Biddeford’s plan to appoint a temporary harbormaster to oversee the University of New England’s application for a new pier is “unprecedented” and is inconsistent with state law, according to the State of Maine Harbor Masters Association.

The association, which trains harbormasters, weighed in on City Manager James Bennett’s decision to remove harbormaster Paul Lariviere as the administrative hearing officer for the UNE application after Lariviere publicly opposed the location of the pier before it had even been formally proposed.

Bennett said in a phone interview last week that he and the city attorney disagree with the association’s assessment and feel an independent third party is needed.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that everybody has a fair, unbiased opportunity to go before these bodies,” Bennett said.

Bennett said finding a temporary harbormaster has been more difficult than he anticipated. But despite the association’s objections, he said he plans to announce his choice for a temporary harbormaster any day now. He anticipates review of UNE’s application will start soon after.

But Will Owen, president of the harbormasters association, said the move is “unheard of throughout the state.”

“There’s a process in place that needs to be followed,” Owen said. “To bring someone in from the outside doesn’t make sense to us when you have someone in that position.”

Maine law does not prohibit Biddeford from taking steps to remedy what it has concluded was a violation of the law, UNE spokesperson Sarah Delage said in a statement.

“UNE has proceeded in good faith and with full transparency to apply to build a pier on the Saco River to support its teaching and research mission,” she said. “Unfortunately, the current harbormaster and the chair of the Harbor Commission … publicly indicated their intention to deny the application for a pier before UNE had even applied. They did this on multiple occasions and have continued to indicate their intent to deny UNE’s application.”

The pier, if approved, would be built near the Girard Marine Sciences Center, directly across the Saco River from the Camp Ellis town pier. The spot was chosen after a review of multiple locations, according to UNE officials. The pier would replace a research dock that can only be used from April to November and allow the university to focus more on aquaculture.

Biddeford’s harbor ordinance says that piers or wharfs cannot be built or altered without approval of the harbormaster and federal, state and local governing authorities. It also says the harbormaster will guide the applicant through the process and sign off that all regulatory approvals have been obtained.

“This is one step in a multistep approval process,” Bennett said. “It’s not the final decision.”

The Harbor Commission is charged with hearing appeals of decisions made by the harbormaster and “to act as an advisor vehicle for any construction from the mean high water line down,” according to the ordinance.

The university submitted its application in June to build the pier, but the project has been part of the school’s master plan for decades and has been discussed at length by many people in the area. Lariviere, whose role includes overseeing such applications, told UNE officials last year that they should build the pier in a different location.

Bennett said Lariviere also “spent time lobbying the Harbor Commission and other agencies to tell people why they should back his decision.” Bennett has also decided that the assistant harbormaster and the Harbor Commission cannot be involved in the review because they talked about the project during a meeting without notifying UNE – though neither Lariviere nor Assistant Harbormaster Randy Desmaris have been disciplined or removed from their positions, according to Bennett.

Lariviere said in a previous statement that he will not follow the city manager’s directive to refrain from commenting on the proposal. Several attempts to reach him to talk about his position and Bennett’s decision have been unsuccessful.

Bennett said he asked the association to connect him with a specific member for guidance and was disappointed the association did not provide the help he was requesting.

“The Maine Harbormasters Association discourages you from pursuing a ‘pro tem’ harbormaster as it is inconsistent with the prevailing law. Instead, we recommend that you work within the review hierarchy laid out in your harbor ordinance,” Daryen Garnata, the association’s vice president, said in an email to Bennett.

Under state law, harbormasters must be appointed for a term of at least one year and go through a training course, Owen said.

Owen said the association’s goal “is that everyone sticks to the process and sees it out fully.” He said talking about projects before they are proposed is “very common” when it comes to new developments or business expansions and that it should not be an issue if the harbormaster, assistant harbormaster and Harbor Commission review the application properly.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Julia Gagnon, Maine’s ‘American Idol’ star, sings new music at packed Portland show

Next »

Volume of Maine’s storm and sewage overflows more than doubled in 2023