Property manager missed tax payments

Published in the Current

Joseph H. Gallant III of South Portland, who failed to pay collected rents to owners of Higgins Beach property he managed, has not paid state or federal income taxes since 1997, according to bankruptcy court documents.

The Maine Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service are disputing a plan Gallant filed in October to pay off his debts by selling some property he owns.

Those debts total less than $650,000, but more than $590,000, according to Gallant’s attorney, James Molleur of Saco.

The IRS and MRS are not sure what they are owed, because Gallant’s taxes haven’t been filed for 1998, 1999, 2000 or 2001, court documents say.

Molleur said Gallant owes “less than the tax authorities think they are owed” in back taxes.

Several other creditors, all owners of Higgins Beach property managed by Gallant, also have filed objections to the payment plan. The property owners are concerned because they do not know how much Gallant owes in taxes. The courts typically order back taxes to be paid off before business debts.

The tax agencies’ objections, Molleur said, are more serious because “they get to the heart of whether we can do what we say we will do.”

Gallant’s plan hinges on raising money from the sale of a lot he owns at 4 Morning Street Extension, right on Higgins Beach. The land was assessed in 2001 as being worth $265,300, with a building value of $43,900.

At an auction held Dec. 13, an offer of $587,000 was made for the property by Richard Raubeson of Cape Elizabeth, Molleur said. The sale is not final until approved by the bankruptcy judge.

If it is approved, the amount still won’t be enough to pay every creditor the entire amount owed, Molleur said. “We’ll be a little short, I think,” he said. He said Gallant is “exploring other ways” to raise the additional money.

“Our goal is still to pay everybody 100 percent,” Molleur said.

Budgets tight in new year

Published in the Current; co-written with Kate Irish Collins

When looking forward to the new year, town officials in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough are all hoping to address some lingering issues and look at new iniatives, but there is also concern on all levels about how the state budget shortfall and proposed tax reforms will affect local municipal budget planning.

Scarborough
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said the council’s Finance Committee is looking at a 3 to 4 percent increase in the tax rate.

“I think this will be a somewhat difficult budget year. There will be some ramifications that we won’t like, but I don’t think it will be as drastic as it could be in the next couple of years,” Owens said.

He added that much of the impact on the municipal budget will be from forces over which the town has no control.

Owens is also expecting the council to approve a comprehensive traffic study. “I think we’ll be looking at traffic more globally around town, not just specific hot spots like Dunstan Corner. We’ll look at how we should prepare for the future and maybe even look at constructing some new roads,” he said.

Scarborough is also gearing up for a revision of the comprehensive plan and Owens is expecting the process of creating a clear town-wide vision for the future to be wrapped up soon.

“We will then have to look at what would need to be done to realize the town’s vision and what compromises we are willing to make. Growth and development are not going to stop,” Owens said.

The town may also begin to look at encouraging the construction of more diverse types of housing – housing that would not only be available to people of different incomes, but different lifestyles as well.

“Let’s face it, all we have been building in Scarborough for the past few years are two-story colonials in subdivisions,” Owens said.

To help encourage commercial development of the Haigis Parkway, Owens said he hoped there would be some “serious marketing.”

“We need to go out and beat the drums - not just the town but SEDCO (Scarborough Economic Development Corporation) and the landowners out there,” he said. Owens added the town might want to look at encouraging specific types of businesses, perhaps in the bio-medical field, which already has a strong presence in town due to the Maine Medical Center campus on Route 1.

Owens also said that although it’s not as important as the budget or the comprehensive plan, he would like to see the town name its portion of Route 1. “I strongly feel the road should have a name other than Route 1,” Owens said.

Patrick O’Reilly, chairman of the Scarborough Town Council, said the proposed Great American Neighborhood project for 150 acres in Dunstan would continue to take up the council’s time in the new year. He also mentioned a comprehensive traffic study, reviewing the subdivision ordinances and the sign ordinances and addressing on-call pay for public safety workers as being goals of the council in 2003.

O’Reilly also would like the town to clearly define its goals and set up criteria for measuring success as a way to keep track of things that have been addressed or that still need to be addressed.

“It will give us not only a historical outlook but will push our future planning,” O’Reilly said.

David Beneman, chairman of the Board of Education, said the number one educational matter facing the school district is full implementation of the state-mandated Learning Results. That will be followed by the need in 2004 for a comprehensive self-assessment system that would be used to evaluate the graduating classes of 2007 and 2008.

Beneman said the schools also will be facing a budget crunch, because the state Legislature may stop paying school districts to educate foster children, some of whom have extensive special education needs. “I’m concerned that more and more is expected and required at the local level with no funding provided,” he said.

The Scarborough schools also will focus on increasing the use of technology within the classroom and around the district.

“We need to share information more effectively and communicate better, especially with parents and students,” Beneman added.

He said that as far as school facilities are concerned, the school board is hoping to hire a contractor for the high school expansion project.

In addition, a study may look at the space crunch at the middle school and Wentworth Intermediate School.

“We are proposing a year-long study of both buildings with professional help and hope to have recommendations made on the use and viability of each school,” Beneman added.

The school department also will be negotiating three out of four union contracts in 2003, including teachers, administrators and bus drivers. “The cost of health care is continuing to get higher and higher and that is one of the single biggest fixed items in the school budget. The budget planning this coming year is going to take finesse especially because we are not sure what Augusta will do,” Beneman said.

He added that because of the state-mandated Learning Results, all subjects from physical education to the fine arts are now core subjects. “That means we don’t have much that we can let go,” Beneman said. In 2003 the school department is also expecting to enroll another 100 students, requiring additional teachers.

Cape Elizabeth
Cape Town Manager Mike McGovern said in an interview that the most significant challenge facing the town in 2003 will be adopting a municipal and school budget. “We are looking at a revaluation, declining school enrollment, less revenue sharing and a council that doesn’t want to see a tax increase,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough year. The public mood seems to be that we have been spending a lot of money and it’s time to slow down and take stock,” McGovern added. McGovern said the town has accomplished a lot in the last decade, including the construction of a new police station and a new fire station. When asked whether charging an entrance fee to Fort Williams Park would be on the table, McGovern said that everything that could increase the town’s revenue would be discussed.

He said the town will also be asked to approve some fairly significant subdivision proposals and added that the council would be reviewing the town’s sewer policy. “Right now we pretty much say no to everyone who wants to hook up, but the council and the Planning Board are looking at making the policy a little more flexible,” McGovern said.

“I think the other major challenge that all towns will be facing is what will happen with tax reform. Also the state pushing municipalities to consolidate and regionalize will be interesting,” he said. McGovern added that he doesn’t see Cumberland County government, at least, having a big role in regionalizing. “I think inter-local agreements work much better. County government is not the only answer for regionalization. County lines are not always the optimum for delivery of services,” he said.

“I really think this will be a year of reflection,” McGovern said, while acknowledging that some work will be required on both the high school and the Pond Cove School. The School Board hopes to move the kindergarten out of the high school and over to the elementary school, while bringing the high school up to date – projects that could cost as much as $9 million.

Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella is looking forward to several new developments for the schools in the coming year. The biggest among them is the school building project, which could go to referendum in May.

In March, Forcella and other Cape school officials will meet again with members of a growing consortium of schools from as far away as Clayton, Mo., and the Palisades School District, north of Philadelphia. Forcella expects the group to expand and begin really trading benchmark educational ideas and practices.

The Cape School Board also will be under a microscope of sorts when the New England School Development Council begins its study of eight “outstanding school boards” in New England. Cape Elizabeth was recently chosen as one of the boards to be studied to learn how they attract and retain “top citizens” to school board service.

Forcella said Cape was identified in a survey as a district that does well getting people involved in the board’s activities.

In the fall, the district also will conduct a broad review of its future direction plan, including all of the staff, community leaders and students to shed light on how the district is moving toward its overall goals.

Wish upon a stage . . . Theater-types speak up

Published in the Portland Phoenix

Maine’s theater directors and producers, full of hope and plans for the new year, are interested not only in the success of their own shows and venues, but also the arts in Maine more generally. New Year’s wishes don’t always come true, but they are worth noting.

But first, a note of a response to audience wishes: Portland Stage Company will open its first January show in several years, and has chosen to put on a second family production, Triple Espresso, to complement what is typically its only family show, A Christmas Carol.

Most of the year’s wishes, however, are not yet fulfilled.

David Greenham, producing director at the Theater at Monmouth, issued a specific challenge to the Portland Phoenix: “That those who are writing and reporting on the arts take more time to get to understand what’s behind some of the arts projects they see, specifically theater.”

By providing a venue for education of audiences and the public at large about what it takes to put together a live show, Greenham said, newspapers like this one can expand the impact of theater and open arts discussions to more people. He specifically suggests that reviewers, including me, talk to directors and producers to learn more about why a show was chosen and how it was constructed for its run in Maine. Expect to see efforts to grant his wish in this space, as the year progresses.

Other wishes are not so easily granted. David Mauriello, playwright and board member at the Players’ Ring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has a simple one: “I wish more theater companies would work with playwrights on new plays.” His own company is doing just that, but he is right: Most theaters in Maine don’t showcase the work of the state’s strong set of writers, poets, and playwrights.

Portland Opera Repertory Theatre, through its public-relations expert Gillian Britt, has wishes both selfish and selfless. They want to be able to put on more productions throughout the year, including a full show during the fall or winter, and another during the summer festival, moving the company toward “a par with most leading summer opera festivals in the country,” Britt said.

That additional exposure would no doubt help them reach the goals they aim for in the community. PORT is looking for increasing funding for its educational and outreach programs, teaching children about opera and performing from an early age.

PORT is also looking to enrich other arts organizations in the region and throughout the state, hoping for increased collaborations with “groups such as the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Maine Humanities Council, Portland Public Library, the USM School of Music, and others,” Britt said.

Improved collaboration and cross-pollination could help non-musical groups as well: Two skilled companies working together on a production could bring audiences even richer performances and more layered experiences.

The Theater at Monmouth’s Greenham also has a wish for the people of Maine, that more of them “will discover the great theater that’s available to residents of Maine.” A wide range of theaters and companies are putting on “interesting, compelling, and entertaining works” that are better than the made-for-TV dramas broadcast in early-evening time slots. Most theater in Maine, Greenham said, “is in intimate and easy-to-get-to spaces” all over the state, not far from the comfy living-room couch.

And, he said, “the experience of seeing a live performance with a group of people around you is rich in its own way.” He has this hope for the locals: “My wish is that everyone in Maine goes to see a live theater performance during 2003. You won’t regret it.”

I will close with three wishes of my own. First, that theater companies across the state realize there are other holiday plays than A Christmas Carol. I urge them to explore the wonderful range of holidays in other cultures and traditions, as well as branching out even within the plays written by white men to, for example, It’s a Wonderful Life.

Second, that theater, at least in Maine if not elsewhere, shed its traditionally segregated mantle. I want to see more people of color on Maine stages, and more shows about the experiences of “other,” explorations of race, immigration, and cultural difference and confluence. Many ethic groups have been here for 20 years or more, and yet they find little room for their own performances, which would no doubt enthrall white audiences as much as any Tom Stoppard or Eugene O’Neill script.

ýhich blends easily into my third wish for the people of Androscoggin County to see that extending a welcome to people of all cultures remains part of what makes life in Maine “the way life should be.” Let’s see Lewiston/Auburn Arts put on a show based on the experiences of Somalis, whether in their own country, refugee camps, or after arriving in the US. Theater, culture, and politics do intersect, and, in Lewiston, as well as throughout Maine, it is time for the arts to be heard.

Maine Med outlines plan for Scarborough expansion

Published in the Current

Maine Medical Center wants to expand its presence in Scarborough and is hoping to have at least one new building open in mid-2006. It may also acquire land adjacent to its existing campus to expand further in the future.

Speaking to members of the Scarborough Chamber of Commerce, Maine Med CEO Vincent Conti said the hospital’s site on Route 1 “is going to be a growth area for us.”

There are now three buildings on the eight-acre lot, including a 100,000-square-foot medical office and laboratory, a 55,000-square-foot medical research building and an 80,000-square-foot medical office building.

Conti, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, said the location is a good one in terms of access and parking, both of which are issues for the hospital’s main campus on Bramhall Hill in Portland.

Because of that, and because of available space on the site – enough to add\ three more buildings and a parking garage – Maine Med wants to move its outpatient surgery services to Scarborough, Conti said.

That is expected to be the first phase of the project because of increased demand for day surgery and because existing facilities, at Brighton FirstCare on Brighton Avenue in Portland and at the main hospital itself are already feeling a space crunch, Conti said

“Surgery is very much going in the direction of outpatient,” Conti said. And as for the space at Brighton, “we have outgrown it.”

The new building will house 10 operating rooms for day surgery procedures, which are typically less invasive and smaller-scale than inpatient surgery. It will also hold some additional services that might be needed if the smaller procedures develop complications, Conti said.

“Most outpatient surgery doesn’t turn into inpatient care,” Conti said, adding that Maine Med already has a functioning outpatient surgery facility at Brighton, which is also some distance from the hospital.

With the new Scarborough building will come an increased need for parking, Conti said. That’s where the garage comes in. It will be built as far back from Route 1 as is possible on the lot, which drew praise from chamber member Fred Kilfoil, owner of the Millbrook Motel on Route 1.

“I’ve never seen an attractive parking garage,” he said.

State Rep. Harold Clough, who had reviewed an initial plan for the site, asked about whether underground parking was still being considered.

Conti said it wasn’t because of the expense and the fact that an above-ground garage would provide enough parking on the site.

Before it can build the operating rooms proposed, Maine Med needs to prove to the state that it needs the space, Conti said, which can take as long as a year. That process has not yet begun. The project would also require site plan approval from the town.

Maine Med is also reviewing what it could do with the space at Brighton that would be emptied when the existing operating rooms move, Conti said. New England Rehab Hospital already occupies a lot of the space at Brighton and might expand, he said.

Also, Conti is looking at moving other services from the Bramhall Hill facility over to Brighton. “At this point we’re looking at a number of different options,” he said.

Conti said Maine Med might also look into purchasing a lot just south of the existing property, for possible additional expansion in Scarborough.

Commentary: Gift of love for a newborn

Published in the Current

It’s my first Christmas as an uncle. My sister gave birth to little Aidan in mid-October, and even at the tender young age of two-and-a-half months, he is in for a holiday treat.

Some of the boxes under the tree are likely to be larger than he is, and many of them, like a book he will receive from me, won’t be used by him on his own for years. (I expect to read it aloud to him soon after the holiday hurry passes.)

It’s not like he really needs anything material. That young, he has no requirements aside from a warm set of arms to hold him, milk from his mother or a bottle, and a regular – even frequent – change of diapers.

But we in the family are likely to keep looking for the Perfect Book or the Perfect Toy. Perhaps even the Perfect Crib or the Perfect Baby Carrier, replacing models previously thought top-of-the-line, will appear under the tree come Dec. 25. We will spend our hard-earned money on things Aidan may use, like money for college or a new outfit. We’ll miss the mark with other gifts and find that he never uses them. And of course there will be the toys, mobiles and trinkets all families want kids to play with.

But why do we insist, this early in his life, on showering him with material goods? In part, it’s selfish: I notice my own glee as I wander through stores, wondering what I might find that I want Aidan to have. All of us, the grown-ups in his life, hope that he will never want for anything, and plan to do our part.

But we, like all members of expanding families, risk missing the point on the things he really will need as a growing boy: attention, love, support and encouragement.

Rather than buy him a book or a toy, I could clap along with him as he coos and gurgles. Spending time, with him and other loved ones, is more important than spending money.

And yet the gifts we give are symbols of our love for each other, efforts to make the lives of our friends and family somehow easier, better or more fun. I have found myself in more than one store, debating inside my head whether this is something that I really want to buy.

I try to remember to resist the urges and not let spending money on my nephew substitute for spending time with him. He’s a glorious young boy who, I fear, will grow up far too fast for any of us to really handle. There will always be more books, more toys and more things-that-look-weird-and-make-noise to buy, but there will not always be more time to be with Aidan.

And I hope we all keep in mind what Aidan’s holiday packages truly should contain: not replacements for affection or simple bribes to satisfy spoiled children, but minor tokens of the expansive love we feel for our family’s newest member.