Following a sometimes-awkward conversation, members of Saco’s Coastal Waters Commission abruptly voted 5-1 Tuesday to remove an item from the top of their December 10 meeting agenda.
The citizen commission was poised to hear a presentation regarding how the University of New England’s controversial pier proposal might impact the city of Saco.
According to James Katz — the commission’s chairperson – he decided Tuesday afternoon – only a few hours before the scheduled meeting — that it would be “inappropriate” for the commission to hear the presentation since no one from the university was invited to the meeting.
Ron Schneider, the university’s lead attorney, however, was also present at Tuesday’s meeting with a pen and notebook in hand.
When one of the commissioners suggested that Schneider should be given an opportunity to speak about the issue, the attorney politely refused. “I’m just here to listen,” Schneider told the commission.
According to Katz, he had previously invited John Schafer to speak to the commission about the university’s proposed pier.
Earlier this year, Schafer resigned as chair of Biddeford’s Harbor Commission. For several months Schafer has been pushing Biddeford city officials to be more transparent about their relationship with the university and how the proposal was being handled at the local level
“Obviously, I am disappointed,” Schafer said during a telephone interview Tuesday evening. “This appears to be a coordinated effort to keep the public in the dark about this project.”
Schafer said Katz was very apologetic when he called to cancel the presentation only a few hours before the meeting.
“I made a mistake,” Katz told his fellow commissioners Tuesday evening. “This presentation was never sanctioned by the city council, but now I guess the bell has been rung, and I would like to have us vote on removing the item from the presentation.”
Schafer said he was stunned by the last-minute notice, but understood that Katz was in a difficult position.
I’m not sure why city leaders in Saco are reluctant to talk about this issue, Schafer said. “The university’s proposal will impact anyone who uses the Saco River, including people from Saco.”
— John Schafer
“They were eager to hear from me, but somebody shut them down,” Schafer said. “They have been left in the dark about this proposal and how it could impact Saco and residents who use the river for recreation and fishing.”
Saco City Councilor Michael Burman serves as the city council’s liaison to the Coastal Waters Commission. Burman is also a professor at the University of New England. Burman did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
“Jim [Katz] kept tripping over himself to apologize, but he repeatedly declined to say who exactly asked him to remove the presentation,” Schafer said. “I asked was it the mayor? Was it the council? Was it the city manager?
“He just kept saying ‘the people of Saco’ were opposed to having the presentation take place,” Schafer said.
Schafer said he has been trying to connect with Saco officials about the pier proposal for several weeks, but no one from the city has returned his inquiries.
“I’m not sure why city leaders in Saco are reluctant to talk about this issue, Schafer said. “The university’s proposal will impact anyone who uses the Saco River, including people from Saco.”
According to the city’s website, the Coastal Waters Commission exists for studying and evaluating public usage of and boating access to coastal waters under the jurisdiction of the city of Saco; planning for its future use, advising the city council on policy matters and proposing regulations concerning the Saco River and coastal waters.”
Schafer said he wrote to Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail four times between October 15 and November 26, about meeting with “her and her team to compare notes” on the UNE proposal. Schafer said MacPhail never replied to any of the emails.
When contacted Tuesday evening, MacPhail declined to say why she and other city officials have been ignoring emails sent by Schafer.
“I feel very badly for Jim Katz,” Schafer said. “Somebody put him in a very bad spot. I could viscerally feel his discomfort as he told me over the phone that I could not come to the meeting tonight. I know that he honorably extended the original invitation to me in the spirit of openness and transparency, but he got his knuckles rapped, obviously.”
Editor’s Note: In the interest of full disclosure, Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail is the writer’s stepsister.
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