There’s an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff reporter Jessica Clifford about the Clary Lake dam.
Here’s an archived copy for your convenience:
Category Archives: News
26 December 2018: Update on Rubin v. Smith Lawsuit
The lawsuit that CLA members Robert Rubin and his wife Cheryl Ayer brought against Richard Smith, Aquafortis Associates LLC, Paul Kelley, and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC back in January 2016, finally, after numerous delays and stays, went to trial on December 20th and 21st in Lincoln County Superior Court. The presiding Judge in the case is Justice Billings, the same Judge that spent 4 years presiding over the Clary Lake Water Level Order appeal so he’s no stranger to Clary Lake, its characters, and its issues. Bob and Cheryl’s lawsuit was initially delayed to allow the WLO appeal to finish (which concluded in February 2018) and then delayed further to let Kelley’s bankruptcy finish. When we ended up closing on the dam this past October, the Rubin/Ayer lawsuit finally went forward. Bob asked me early on not to write about the lawsuit as he didn’t want the publicity. Now that the hearing has taken place, the lid is off. You can read more about the trial in the latest Central Maine Papers article about Clary Lake. Continue reading
15 December 2018: Dam Repairs Completed!
On Friday December 14th, 2018 the PCS crew finished forming up the original log sluice gate in the middle of the dam and poured concrete, bringing to completion the major repairs to the Clary Lake dam. I can hardly believe it’s really happened! So many things had to go just right for this to happen now, from the lack of rain and snow over the last 2 weeks to the rising temperatures on the day of the pour. So much could have gone wrong, it really is a miracle. If the lake level hadn’t dropped enough and if the temperature hadn’t finally moderated, we’d still be waiting, and who knows when conditions would have permitted the repairs to be finished? It was only 4 days ago that I posted that dam repairs have resumed. All told this final phase of effort took 5 full days, made all the more difficult by the brutally cold temperatures for the first 4 days of the week. Here are some more pictures that tell this latest chapter in the story: Continue reading
11 December 2018: Clary Lake Water Level Order Transfer Complete
We are pleased to announce that the Department of Environmental Protection has approved the transfer of the Clary Lake Water Level Order from Pleasant Pond Mill LLC to the Clary Lake Association. There was never really any question that the Department would approve the license transfer given that the State openly endorsed our effort to purchase the dam from Kelley’s bankruptcy estate, but it is nonetheless very nice to have this matter behind us. The WLO which was appealed right after it was issued in late January 2014, was upheld by the Lincoln County Superior Court in a ruling issued February 26, 2016. Now, if someone complains about how we’re managing the lake level, we will simply say we’re obeying the Order and if they don’t like it, they can take it up with the DEP.
As usual with DEP rulings, aggrieved parties have 30 days (from December 7th) to appeal the decision. Good luck with that! The chances of it being overturned are ZERO.
10 October 2018 Lincoln County News: Countdown On for Sale of Clary Lake Dam
A nice article in the Lincoln County News by staff reporter Jessica Clifford. It was going to be in last week’s paper but it got bumped:
The article states: “The covenants were established to prevent damage to the mill building from water flowing downstream.” We all know the real reason the covenants were placed on the dam property.
Here’s an archived copy:
28 September 2018 Central Maine Papers: Federal judge OKs Whitefield dam sale
Well that didn’t take long: yet another fine article in the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel by Staff Writer Jessica Lowell.
I find this comment amusing:
Paul Kelley said Friday after the ruling was announced that he doesn’t know “how things are playing out. I do know that parties are generally unhappy.”
I can count the parties that are “generally unhappy” with today’s ruling on the fingers of one hand and have a couple of fingers left over. Everyone else is VERY happy 🙂
A minor correction: the dam cost $80,000 not $32,500
Here’s a link to an archived copy of the article:
28 September 2018: Bankruptcy Judge Approves FREE and CLEAR Sale of Dam!
At a short hearing held today at 10 AM in Bangor at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Judge Michael Fagone granted the Trustee’s motion to sale the Clary Lake dam to the Clary Lake Association free and clear of the restrictive covenants under sections 363(F)(5) of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. Gone too is the Medius mortgage under 363(F)(2). Further, the Judge granted the Clary Lake Association Good Faith Protections provided by section 363(M) of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. The Judge declined to allow the immediate sale of the property so we will have to wait to take title to the Clary Lake dam in 14 days at the expiration of the appeal period. Should AQF or Richard Smith (or anyone else) decide to appeal today’s ruling, 14 days from today our attorney will simply file a motion to dismiss and <POOF> the appeal will disappear, thanks to the 363(M) Good Faith Protections. Continue reading
27 June 2018: Loon Family Pictures
Well it turns out the loons had two chicks this year, not one as I originally thought. I went out this evening to get some pictures, and the loons cooperated happily. Even when I knew there were two I could often only see one. Having two loon babies is good because it increases the chances of one of them surviving to adulthood. On the downside, one almost always fails to thrive…
June 7, 2018 Bankruptcy Court Hearing Audio
At the U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing held yesterday afternoon in Portland, Judge Michael A. Fagone denied the Trustee’s Motion for Substantive Consolidation but approved the bid procedures and scheduled dates for the auction and the Sale Motion hearing. Sale Objections and competing bids are due by NOON on June 28, 2018. The auction will be held on June 28, 2018 at 2:00 pm at the Portland offices of Drummond Woodsum. The Sale Motion hearing will be held July 5, 2018 at 9:00 AM at the Bankruptcy Courtroom at 537 Congress Street.
Having the motion for substantive consolidation denied was not a setback to our plans to buy the dam. There are other, less extreme means to accomplish the same thing as substantive consolidation. The hearing was fascinating and covered a lot of ground. Here is an audio recording of the proceedings. It lasted almost 2 hours:
Besides the Trustee, the lawyers, and the legal assistants, the hearing was attended by Paul Kelley (with counsel) and Richard Smith (representing himself). The Judge has allowed Smith’s Objection to stand despite being filed late, but has not decided whether Aquafortis Associates LLC will require counsel or if it can represent itself. Butch Duncan was also at the hearing.
05 December 2017: Anyone Missing a Goose?
There’s been a white domestic goose hanging out on Clary Lake with some Canada Geese this fall. For a domestic goose it was quite shy, it wouldn’t face me at all but started swimming away from me as soon as it saw me whereas the Canada Geese were totally unconcerned. This picture (and one other in the Fall 2017 gallery) was taken a couple of weeks ago, but David Knight told me earlier today that he saw it earlier today down at his end of the lake, again, hanging out with a flock of Canada Geese. In any case, I doubt it can fly so when the lake finally freezes over, it will either get frozen in the ice or make it to shore where it becomes easy prey for a fox or raccoon. I know the folks that bought the old MacDonald place have some geese, it may be one of theirs. I’ve emailed them to see if they’re missing a goose…
Speaking of pictures, I’ve been rather uncharacteristically busy this fall and have a pile of pictures to process and post including some of damage from last month’s wind storm. I’ll get around to it when winter settles in and I have more time. If you have any pictures of downed trees and property damage from that storm, send them to me and eventually I’ll find the time to post them.
05 December 2017: Medius L3C has been Administratively Dissolved
From the For What It’s Worth department: Medius L3C, the low-profit, limited liability company named after your middle finger which currently owns the mortgage on the Clary Lake dam is in administrative dissolution for failure to file it’s 2017 Annual Report. All Maine corporations are required to file annual reports by June 1st every year, in order to maintain their good standing. According to documents available on the Maine Secretary of State’s website, the company was notified of its failure to file its annual report by letter dated June 23rd. The corporation was administratively dissolved on August 28th as per letter from the Secretary of State. A company that has been administratively dissolved continues its corporate existence but may not transact any business in this State except as necessary to wind up and liquidate its business and affairs. Corporations that have been administratively dissolved can reinstate their companies by late-filing the annual report along with the $85 filing fee and a $150 reinstatement fee. Corporations can exist in this administrative limbo for up to 6 years. Continue reading
Maine VLMP Fall 2017 Newsletter Now Available
The Fall 2017 Water Column, the newsletter the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitor Program, is now available on the VLMP website. The Clary Lake Association is a long-time member and active supporter of the Maine VLMP, and three of our members, (myself, Jack Holland, and David Hodsdon) are VLMP Certified Water Quality Monitors.
07 November 2017: Paul A. Kelley Jr. Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Paul A. Kelley Jr., principal of the now-defunct Pleasant Pond Mill LLC and presumed owner of the Clary Lake dam has filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. This bankruptcy filing is not to be confused with the Pleasant Pond Mill LLC chapter 7 bankruptcy filing last spring. Now Kelley is filing for personal bankruptcy and as such, it’s a real eye-opener: it lists total assets of $283,953.00 (most of which is his house and property in Camden) vs. total secured and unsecured liabilities of $2,097,379.00 (that’s two million, ninety seven thousand, three hundred and seventy nine dollars) of debt including $494,186.00 of money owed to Preti Flaherty which is separate from the $335,000.00 that PPM owes to Preti Flaherty. This brings total legal fees for Kelley and PPM to $829,176.00. Woof.
Things are pretty bleak on the income side of things too with Mr. Kelley (who claims his job is landlord) claiming a monthly income of only $1500 to cover $3,731.00 of monthly expenses. Oh my. He lists 18 creditors (people/entities he owes money to) including DEP, Arthur Enos, Equinox Collection Services, Ford Motor Credit, Medius L3C, and Richard L. Smith. Without further adieu:
The first Meeting of Creditors is going to be November 28, 2017 at 10:00 AM at the Augusta Armory. The bankruptcy trustee is Jeffrey T. Piampiano.
Stay tuned 🙂
26 September 2017: WLO Appeal Briefing Schedule Revised
The briefing schedule for upcoming filings in the Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal that was included in the August 15th Court Order (see “Clary Lake Water Level Order Appeal Update“) has been revised by the Court in response to a motion filed by counsel for Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] on August 30th. In addition to requesting a change to the briefing schedule, the motion also requested an increase in the number of pages allowed in the filings (Maine Judicial Court Rules specify page limits for different kinds of filings). Counsel for AQF cited conflicts with long-standing vacation arrangements for the requested change in filing deadlines. The motion was consented to by DEP (meaning the State did not object to the motion) and the court subsequently issued an ORDER on September 7th granting AQF’s motion in its entirety.
AQF’s appeal brief was originally due 40 days from August 15th, on or about September 26th. The date for that initial filing is now October 6, 2017. The State’s Response Brief now is due on November 15, 2017 and the Petitioner’s Reply Brief is due December 4, 2017. The ORDER also granted Petitioner’s request for increased page limits.
I was somewhat dismayed (though not particularly surprised) to learn of the change in the briefing schedule since delays seem to be the way this game is played. I was nonetheless glad the filing dates were only pushed out 10 days. What has me scratching my head however is the fact that the MOTION and the ORDER both list Pleasant Pond Mill LLC [PPM] as a petitioner. I assume this is an oversight as PPM was removed from the suit by COURT ORDER on January 25, 2016 and while a few filings in early 2016 listed both PPM and AQF as petitioners, ALL filings in the last year have included only AQF as petitioner.
I don’t expect additional changes to the briefing schedule.
07 September 2017 Lincoln County News: Commissioners Hear about Clary Lake Dam
Last Tuesday September 5th CLA Board member Jane Chase and I and my wife Margaret attended the Lincoln County Commissioners meeting in Wiscasset to update them on the current status of the Clary Lake water level crisis. The meeting which lasted about 30 minutes came about as the result of a chance meeting between CLA President Malcolm Burson and County Administrator Carrie Kipfer at a Midcoast Conservancy function where they discussed the Clary Lake situation. Ms. Kipfer offered to put us on the agenda for the next County Commissioners meeting. Charlotte Boynton, staff reporter for the Lincoln County News attended the meeting and wrote up a short report of the meeting in this week’s Lincoln County News. The article didn’t make it into the online news site, so I’ve scanned a copy of it for our archive:
This is the first time we have met with the Lincoln County Commissioners though likely not the last; the purpose of this first meeting was to bring the Commissioners up to speed with where things stand with Clary Lake and answer any questions they had. They had a lot, and we covered a lot of ground in 30 minutes. While the Commissioners were generally aware of our water level crisis, they were not particularly familiar with many details surrounding the controversy. I found them genuinely interested and concerned, and fully expect they will be keeping a much closer eye on the situation going forward. We did not ask them to take any action at this time.
One minor correction to the article: the caption for the photograph lists the people left to right, and it should be right to left 🙂
September 2017 Whitefield News: Clary Lake Association Petition Delivered to DEP
The September 2017 issue of the Whitefield News has an article on the front page I wrote about the Clary Lake Association’s recent Petition initiative to DEP. The article includes a little background to help give people who are new to town or who haven’t been following the Clary Lake saga an idea of what’s been going on with our Lake. I hope to write for the Whitefield News from time to time.
The Whitefield News is the monthly newsletter of the own of Whitefield and is available free of charge at the Town Office, the North Whitefield Superette, the Sheepscot General, and as a PDF download on the Town of Whitefield website. Here’s a local copy if you have trouble getting it off the Town site:
31 August 2017 Maine Things Considered: The Water Level On This Maine Lake Has Plummeted
The story on Clary Lake by Maine Public Radio’s Susan Sharon aired on “Maine Things Considered” late this afternoon. If you missed it, not to worry: a transcript with audio and pictures has been posted on the Maine Public Radio website and Facebook Page:
Clary Lake water level story will run Thursday on “Maine Things Considered”
Most of you have heard that Susan Sharon of Maine Public Radio is doing a story on Clary Lake, I posted about it last week. I had expected a little more notice about when the story was going to run but I only found out this evening that it will probably air tomorrow (Thursday, 8/31) at 5:30 pm on “Maine Things Considered.” If for some reason it doesn’t air Thursday, then it should be on Friday either on “Morning Edition” (6 am to 9 am daily) or “Maine Things Considered” at 5:30 pm.
If you happen to miss the on-air presentation, don’t worry! The story will be available on the Maine Public Radio website at some point, and I’ll post a link here when I get it.
Keep an eye out here for updates on this story!
27 August 2017 Centralmaine.com: Whitefield and Jefferson residents list frustrations in petition to DEP
There is an article in today’s Centralmaine.com papers by staff writer Jessica Lowell about the Petition we submitted to DEP last week. The article is in the Kennebec Journal, the Morning Sentinel, and was also picked up by the Portland Press Herald. I love all the publicity! Everywhere I’ve been this week people are mentioning Clary Lake, the petition, and asking me what’s new:
Whitefield and Jefferson residents list frustrations in petition to DEP
I assume the “good faith effort by DEP to bring relief to the residents around Clary Lake” referred to by DEP spokesperson David Madore was the 13 or so months of court-ordered mediation that ended in March 2015. The Notice of Violation (NOV) mentioned was subsequently issued in late September 2015.
My only complaint about the article: they could have used a new photograph! They’re still using a picture included in a story from August 2015.
23 August 2017 Lincoln County News: Petition Calls on DEP to Enforce Clary Lake Water-Level Order
There’s an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by Staff Reporter Abigail Adams about the Petition we filed with DEP on Monday, August 21st. It’s a detailed and timely writeup. Ms. Adams includes a comment from David Madore, DEP Spokesperson, to the effect that “the petition is under review.” The CLA Board has yet to get a response to the Petition from the Commissioner’s office.
I’ve archived a copy of the article should you have trouble getting it off the paper now, or in the future: