Below
is the text of a letter the Chairperson of the MMA Board of
Trustees send to every Castine taxpayer.
Our comments are in red.
To the Residents of Castine:
At its August 2007 meeting Maine Maritime Academy's Board
of Trustees directed the Academy administration to place an
offer to purchase the Abbott House - a dwelling located
directly opposite from the campus. A number of Castine
property owners have expressed concern about the Academy's
purchase of the Abbott House.
[Note: The "number of Castine residents" is in the hundreds
and includes many long-time MMA supporters and even some
MMA students. The controversy has been been reported in the
Boston papers and
people all over the
world
have logged onto mmawatch.org.] Their
concern seems to be that the Academy might disregard the
local zoning ordinance and increase enrollment by expanding
into the residential zone with additional dormitories,
parking lots and other institutional projects.
[Note: Our concerns are that the Academy "might disregard
the local zoning ordinances?"
Let's revisit the facts. The Abbott House is in a
residential zone. The new owner is the MMA, an institution
specifically restricted to the institutional zone by
Castine zoning ordinances. By designating Abbott House as
the Second President's House and counting its 6+ acres in
the MMA green space formula, the Board is making use of the
house as an institutional property. And this is before
Spokesperson Len uses it to host official parties and
events for the MMA. Ms. Larson needs to read the
zoning ordinance
in question on this website before she errs
again.]
On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, I would like to
be clear that the Board's decision to purchase the Abbott
House was based solely on its desire to utilize the Abbot
House as a residence for future presidents of the
college.
[Note: This statement is a long way from clear. The MMA
already has a President's House. Why spend $1.45 million to
own a Second President's House? By the way, it's spelled
Abbott, not Abbot.] This
acquisition will allow the Academy to use the current
president's residence for other institutional purposes as
part of a larger plan to make better use of the space
within the existing campus footprint.
[Note: There are simple reasons why almost no one believes
this statement. 1. There is no mention of any such "larger
plan" in the Academy's master plan. 2. Spokesperson Tyler
himself was reported to have said in a one-on-one meeting
with a Castine resident that the Academy would have bought
the property even if the house wasn't on it. 3. Why doesn't
anyone believe the Academy? Two words: Payson Hall. Two
more words: grease trap. Another two words: noise
abatement. 4. Neither Ms. Larson nor anyone else on the
Board is willing address plans for the property in 5 years
and every college and university in the world has a long
range plan that goes well beyond 5 years. So indeed, it's
not only what the MMA spokespeople are saying. It's what
they aren't saying and therein lies the truth of the
matter.]
The Board recognizes that the Abbott property is zoned as a
residential property.
[Note: The Board recognized the zoning, but they didn't
like it so they chose to break the law. A creative and
instructive way to deal with laws you don't like: Break
them.] We
intend to use the Abbott House as a residence, as it has
been utilized for over 200 years, consistent with Castine
Ordinances.
[Note: The residence will be owned by the MMA and the house
will be called the President's House and it will be for the
President to live in, work in, entertain in, and have
meetings in. How is that not an institutional use? When the
Abbotts, the Footes, and Deborah Pulliam owned it, it was a
private residence that was not part of an educational
institution.] We
are advised by independent counsel that our proposed use of
the property would constitute a permitted use of the
property under Castine's current zoning ordinances.
[Note: If the Board's lawyer is ruled by the judge to have
given the Board an incorrect reading of Castine's
ordinances, the MMA Board of Trustees will have engendered
a tremendous amount of deserved bad publicity and ill will
for nothing.]
The Academy's plans for the Abbott House are fully
transparent, with no hidden agenda
[Note: The decision to buy the house was done in secret
session, without consulting the town. And if there is no
hidden agenda, then put the entire property under an
easement that dictates no development may occur on it in
perpetuity. That would be transparent - still illegal but
transparent.] We
have offered to answer any questions and to meet with the
Town's enforcement personnel to review the scope of the
planned residential use. As trustees of this public college
we recognize that the future of both the town and the
Academy are dependent upon each other.
[Note: As trustees of a public college, they have
mismanaged MMA funds by buying an unnecessary property and
broke the law to do it. This purchase has betrayed the
public trust and more that a few state representatives have
already expressed concerns about this issue. And how has
the Board demonstrated this "dependency" with this
transaction? The MMA Board acted unilaterally and broke the
Town's ordinances on purpose.] We
place great value on the positive relationship
the
Town and Academy have worked to develop over the years. We
are eager to maintain this positive relationship.
[Note: Eager? Positive relationship? What relationship the
MMA has with the town is due to the relationships formed
among the town residents, MMA students, and faculty. The
Board of Trustees and some of the administrators have done
everything in their power to poison these relationships.]
Sincerely,
Victoria Larson
Chair, Maine Maritime Academy Board of Trustees
