A promise to keep

The city of Westbrook is facing a troubling dilemma.

Former Mayor Don Esty promised developer Tim Flannery the use of 90 spaces – nearly half the lot – in the so-called “CVS” lot without the consent of city councilors.

Flannery, understandably, wants the city to live up to its promise. Councilors and the city’s current mayor, however, are struggling with whether they should be held to an agreement they might not have accepted, had Esty brought it to them.

Unless the city can find another viable way to accommodate Flannery and Disability RMS, we believe the city needs to honor Esty’s promise, regardless of whether it’s legally binding.

The city made the promise in a letter to Flannery a few days before announcing the developer had reached an agreement with Disability RMS, which brought the company to Westbrook and made a new office building on the riverfront a reality.

The promise came with a signature from Esty, who was, at the time, the highest elected official in the city. If the mayor’s signature is to mean anything to developers in the future, the city needs to honor this agreement.

It’s, no doubt, an unfortunate situation, which could be avoided in the future if the current and future mayors make sure councilors and the public know all they need to about the city’s ongoing negotiations.

A new Web site

Regular readers of the American Journal will notice a difference in our front page this week.

We have redesigned our flag – the top of the front page – to make room for the logo for our new Web site, www.keepmecurrent.com.

The new Web site will be a forum for community news from Westbrook, Gorham and Buxton, as well as the surrounding communities covered by our sister papers, the Current, the Lakes Region Suburban News, the Reporter and the Citizen.

It will enable us to give our readers with Internet access updates on stories throughout the week. When a fire, a local vote or a big high school game occurs days before our newspaper would normally come out, we’ll be able to get information out to the community on our Web site.

If police are searching for someone or seeking to get out information on road closures or other traffic problems, we’ll use our Web site to help them. If parents are wondering whether school has been cancelled because of snow or ice, we hope they’ll visit our Web site to get their answers.

Web site users will also be able to use it as a place where they can voice their opinions or post their news. Visitors to our Web site will be able to post opinion letters to stories. Businesses and nonprofit organizations will be able to post their own press releases.

Regular readers of the American Journal shouldn’t worry that the quality of the paper we publish each week will suffer. If anything, we believe the quality will only improve.

Because not only will we be using the content of our print newspapers to enhance our Web site, we will be using the Web site’s content to enhance our papers. Some content will remain unique to either the newspaper or the Web site.

In the weeks and months to come, we will be adding new content to the Web site and working to continually improve it. Please check it out and make it a regular online stop for local news and information.

Brendan Moran, editor

Copy the Story Link