Realtor draws fire for sales pitch to residents near SERF

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HAMPDEN – He was just trying to drum up some business.

Instead, local Realtor Geoffrey O’Keefe is being criticized for a letter he sent last week to residents who live near Sawyer Environmental Recovery Facility, suggesting that they call him if they’ve decided to relocate because of the landfill’s proposed expansion.

The broker contacted residents on Emerson Mill and Paper Mill roads and Ledgewood Drive after reading in the Bangor Daily News that during a Jan. 10 planning board meeting residents complained about the noise and the increased odor emanating from the nearby landfill.

One man, who was quoted anonymously, said he planned to sell his house because of the disturbances associated with SERF.

“I was following up on real estate leads,” said O’Keefe, who has worked in real estate for 14 years and is an independent contractor for ERA Dawson-Bradford in Bangor.

“It was a routine thing – I knew based on that article that someone wanted to leave and I thought there might be others,” said O’Keefe who obtained a list of residents from the town office.

The issue surfaced Tuesday during a council meeting when Councilor Dan Stover brought in the letter he received in the mail.

“In view of the worsening environmental situation at SERF and the proposed expansion, it may be prudent to plan your exit strategy from the immediate area now,” O’Keefe wrote.

The realtor opened a Pandora’s box.

Two residents called and thanked him for his advisory, according to O’Keefe, who said they told him they weren’t ready to move but were considering their options.

But others were dismayed. “He’s added fuel to the fire – he’s made people more upset,” said Mayor Bill Romano.

Elizabeth Kalogeris, who received the letter, was insulted. “I never stated that I had any plans to move,” she said.

Tongue-in-cheek, she ventured a question. “Is he going to tell a possible buyer that this is a prime piece of property because it’s so close to this wonderful landfill?”

Some took the letter to mean that their property values had diminished, according to Town Manager Susan Lessard.

“They thought this all along – now they had it in writing,” she said.

But O’Keefe pointed out that his letter contained no mention of property values.

“Hampden is an excellent location, lots of people want to live there,” said the realtor, who wishes now that in his mailing he had referred to the BDN article and emphasized that he was in no way endorsing opinions, merely reacting to them.

Jon Dawson, owner of ERA Dawson-Bradford, took time out from a meeting Thursday to come to O’Keefe’s defense.

“He isn’t trying to be alarmist or inciteful – it’s certainly appropriate to put yourself in a position to help people if they have a need,” said Dawson, noting there is nothing unethical about O’Keefe’s letter.

“Geoff is very sensitive to Hampden, he has a very close affinity to the town. This isn’t some fly-by-night guy, this is Geoff O’Keefe who’s done business with people [in town] for years,” said Dawson.

Stover’s anger is focused on the landfill itself. “SERF should be embarrassed because a real estate agency is using them as a negative selling point,” he said.

“This is the type of impact they’re having,” said Stover. “They say they increase the tax base and lure other businesses. But this letter intimates that they’re not an asset to the community.”

The letter could give people pause about moving to town, Stover said.

“If someone’s questioning the real estate situation in Hampden, why would anyone want to [relocate] here?”

People are using the letter to confirm their own misperceptions, according to Don Meagher, SERF Licensing and Compliance Manager. Meagher cited data that SERF is not lowering property values.

A local property appraiser found during a study of sales data two years ago that property values in the vicinity of the landfill were similar, if not slightly better, compared to the rest of Hampden and the Bangor market, according to Meagher.

Data from 1999 and 2000 reveal similar findings, he said.

Meagher said an Emerson Mill Road home sold for the full price after being on the market for two days, while another sold for 93 percent of the full price in 92 days. Property on Paper Mill Road sold for 95 percent of the full price in 105 days.

But resident Norm Thurlow took the information with a grain of salt. Homes have sold in the area during the past few years, he acknowledged. But what’s relevant now is how the proposed expansion will affect property values.

Meanwhile, O’Keefe said he aims to make things right by sending an explanatory letter to residents and to SERF officials.

“It’s the least we can do to straighten things out. I don’t want any bad feelings, I was just trying to help people move.

“I want to try to make people understand that the intention was benign. We had no intention of interposing ourselves into this situation and we’re not taking sides or expressing an opinion about the issue or its possible effects on anything,” O’Keefe said.

For her part, resident Lisa Hatch knows O’Keefe meant well.

“I just think he was naive as to how volatile the situation is,” she said. “It was inappropriate for him to jump into a situation that he doesn’t fully understand.”