SKOWHEGAN — The Skowhegan Select Board navigated a tax increment financing application last week at its first public meeting since the sudden death of Town Manager Nicholas Nadeau, an occasion marked by a subdued tone.
With two members absent and only a three‑person quorum at its April 14 meeting, the board voted 2-1 to deny a $13,000 tax increment financing, or TIF, application to repair a damaged and failing wall at a downtown law firm.
Chair Whitney Cunliffe and Selectman Ethan Liberty opposed the request, while Selectwoman Amber Lambke supported it.
Cunliffe cited the town’s overdue audits and the fact that it “can’t borrow money” as reasons he did not support releasing funds to Merrill, Hyde, Fortier & Youney at 95 Water St.
He added that he would prefer businesses to provide closer to a 50‑50 match when requesting TIF funds and would rather see more of the money directed toward municipal projects.
“It’s a truly sad day for the town of Skowhegan,” John Youney, president of the law firm, said after the board voted to deny his application for TIF funds.
Youney said the wall was damaged during powerful storms in the winter of 2024-25 and that he has been “fighting with the insurance company,” which has resisted paying for repairs. Brick fragments have been falling onto the roof of neighboring Key Appliance at 101 Water St.
“As a good neighbor, I don’t want that happening,” Youney said.
He added that he plans to spend $2,000 this year on repair and maintenance and would cover any additional costs out of pocket.
Lambke defended the application as fitting squarely within the state contract governing TIF use, which allows expenditures for the “repair or reconstruction of existing buildings, structures and fixtures.”
She also noted that the TIF Advisory Committee had recommended approval and that the funds must be spent before the program expires in 2036.
“This program is not a slush fund for municipal projects alone,” Lambke said. “The point of the program is to deploy the recaptured funds within a finite period of time to improve property tax values in your region.”
She noted that while TIF money can be used for municipal infrastructure, town departments must apply through the TIF Advisory Committee — a step none has taken.
Youney argued that the building’s collapse would eliminate its taxable value entirely.
“This is an extraordinary situation,” he said. “If this wall goes, the building goes.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Lambke addressed the community directly about the sudden death of Nadeau, the previous town manager who died by apparent suicide last month. She said the death occurred under “very difficult circumstances” and pledged that the board remains committed to a “positive path forward.”
Nadeau died in March in what the state chief medical examiner determined was a likely suicide, amid a Maine State Police investigation into alleged inappropriate online communication with a 14‑year‑old girl in Florida.
“In the 10 months since we hired Nick, he brought positive energy and focus and commitment to improving organizational systems here,” Lambke said.
The Select Board appointed Donnie Zaluski, the town’s pollution control plant superintendent, as interim town manager during an emergency meeting following Nadeau’s death.
At its April 14 meeting, the board assigned Zaluski seven additional municipal roles, including emergency management director and general assistance director. Lambke described the appointments as “customary” and necessary “to allow Donnie to do the business of the town.”
“I’d like to thank all the department heads and employees of the town of Skowhegan,” Zaluski said. “They’ve kept their heads down and they’ve worked hard, and I appreciate that.”
In other matters, the Select Board approved a request to allow Deputy Fire Chief Anthony Barton to take home the department’s C‑2 command vehicle so he can respond to calls more quickly.
“He can come in, take command, do the things he needs to do so our people can do the work they need to do,” Fire Chief Ryan Johnston said. “Costwise, for me, it’s a no‑brainer. And it’d be much more operational.”
The Select Board also approved up to $20,000 for Vortex Services to clean and reline the sewer system along lower Madison Avenue, a stopgap fix for a long‑running sewer gas problem in the downtown business district. Zaluski said the repair could buy the town about five years before a permanent solution is required.
In other actions, members authorized $1,046.81 for heating system repairs at the Skowhegan Community Center gymnasium; up to $4,606 for transfer station gate repairs; a one‑year, $45,000 renewal of the town’s contract with York’s Landscaping; and two mortgage discharges on fully satisfied town‑held loans.
The board also unanimously approved three parade and procession permits: Somerset Public Health’s Move More Kids 5K & Youth Fun Run at Coburn Park, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 19’s Toll Road Fundraiser at the transfer station and KVCAP’s April Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month event.
The Select Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 28 at Town Hall.
