Greenville resident questions procedure used for nominating LUPC member

By Bill Pearson
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — A Greenville man questioned the procedure used for first nominating a county representative to the new Land Use Planning Commission then rescinding it in favor of another applicant. Loren Ritchie asked the County Commissioners on Tuesday what happened to Sarah Farrand’s nomination. She was nominated by the commissioners on a unanimous vote last summer.

    The nomination was later rescinded and last month the commissioners voted 2-1 to nominate Duane Lander. Both met the criteria to serve on the LUPC board as people who have either worked or lived in an unorganized territory. Farrand is from Beaver Cove and Lander lives in Harford’s Point. Ritchie believed that the commissioners were influenced by two state legislators who favored Lander’s nomination.
    He believed that State Senator Doug Thomas (R-Somerset) approached the board about concerns over Farrand’s nomination. Ritchie also indicated that State Representative Pete Johnson (R-Greenville) withdrew his support after initially writing a letter in Farrand’s favor.
    “If you ask me what I think, it was absolutely political in nature. I think the people involved in altering this process were doing it for political purposes,” Ritchie said. “Mr. Lander is more pro-business development in the UTs, but she was a former LURC (Land Use Regulation Commission) member which I believe would automatically make her even more eligible for the nomination.”     
    The commissioners indicated that Thomas approached them about problems with the procedure for advertising for qualified candidates. The board didn’t spend any money advertising the position which resulted in Farrand being the only candidate. The state mandated that counties actively seek qualified candidates for the LUPC board. This led to the commissioners agreeing to conduct a more extensive search for candidates. The county readvertised for the position which drew seven responses. They narrowed the field down to Farrand and Landers.
    “We had not placed a newspaper ad looking for applicants. So we decided to reopen the search. This is something that we were required to do by law,” Commissioner Fred Trask said.
    During the Feb. 5 meeting, Commissioner Eric Ward voted against Lander’s nomination. He explained to Ritchie that following Farrand’s nomination that the board didn’t hear anything about the process for four months.
    “Then for this to come out of the blue is just too convenient. No one said anything during that four month. No one period ever told me ‘gee, I wish I would’ve had a chance at that.’ I felt the first vote was a county vote and the second one — I have questions. I think it was manipulated,” Ward said.
    Trask defended the board’s position by stating that there were more applicants the second time which was more fair to the entire county.
    Lander’s nomination will be considered by the state legislature’s Agricultural, Conservation and Forestry Committee this month. The committee will appoint county nominees to the seven person LUPC board.