City Council District 5: James Hughes

Published in the Current

SOUTH PORTLAND (Oct 27, 2005): James Hughes, presently serving as mayor of South Portland, is running for re-election to his District 5 seat because “we’ve got some stuff that I don’t think I finished.” '

He lives on Broadway near Westbrook Street and originally ran because of the traffic in his neighborhood, and his involvement in the Broadway Westbrook Neighborhood Association dealing with traffic.

A committee that surveyed the area recommended granite curbing, especially in the area where schoolchildren cross Broadway. The cost projected was $600,000, which came down at about the same time as the 1 percent tax cap referendum, and was put off for that reason.

Hughes wants to install granite curb in “at least that portion where the schoolkids are,” which would cost less.

Also in terms of traffic, he wants to continue to work on local, state and federal funding for a noise barrier along I-295, which residents want and which has taken some time to make progress on.

He also wants to keep an eye on the Maine Mall area traffic work now in progress and coming up in the next two or three years.

Hughes, a 61-year-old computer consultant, said the past year brought improvements in both the budget process and spending control. City spending increased less than 3 percent last year, in part because he helped build a good partnership with the School Board, Hughes said.

He said he has helped save taxpayer dollars by changing the city’s rules to require a bid process for every purchase over $10,000. “The taxes we pay are well spent,” he said.

He said the city faces a zoning challenge because “our ordinance hasn’t kept up with the changes in the city,” and also because the city doesn’t clearly explain to people how planning boards and zoning boards should work.

Hughes wants to see more affordable housing come to the city, citing Brickhill as a good example. “South Portland is the first city in Maine to use the new law” that allows cities to create tax-increment financing for housing developments, he said.

He supports the efforts of the dog committee so far, including a better definition of what “voice control” of a dog really means. He wants to see the group work more on the remaining issues, such as access to public parks.

“It makes sense to me that we have areas in our parks that are dog-friendly,” he said.

Kids, parents carve pumpkins

Published in the Current

CAPE ELIZABETH (Oct 20, 2005): Sarah Merriam won the under 7 age group category in the Inn by the Sea's annual pumpkin carving contest Saturday. George McKenzie won the 7 and over age group in the contest, judged by Jeff Inglis, editor of the Current.

In the under 7 group, Nat Jordan took second place and Kyle Long took third. In the 7 and over, William Pinette won second place and Aphrodite Makrides took third.

From left, William, Michaela, Melanie, Sheila, Christiana and Tara Pinette carve pumpkins at the Inn by the Sea's annual pumpkin carving event Sunday. (Photo by Jeff Inglis)

Aaron Brogan of Cape Elizabeth carves a pumpkin at the Inn by the Sea Sunday. (Photo by Jeff Inglis)

From left, Nat Jordan, second-place winner in the under 7 age group, with contest judge Jeff Inglis, editor of the Current, and third-place winner Kyle Long. First-place winner Sarah Merriam is not pictured. (Image courtesy of Rauni Kew, Inn by the Sea)

From left, pumpkin carving contest judge Jeff Inglis, editor of the Current, with 7 and over age group winner George McKenzie, third-place winner Aphrodite Makrides and second-place winner William Pinette. Inglis is holding Makrides's pumpkin. (Image courtesy of Rauni Kew, Inn by the Sea)

Downs: Slots promoter bilked us out of millions

Published in the Current

SCARBOROUGH (Oct 20, 2005): Scarborough Downs has sued gambling promoter Shawn Scott, saying he manipulated voters, state laws and horsemen to create a monopoly on slot machines in the state, which he then sold for more than $50 million, depriving the Downs of a cut of the windfall.

The suit is an attempt to ensure that Shawn Scott “doesn’t walk away from this a rich man after doing what he did,” according to Downs owner Sharon Terry.

A lawsuit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court claims Scott, a resident of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands who owns gambling operations in several states, always intended to block Scarborough Downs from installing slot machines at its track, or to control any slots at the Downs, despite making statements and formal agreements to support the Downs’ plans for slots.

The suit alleges their efforts cost the Downs the opportunity to receive $50 million from Penn National Gaming, the Downs’s partner in developing a Southern Maine racino. Scarborough Downs attorney Ed MacColl said Scott “made certain agreements” and then took action that “undermined” them, forming the basis of the suit.

Scott’s attorney, Bruce Merrill, said the suit had no basis in fact, and that “when everything is brought to light,” it will become clear that “neither Shawn Scott nor Capital Seven (his company) has done anything wrong.” Merrill has not yet filed a response, and has until early December to do so. He declined to talk about specific allegations in the suit until filing that response.

Scott created the citizen’s initiative that was on the November 2003 statewide ballot, asking to legalize slot machine gambling at racetracks, which required local approval by the voters of the town in which the track would be located.

The Downs sought to leave Scarborough because it wanted to move to a community that would vote in favor of having slot machines at the horse racetrack. Scarborough’s Town Council had voted to ban slots in April 2002, and voters town-wide rejected a proposal to overturn that ban in November 2003. The Downs optioned land in Saco and Westbrook, in hopes of relocating to one of those cities.

‘Tussle between the big boys’

Scott’s original draft of the citizen’s initiative allowed the Downs a year, until December 2004, to seek local approval from Scarborough or a nearby town.

When the Downs asked Scott for an additional year, until December 2005, the lawsuit alleges, Scott then changed the wording to shorten the deadline to December 2003. That wording – and the 2003 deadline – was passed into law when the referendum was approved by Maine voters.

The suit then alleges a litany of wrongdoing by Scott, including that he backed two political action committees opposing the Downs’s efforts to get local approval in Scarborough, Saco and Westbrook, where the Downs sought to relocate; that he was behind a lawsuit trying to block the Westbrook referendum; and that he tried “to intimidate the Westbrook City Council into refusing even to hold a referendum.”

The Downs claims Westbrook residents were in favor of slots until Scott’s public-relations campaign changed their minds.

George Rodrigues, an organizer of “Our City, No Slots,” an independent Westbrook residents’ group that actively campaigned against the racino, described his group’s efforts as a low-budget door-to-door campaign that tried to stay out of the battle between the racetrack and the larger anti-racino groups.

His group was not one the Downs alleged was run by Scott. “We just did the best to run our campaign and stay out of the back and forth between those guys,” Rodrigues said. “We knew this was a tussle between the big boys.”

He said Scott’s advertisements did help sway the vote, though he did not attribute the proposal’s failure solely to Scott’s efforts. He thought his group’s door-to-door efforts had a bigger effect.

“In my opinion, it was the passion of that campaign that made the difference,” he said. “We knocked on a lot of doors.”

The Downs also claimed Scott instigated and paid the legal bills for a lawsuit filed by a Westbrook couple, John and Carol Peters – allegedly the parents of one of Scott’s attorneys – seeking to block the city’s referendum altogether. John Peters said Monday night that he had no knowledge of the new suit filed by Scarborough Downs and declined to comment on the lawsuit filed in 2003.

The Downs suit claims Scott gave misleading and false information to Westbrook city councilors, but Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant said he did not specifically getting any information from Scott in the weeks leading up to the racino vote.

Jim Violette, the president of the City Council, was also president at the time of the racino vote. He said he does not remember Shawn Scott coming before the council with any information about the racetrack or Downs owner Sharon Terry. “Scott never approached the council or talked to the council,” he said.

Penn on both sides

The Downs also claims that Scott negotiated in competition with the Downs for an option on land in Saco and Westbrook where the track wanted to move, if allowed.

The Downs also claims that having used fraud and deceit to gain a monopoly, Scott then sold it for more than $50 million. The buyer, Penn National Gaming, expects to open a slot machine operation in Bangor in the next couple of months.

A judge refused Oct. 3 to freeze an upcoming payment to Shawn Scott from Penn National Gaming, which is purchasing Bangor Historic Track from Scott and other owners. The suit claims the payment is the final one in the deal and is for more than $30 million, and claims that if Scott is paid, he will “conceal” the money outside the U.S., where it will not be available to pay the Downs if it prevails in the suit.

The judge could revisit the request to freeze the payment, once Scott has had a chance to respond to the allegations in the suit, MacColl said.

Merrill said he would not discuss the total amount of the sale, or the amount of the final payment, but said the final payment was agreed to coincide with the opening of slot machines in Bangor, which he said should be within the next two months.

Penn National also has an exclusive agreement with the Downs to build a racino in Southern Maine, should one be approved. Under that agreement, Penn National would pay for the construction of the new track and buildings, and would collect rent from the Downs, as well as the proceeds from gambling, some of which might be shared back to the Downs.

MacColl said the agreement has never been terminated, but “I don’t know that there’s any active effort” between the two companies at the moment.

The Downs is also slated to benefit from slot machine revenues – even only at Bangor – because a portion of the proceeds is designated to go to the state’s harness racing commission to increase the size of purses for horse races at all tracks and agricultural fairs.

The suit seeks unspecified payment for damages, but indicates the Downs spent more than $1 million attempting to pass the referenda, and could have gained as much as $50 million from Penn National Gaming, if the Westbrook or Saco referenda had given approval to slots at a relocated Downs.

Tighter dog rules on the way

Published in the Current

SOUTH PORTLAND (Oct 20, 2005): Clearer rules governing dogs in public spaces in South Portland got unanimous council approval in a preliminary vote Monday.

The changes include specifying that dogs not on leashes will be under “voice command,” which is for the first time defined in a city ordinance, as meaning the owner can see the dog and the dog comes when called.

Other changes require that dogs be leashed on public roads, sidewalks, parking lots and on the city’s Greenbelt walkway, and that leashes be no longer than eight feet unless it is a retractable leash, in which case the maximum length is 16 feet.

The council will hold a public hearing on the changes on Monday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall, and is expected to take a final vote on the measures at that same meeting.

A committee created by City Manager Jeff Jordan will continue to meet to discuss revamping the city’s fines for violations of dog-control rules, as well as potential fees for dogs to use public spaces, and possibly restricting the hours dogs are allowed in parks and on Willard Beach. That committee will next meet on Friday, Oct. 28.

Claude Morgan, president of the South Portland Dog Owners Group and a candidate for the District 1 seat on the City Council, said he supported the measures given preliminary approval Monday. “This is born of compromise,” he said.

David Bourke, a leading proponent of dog control and also a District 1 candidate, said the proposals “will make it a lot easier for enforcement.” He also said it will “give non-dog-owners, people who want to be safe on the streets, peace of mind.”

Both Morgan and Bourke are members of the city manager’s task force on dog rules.

The proposals approved by the council gained endorsements from two other dog owners who have not been extensively involved in the discussions so far.

Marc Gup of Loveitt’s Field Road, who often takes his dog to Willard Beach, said “it sounds like a fair thing” to clarify the rules. He said Willard Beach is a safe place for his dog, but asked councilors to consider a speed bump on Preble Street to make the road safer for people who walk and bicycle there, including dog walkers.

“Those cars go 50 miles an hour down that road,” he said.

Rommy Brown of E Street said she had “no objection” to the proposals. She urged the committee studying dog issues to “expand enormously” to better reflect the interests of the wider community.

“There are people who do not own dogs or do not like dogs or who have physical challenges” who need representation going forward, she said.

Councilors disagreed on how to do that, with outgoing District 1 Councilor David Jacobs proposing a standing city committee based on “animal control committee” groups in other communities in other states.

In South Portland, “this has become an emotional issue,” he said. “Neither side is wrong.” He asked that the council hold off on additional changes to the dog-control rules to explore having a standing committee, appointed by the councilors, to address the recurring issues.

District 3 Councilor Rosemarie DeAngelis said she would explore such an idea, but did not want to delay the ongoing work of the committee, which she has recently joined.

At-large Councilor Linda Boudreau said she supported Jacobs’s idea, and also called for a council study of the proposal, saying dog-control problems have “come back every single year I’ve been on the council.”

She also asked the committee to discuss possible rules about people walking four or five dogs at a time, and said she was glad the council had moved forward to codify consequences “when you whistle or call your dog and he runs for the hills.”

Fire exhibit shows history

Published in the Current

SOUTH PORTLAND (Oct 20, 2005): As the city of South Portland prepares to close a decades-old neighborhood firehouse, the South Portland Historical Society has put on a special exhibit on the history of the city’s fire department.

“It’s hard to move out of a building you’ve been in for 40 years,” said Capt. Richard Cotton of the Pleasantdale Hose Company. The company was founded in 1893 in Palmer’s garage, and moved into its present digs on Robinson Street in 1921, after a community-wide effort built the firehouse.

At the end of this month, the firehouse will close and the call company will move to a new barn built behind the Cash Corner fire station. The exhibit at the Sawyer School Annex will be open to the public until the end of the month.

“It’s costing too much money to heat the building,” said Cotton, who joined the company in 1963 and took over as captain 15 years ago.

In the early days of the fire company, the fire truck was garaged in various buildings, and had no dedicated horse to pull it.

“Anybody’s horse that went by became the fire horse,” Cotton said.

The historical society’s exhibit was inspired by the discovery last year of a 1914 roster of the Knightville fire company, in an antique store in Freeport by society historian Kathy Onos DiPhilippo.

It may be the last exhibit in the society’s longtime home, the Sawyer School Annex on Braeburn Avenue. Congregation Bet Ha’am, which has been holding services in the school’s main building for some time, is buying the property, including the annex, which is slated to be demolished, according to society curator Mary Anne Wallace.

The society, which gets lots of support from the South Portland Lions Club, is looking for other places to call home and hold exhibits such as “Call Box 4215,” named for the alarm code that would sound in firehouses to tell firemen there was fire at the annex location.

The exhibit showcased historical firefighting equipment, including old water pipes made of wood that had to be replaced when modern pumper trucks were built. Those pumps pulled the water too hard, ripping the wooden pipes out of the ground.

Many items were loaned or donated by South Portland firefighters or their family members, such as a collection of badges and insignia used through the years.

“Firemen have a real sense of their own history,” Wallace said.

Other items included information about the department’s three Dalmatians, one of which, Tapper, lived at Engine 6 in Thornton Heights and was trained to stamp out cigarette butts.

Letters in a binder on display indicated that firemen had trouble getting around the city early in World War II because they lacked the proper permits to be out driving around during government-imposed blackouts, instituted to foil enemy attacks from the ocean.

In one test run described in an official letter from the period, some firemen were blocked by blackout wardens and others were only able to arrive at the intended destination by talking their way through roadblocks. The incident was just a test, but was used as an example of what could happen unless proper paperwork was issued.

One old photo on the wall sparked a more recent memory from Cotton. The photo showed the old Engine 10, a foam truck, whose door had the last hand-painted city seal on a fire truck’s door. Cotton found that door again in May, in the rafters of a chicken coop in Hope, now used to store old fire trucks and other fire memorabilia.