Planning board member blasts mayor, city council over UNE proposal: ‘something feels fishy’

In a surprise move, Roch Angers — a former Biddeford city councilor and current member of the city’s planning board – told members of the city council Tuesday that he has serious concerns about the University of New England’s plans to construct a large pier on the Saco River.

“Something about this whole mess doesn’t feel right to me,” Angers told the council. “The way I see it, something seems fishy about this.”

The Biddeford Planning Board voted 3-2 on July 16 to give UNE preliminary site plan approval for their proposed pier, a project that has stirred considerable controversy in the community.

The Planning Board is scheduled to make a final vote on the project at their next meeting later tonight (August 6).

Angers is one of two planning board members who voted against the project during the board’s July 21 meeting.

Although the city council and mayor have no oversight or control over the Planning Board, Angers told the Gazette he thinks everyone should “be made aware of what is happening.”

Angers addressed the council during the “public comment” portion of Tuesday’s council meeting. During this time, members of the public can address the council on any topic for up to three minutes.

Following his remarks, Angers said he was still feeling frustrated about the issue, especially after Mayor Marty Grohman told Angers that he had exceeded his three-minute limit for public comment.

“I couldn’t finish what I wanted to say,” he said while standing outside the council chambers.

Angers says he has no animosity toward the university, but does have “serious concerns” about how the application has been handled by the city.

“There are rules, laws and procedures we have to follow,” Angers said. “We can’t just pick and choose the ordinances or laws that we want to follow.”

Angers said he is going to make a motion during tonight’s planning board meeting to table further discussion of the university’s proposal until he “can get some answers.”

Specifically, Angers said he is troubled by a noticeable lack of public input during a complex review process that involved both state and federal agencies.

“Why was everything so quiet during their presentation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers?” he asked, pointing out the fact that the federal agency did not hold any public hearings nor seek public input, despite the fact that university was able to secure a $3.5 million federal grant for the project from Senator Susan Collins.

We can’t just pick and choose
the ordinances or laws
that we want to follow.”

— Roch Angers

Angers said the Maine Department of Environmental Protection also gave its approval for the project without holding any public hearings, nor did they seek public input before making their decision.

During a previous interview with the Gazette, a UNE spokesperson said the university has followed all state, federal and local requirements when submitting their application.

“The University of New England has provided, and will continue to provide, all required and relevant documentation to the regulatory agencies and governmental bodies conducting the permitting process for our proposed research pier, said Sarah Delage, assistant vice president of communications.

During his commentary before the council, Angers also criticized former city manager James Bennett for removing both the city’s harbormaster and assistant harbor master from the review process of UNE’s application last year.

“Well, lo, and behold, he [Bennett] then appointed a railroad engineer with no local knowledge of the river to approve the plan,” Angers said.

RELATED: City Manager Quashes Harbormaster

Angers declined to speculate if he will be able to find support from his fellow planning board members to table the university’s application.

“I just did what I thought needed to be done,” Angers said. “The people of Biddeford need to know how the city is handling this affair.”

Angers said he was not able to complete his remarks, but offered a strong suggestion for Mayor Marty Grohman and members of the council.

“If this passes at the Planning Board, the mayor and city council should take a hard look at this project and ask themselves if they think everything is on the up and up,” Angers said. “All that matters to me is that we have transparency and a willingness to consider the impacts on mooring owners and other people in that area.”

“We’ll see how it goes tomorrow,” he said. “This is just my opinion.”

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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be contacted by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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