presented the group’s unanimous
recommendation to the city council – the old armory would be best
suited morphed into an all encompassing new city hall complex.
Surprise! Surprise!

This recommendation was arrived at by at least eight members of the
committee (a majority) who were either on the city payroll or had
personal interests that would tend to render them partisan in favor of
such a choice. To help ratchet up the favorability aspect of the
location, a number of tempting suggested adjuncts had been presented to
the committee as possible compatible uses under the same roof. A new
main library with accessory uses, was mentioned. A possible arts and
theater center, artist living/working spaces and non-profit cooperative
spaces were described as possibilities. Such would obviously tend to
favor a ‘yes’ vote from any number of those members listed below, not
already prejudiced toward that end from day one. Among them were:
Dennis C. Gilbert, a widely published writer who teaches autobiography
and creative writing at the University of Southern Maine and other
projects funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts; Jim
Soule, council member, now mayor, and local businessman who, at a
December 2006 armory committee meeting proclaimed, according to the
minutes of the meeting: “The council is looking for a core group
(advocates) to make the push for the building.”

Councilor Kay Loring is quoted as saying, “We shouldn’t worry about
cost.” Jim Gaily, at that time, assistant city manager, was an obvious
vote; Miles Haskell, deputy fire chief, whose boss continues to worry
about security around the “public safety complex” is another; Amy
Berry, deputy police chief, obvious vote; Linda Eastman, member of the
City of South Portland Community Development Advisory Committee, ditto;
Norman Lamothe, who, by bid, on April 20, 2005 purchased a piece of
land from the city at 1396 Broadway, ditto; Linda Eastman, member of
the City of South Portland Community Development Committee, ditto;
Henrietta LaRou, in a committee meeting, was quoted as declaring that
she is “thrilled that the city took over the building” and that, “rehab
would be a piece of cake.” Lisa Kubiak, who reinforced the need for the
city to make it the new municipal building – ditto; Betsy Ross, wife of
Wayne H. Ross, of Maine Technical College wondered, “Should we bring in
the neighbors?” – ditto.

After this lengthy “evaluation,” process the predictable result was to
further burden the taxpayers with additional millions of dollars by
morphing this dilapidated monstrosity into some semblance of a city
hall.

And we became an oligarchy when?



Robert Lord is a South Portland resident with 35 years experience,
covering, court, police, school boards, and municipal malfeasance, for
the Boston Globe, Manchester Union Leader, as well as a former
publisher of two Maine weeklies, the Eastern Gazette in Dexter and
Moosehead Gazette in Greenville.