Photo from Google Images
For those of us who care to know how two seated Selectmen are continually found together at the Lebanon Transfer Station, or for those of us who get angered by the mixing around of town employees that seem to suit one group of people's desires, the mystery is finally unearthed.
I gave a call to Transfer Station Manager Ronal Patch this morning.
Since I could not seem to get any answers from the elected by the people Select Duo of Nadeau and Heath, I took a moment to call Mr. Patch and get the TRUTH of the situation right from the horse's mouth.
Patch, who along with wife Lorraine and brother Robert all work at the Transfer Station had been out of state on Saturday 8/8/15 when the questioned events took place, but he provided more answers than the two seated Selectmen have given. I appreciate his honesty, and although the answers still need to be addressed, Patch was honest and forthcoming with the answers, and anyone can appreciate that.
Apparently, it had been discussed, outside of the Board of Selectmen, with Mr. Nadeau that the Patch family would be out of state on Saturday 8/8/15, enjoying some family time. In hopes that the Transfer Station, with its 2 newly hired personnel, would be able to stay up and running smoothly, Selectman Nadeau had told Mr. Patch he would "stop by and check on things" during the day to ensure that residents needs were being met. Patch stated that he heard that the Transfer Station was running smoothly all day on Saturday, and he is happy with the work ethic of new employee Roger Nault, and Patch's Grandson Jordan. When I asked Mr. Patch why Selectman Nadeau had stayed there 4 1/2 hours if things were running smoothly, he had no answer except for to state that it had not been planned, and that Selectman Nadeau received no payment for being there, saying that the Selectman was there for the day for at no charge to the town. He didn't seem to see a problem with that.
I explained to Mr. Patch that the problem came when no one had come to the Board to work this all out in advance, and that BOTH Selectman Nadeau AND Selectman Heath had put in hours TOGETHER at the Transfer Station that day. Mr. Patch stated that the two had not been there together that day, that they had come at different times, each being there about 4 1/2 hours of the 9 hour day of the Transfer Station operations. However, when I told Mr. Patch that Selectman Heath had indeed had been there during the time that Selectman Nadeau had been there and had been seen by several residents who reported this, Mr. Patch was surprised, but added that he didn't understand why the two friends being together at the Transfer Station would be such a big concern.
I had a long talk with Mr. Patch, discussing the different ways that this could have been handled and why what Selectmen Nadeau and Heath were doing was ILLEGAL and therefore WAS a concern. I gave an example of how a single phone call to Select Board Chairman Ben Thompson stating that the Transfer Station was without management on a Saturday and relating that Nadeau and Heath had offered to come in for the day, would have given Thompson notice, and it could have been discussed further. I related to Mr. Patch that the secrecy of the pair and then their failure even to disclose they had been there together during Monday 8/10's meeting, and their subsequent failure to explain why they were there, or somehow explain how the situation had occurred, despite residents questions, had left uneasy feelings as to the honesty and good intentions of the duo. A simple phone call to the Board Chairman, or prior mention during a Selectmen's Meeting, could have alleviated the situation and not led to three meeting's worth of "no comment" and non-answers. I also reminded Mr. Patch that had anyone been injured during the day, there would have been a lot of questions as to how a non-Transfer Station employee had been injured while WORKING off the clock. Or how a Road Crew member had been injured while working on his clock. Mr. Patch stated that he had assumed they would be covered as Selectmen and town employee, by the town's insurance had they been injured. He also added that he believed the two Selectmen were there under "good intentions", which struck a chord with me as those were exactly the words used by Selectman Heath when the indiscretion was first revealed.
The second question on residents' minds, was regarding the hours given to Road Crew Employee Mike Foisey on Saturday, August 8th. Mr. Patch told that his Grandson, Jordan, who is a per diem employee of the Transfer Station, also works per diem hours with the town's brand new hire, (Foisey), under Road Commissioner, Tom Torno. Jordan had been asked to come in to the Transfer Station for the day, and suggested to his Grandfather that his friend, Road Crew Member, Mike Foisey, be called to see if he could help out as well. Additional new Transfer Station hire, and long time family friend Jen Griffin could not work that Saturday, according to Mr. Patch, as her children are active in sports.
According to the Transfer Station Manager, who is also a former Town of Lebanon Selectman, he saw no problem with asking Foisey to come in for the day because Foisey is already on the town's payroll. This method of filling in needed employees, according to both Patch and Nadeau has been acceptable in the past.
I asked Ronnie if he had checked with the Road Commissioner to okay the use of a Road Crew employee and to check on the amount of hours he had already accrued that week, and he admitted that he hadn't. He just called Mr. Foisey and asked if he would like to come in and work for the day, knowing he was already a town employee and just assuming that it would be okay as it had always been in the past. When I related to the Transfer Station Manager that Mr. Foisey had already worked 30 hours for the Road Commissioner that week, and the additional hours would have placed him at 39 hours on a town payroll that requires employees work less than 35 hours per week, he admitted that he thought the hours for separate departments were counted separately, but that he had not checked with anyone to confirm that fact prior to calling Mr. Foisey.
In short, the "sinister" aspect of this entire Saturday at the Lebanon Transfer Station, has been revealed in TRUTH to have the possibility of being not quite so sinister on Mr. Patch's side of things, however, what the two Selectmen did, needs to be addressed time and time again as it IS ILLEGAL for the two of them to be together, especially if it is questionable as to whether or not they are trustworthy to not be discussing and deciding on actions that will concern the town's policies and finances.
Due to the "surprise" rapid fire motions, seconds and votes that have altered several larger town business transactions in the past 2 months since Selectman Nadeau's election, it is easily questionable as to whether the two, together in any venue, constitute a quorum of the Board of Lebanon Selectmen.
Under Title 1, General Provisions, Chapter 13 Public Records and Proceedings, Subchapter 1 Freedom of Access, whenever a quorum of the Board (meetings of two in the case of Lebanon's Board of three Selectmen) takes place, the public must be notified, the meeting must be open for examination and recording, and the third member of the Board must also be notified. It is then up to the public and the third Board Member whether or not they would like to attend said meeting.
It is not up to Mr. Patch to police this action as the Manager of the town's Transfer Station, but it is up to the pair of Selectmen to operate under Maine State Law and curb their actions and stop trying so hard to hide their get togethers.
Maine State law provides that any citizen can initiate a legal action in civil court if such clandestine meetings are taking place in their town. For every willful violation of this subchapter, the state government agency or local government entity whose officer or employee committed the violation shall be liable for a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $500 may be adjudged.
I would think that catching the pair repeatedly and warning them of this $500 fine to the Town for each and every infraction, would curb their activity, however, the pair were heard on the video tape of the 8/17/15 meeting, just prior to Nadeau's leaving the building, discussing that they were meeting this morning, Tuesday, August 18th. When Select Board Chairman Ben Thompson questioned the pair as to whether or not they would be out doing some assessing work during their Tuesday time together, the only answer he was given was, "No, this is something else."
Perhaps Thursday's Select Board Meeting will result in yet another surprise out of pocket motion resulting from the "something else" happening with our two Board Members today.........
Stay tuned!!
Selectman Paul Nadeau (photo from Google Images)
Selectman Royce Heath (photo from Google Images)
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