March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Rodrigue questions purpose of B&M authority

BELFAST — As far as Rod Rodrigue is concerned, the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad Authority not only tried to take over his railroad, it also hijacked his ideas.

Rodrigue is president of the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad. He said a waterfront development proposal floated Wednesday by the authority was similar to one he had unveiled during a private meeting the week before. The plan called for the creation of an independent group to oversee development of the city’s waterfront.

Formation of the independent group was proposed by authority attorney Paul Gibbons of Camden, who was unable to attend last week’s meeting.

Members of the authority and the City Council attended the meeting at the Belfast Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was held in an attempt to resolve differences between the railroad and City Hall.

The B&ML Railroad and the B&ML Railroad Authority are two separate entities. The railroad has been around for 135 years, the authority for 25 days. The authority was appointed by the City Council in response to the railroad’s taking of a portion of the city-owned waterfront by eminent domain.

The council has been fighting with the railroad over control of the waterfront almost from the day they sold the city’s majority stock in the B&ML.

Massachusetts investor Charles Sturtevant paid $150,000 for the stock and appointed Rodrigue as company president. The authority was created to regain control of the railroad for the city.

“It’s the same plan,” Rodrigue said Thursday after learning of the authority’s proposal.

Although last week’s meeting was private, others who took part in the session supported Rodrigue’s assessment. Chamber director James Lovejoy, President Mike Lewis, B&ML executive John Hyk and Councilors Walter Ash and Larry Moses each agreed that the authority’s proposal was similar.

“A remarkable coincidence,” Hyk said of the authority plan. Added Lewis, “It sounded like it was coming out of Rod’s mouth.” Lovejoy observed, “It should be made clear that Rod raised almost identical issues at last week’s meeting.”

Councilor Moses agreed that Rodrigue’s presentation made reference to “being involved with” an oversight group formed to put forth a united plan for developing the waterfront. He stressed, however, that Rodrigue had no intention of allowing the authority to be partners with the railroad.

“And that’s not what the authority is for,” Moses said. “Everyone getting together is not a new idea. If the authority wants to be some kind of mediator they ought to fold their tent. You don’t create an authority and hire another attorney for that.”

Rodrigue remains convinced that the council’s sole purpose for creating the authority was to wrest control of his railroad. He questioned the qualifications of the seven-man board and accused one authority member of having threatened to harm his family and sabotage a train full of tourists.

“Look at their credentials,” Rodrigue said. “If the authority had people on it who knew how to run a railroad that would be one thing. This group has limited or no credentials to move forward with any kind of authority.”

The B&ML Authority consists of City Manager Arlo Redman, Councilors Walter Ash and Kevin Page, Brooks First Selectman John Mollison, Larry Gleeson, Mac Page, and James Roberts.

“They have a better chance of giving birth than of me letting them take over this railroad,” Rodrigue said.


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like