Doney resigns as Growth Council CEO

NORWAY — Brett Doney, CEO of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills has tendered his resignation, effective September 8.

After leading the economic development group for 12 years, Doney is leaving to take over as president and CEO of the Great Falls Development Authority, serving central and western Montana.

On Tuesday, Jim Delamater, president and CEO of Northeast Bank and recently elected chairman of the Growth Council board of directors, said an executive committee will meet early next week to plan how to proceed. 

Delamater said the committee will draft a new job description for Doney’s replacement, set a salary, and “figure out how to market that position.”  However, he noted, it is too soon to predict how wide a net the Growth Council will cast in that search.

“We have a good staff in place.  The board is energized.  I am confident that we can work together to do what has to be done to complete the transition as we look for the right person,” he said.

Meanwhile, the full board will gather with Doney the same day to discuss “a lot of recent activity” on a number of Growth Council projects.

The meetings are scheduled for 7:30 a.m. (full board) and 9 a.m. (executive committee) on Tuesday, August 15, at the main branch of Norway Savings Bank, in Norway, but are reportedly not open to the public. 

“We are working to resolve a host of projects and I’m very excited about the future,” said Delamater. 

“We are thrilled that Brett is giving us so much time [as notice] and that he will work with us to make sure we have a smooth transition and don’t lose any momentum,” said Delamater.  “He’s served the Oxford Hills well and has done a lot of fantastic things for this community.”

In his “surprise” letter to the Growth Council board, written less than 24 hours before Delamater’s comments, Doney claimed to have had no interest in finding a new job.

“This has all happened so fast that I am still a bit shell shocked,” he wrote.  “I wasn't looking for a new position, but this fell into my lap over the last few weeks and it seems the right time to make a change.”

Contacted by telephone on Tuesday, Doney explained he had once told a “headhunter” — a person who recruits applicants for executive positions — about “the only job that would ever tempt me to leave Maine.”

In July, that headhunter came calling with “the perfect opportunity.”

“We’ve always loved the northwest, and we’ll be just five hours from Yellowstone National Park” said Doney, adding that the new job, which includes heading up a financial branch, “has amazing growth 

potential and strong support from the community.”

“My daughter starts high school in the fall,” said Doney.  “We’d like her to be in the same school all four years, so it seemed like the right time to do it.”

Doney says he is proud of his work here, pointing with special pride to his longevity. “The average in my profession is five or six years,” he said. 

“It is heard to leave,” he said.  “My entire family, we love the Oxford Hills.  We love Maine.  The Growth Council is such a great organization, but I just think its time for a change.”

Doney was lured to the Oxford Hills in 1994, following his work to find new uses for Fort Devens, following its closure.  At the time, 15 percent of local manufacturing jobs in Western Maine had disappeared and unemployment rates hovered at 13.6 percent. 

Today, local unemployment hovers just above 5.5 percent — about 1 percentage point higher than the state average.

“If I look back on the last 12 years, we spent the first six years dealing with the unemployment issue,” said Doney.  “Then we started work on longer term structural issues, like the highway system and access to higher education. 

“The biggest issue here now is higher wages,” said Doney.

Among the highlights of his tenure, Doney lists the following projects that he either spearheaded, or played a significant role in:

• Growth in the modular home building industry of nearly 300 percent, made possible, in part, with substantial loans from the Growth Council.

• The establishment of the Western Maine University, Community College, and Career Center in the vacant Oxford County Fairgrounds exposition building on Route 26, in Paris.

• The establishment of a New Balance shoe factory in Norway, with 225 jobs.

• The “Fix 26” campaign, partly responsible for bringing more than $60 million in highway improvements to the region.

• More than $14 million in loans to local small and medium sized business, including money that reportedly helped keep the doors open at Paricon, Maine Machine Products and Bancroft Contracting.

• Restoration of the Hamilton Block in Norway, now better known as the Fare Share Commons building.

• The rebirth of an historic manufacturing mill as the Bridgeton Commerce Center.

• Redevelopment of the former C. B. Cummings & Sons dowel mill in Norway, leading to its sale to the Libra Foundation, while plans to build townhouses and commercial units on the now vacant lot.

However, some of those projects drew catcalls among community leaders.  Although Doney continued to insist that it was rent money from the Bridgton Commerce Center that financed local projects, many cried foul at the Growth Council investing outside the Oxford Hills. 

Others wondered why Doney spent so much time and energy on the Gray bypass on Interstate 95, failing to see how a seven-minute cut in travel time to Portland benefitted the Oxford Hills.

Then, the bottom really fell out of the Growth Council’s bucket in January, when the loss of an Acorn Products distribution facility at the Bridgton Commerce Center, announced almost a year earlier, cost the Growth Council $150,000 in lost revenue.  That led Doney to lay off two key vice presidents of the Growth Council, Barb (Olson) Deschenes and Bob Shinners.  Then, the Growth Council had to cut some financial ties to the Lake Region Development Council, while a new development director, Len Bartel, was hired and then let go after only a few months.

At about the same time, Doney started to shop the new strategy plan his board of directors began work on nine months earlier.  That plan received considerable “push back” from many area selectmen.

Some complained that the Oxford Hills Business Park in Oxford, near the speedway, had sat idle with unsold lots for too long.  Others found fault with Doney for spending almost $75,000 to revise plans for the Western Maine Technology Park — to be built on 161 acres overlooking Lake Pennesseewassee, in Norway — without consulting them, since six of eight Oxford Hills towns are investors in the project.

In Norway, town fathers questioned the pace of work on Main Street, cited a lack of communication from Doney, and then railed at reports that the Growth Council intended to divest itself of many real estate holdings, including the Oddfellow Building.

However, while many applauded the Growth Council’s plan to ditch its “EnterpriseMaine” moniker and marry its sister-companies back into one, the biggest raspberry was reserved for how the group planned to proceed.

As budgeting season came around last spring, a number of towns used the Growth Council’s new strategic plan, which called for ending its small businesses programs in favor of concentrating on two or three “transformational projects, as an excuse to slash funding.

Although, business leaders rallied around the Growth Council, and voters at area town meetings in June restored funding, support for Doney, personally, was sometimes tepid.  With many citing poor communication, Doney, clearly stung by the remarks, began circulating weekly bulletins and planned to produce a column in the Advertiser, only one of which was submitted.

Still, Doney denies that events of the last several months had any impact on his decision to move on.

“It’s been a hard transition,” he said, “but I think the strategic plan the Growth Council board adopted is the right choice for the Oxford Hills.  While the changes have been painful, I think they have been the right steps to take.”

Doney says there is now movement on many fronts.  He hopes to announce plans for the former J. J. Newberry building in Norway, home to Maine Made & More, “in the next week or so.”  There are “very strong” leads on business park tenants, he says, and there is “some interest” in the Oddfellow building that he may be able to announce before his departure. 

With those developments, Doney claims the Growth Council is on solid footing and “it’s a nice time to change leadership.”

“I feel really good about where things are sitting.  I think the next person who steps in to lead the Growth Council is going to have a great foundation to work with.”

And, as he prepares to leave for Montana, Doney spoke about what the last few months have meant to him.

“For years, we were pursuing a plan for regional growth,” he said.  “We felt we would be able to do more for the Oxford Hills by serving a larger region.  While that was a valid strategy, the support just wasn’t there from within the Oxford Hills. 

“I think the lesson was, whether it makes sense or not, if you don’t have the core support, don’t do it,” said Doney.

“For me personally,” said Delamater, “the lesson I learned is that both myself and others could have communicated better.  I look back and wish I had taken the time to make a few extra calls. 

“Any change is disruptive,” said Delamater, “but I’m still so proud of the effort to create a leaner, meaner organization that’s really focused on the Oxford Hills and things that can have a big impact. 

“The feedback I’m getting is very positive,” said Delamater.  “I can’t stress enough that, in my mind, this organization has a very bright future.”

Norway voters agree to pay for embezzlement investigation

NORWAY — Last Thursday, just four days before Norway’s annual town meeting, 10 voters gathered in the town office for a special town meeting to clear the current year’s books.

By unanimous consent, these citizens agreed to draw $40,000 from the town’s $1.4 million undesignated general fund, to pay  “forensic audit” of town books in the wake of Deb Wyman’s embezzlement indictment.

Wyman, Norway’s former economic development director, was arraigned in Oxford County Superior Court April 20, charged with stealing more than $65,000 from grant funds under her charge.

To date, the town has racked up “around $30,000” in bills relating to the case from lawyers and auditors, said Town Manager David Holt.

Glenn S. Kersteen of G5 Consulting Services in Cape Elizabeth, was hired by Holt to comb through town accounts, looking for evidence of Wyman’s alleged graft.

“This is very expensive,” said Holt, “but the reasons that we do it are to assure the public that we are serious about finding out what the truth is, and so we can, accurately and to the best of our ability, ask for restitution and justify our insurance claims.”

Holt says the investigation is proceeding “in a plodding fashion,” and may be nearing an end.

“At this point, we’re not sure we want to spend $1,000 to find another $5,000 [possibly stolen],” he explained.

Denise Whitley asked why annual audits never picked up any wrongdoing, if, as Holt said, G5 has uncovered evidence of thefts from the town — currently attributed to Wyman — dating to the mid ‘90s. 

“I’m very concerned about the conduct of the public audits,” said Gene Shanor, pointing out that he was speaking as a Norway taxpayer, and not a reporter.  “It seems the town has spent money each year for 10 years to audit the books and they weren’t able to find this money that had been stolen.

“I think when we look at who has to pay, those auditors have to have some culpability,” said Shanor.

Holt defended the town’s longtime auditors, Gaisford and Hoisington of Norway — Now Hoisginton and Bean.

“Having no suspicion, it wasn’t found,” he said. “When someone steals, they do it in such a way as to hide it.”

“This was very good, very difficult to pick up,” said Selectman Les Flanders.  “Once the forensic auditors found the pattern, it seems easy, but it was not easy to pick up at all.  I think there’s probably very few auditors in the state who could have picked this up.”

Holt said thefts may date back to the beginning of Wyman’s tenure with the town, but he was only willing to “stand in a public room” and make accusations he had proof for.

Holt said later that Wyman’s alleged graft was uncovered by another town employee, who, after attending a state training session, decided she should send 1099 tax forms to downtown business owners who received community development grants.  Previously, those forms were only sent to the contractors who were hired to do the work.

“It was typical for her to use the names of people who did a lot,” said Holt.  “So if they did $30,000 worth of work on community development projects in a year, she might add on another $1,000.”

Wyman allegedly submitted separate receipts to the contractor, and then to the town, deporting the extra money in her own account.

“One issue is that Key Bank allowed deposits into an account of checks that were not made out to that individual,” said Holt.  “What’s the explanation for that?  I don’t know.  They haven't been able to give me one.  That’s pretty hard to pick up.”

Although Hoisington and Bean reportedly discouraged the employee from sending out extra 1099s, Holt says the longtime employee felt it was the right thing to do, and sent the forms out while Wyman was on a leave of absence unrelated to her later indictment.

When Art Gouin, owner of L. F. Pike and Son, received his 1099 invoicing work down to his building, he noticed that some of the items listed, such as roof repairs, had never been applied for, and never done.  He promptly brought his fishy looking document to Holt, who launched an investigation.

Holt says that if Wyman is convicted, the town will ask that she be required to repay all the money she is proven to have pocketed from town coffers, as well as the full cost of the investigation, to either the town, or its insurance company.  At this point, as much as $105,000 appears to be recoverable.  That figure is expected to climb by the time Wyman’s trial gets under way.

Voters at the special town meeting also agreed to appropriate $5,000 to cover a deficit in the town’s cemetery account. 

Norway contracts with the Progress Center to maintain most town cemeteries, while Scott Eicher, of Oxford, takes care of “a couple” others, plus the town parks. 

Holt said heavy rains last summer created a need for more mowings than he had budgeted for. 

Community Concepts to end adult day services program

PARIS — Community Concepts, Inc. (CCI), the nonprofit social-services agency serving Oxford, Androscoggin and Franklin counties, has announced that it will shut down the last of its adult day services programs, effective January 31.

But while Community Concepts lays the blame for the program’s demise on the state, officials with the Department of Health and Human Services say it is the local agency that dropped the ball.

The closing will affect approximately 50 clients and nine staff members in locations at High Street in Paris and Congress Street in Rumford. 

According to Community Concepts spokesman Mary Ellen Therriault, the agency will continue leasing the High Street building, with “no immediate change,” because that site also houses staff from its property management arm.

The final nail in the adult day services program follows earlier restructuring by Community Concepts in November 2005, that shuttered a second Rumford location offering the program, as well as one in Farmington.  Eight employees were said to have lost their jobs in that realignment, designed to try and keep some offerings up and running.

Launched in December, 2001, as a service designed to provide daytime care for senior citizens — especially those with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia — the program soon expanded to other adults with mental health challenges.  The service allowed families to place their loved ones in a safe, monitored environment while they went to work, or ran the necessary errands of life. 

“Basically, it was for someone who can’t or shouldn’t be left alone,” said Therriault.  “We provided health monitoring — making sure they take their medicine, personal care as necessary — showers and that kind of thing, nutrition based on their specific medical needs and socialization activities. 

“We would have trips into the community as well as have folks come in and do activities with them,” said Therriault. 

At its high point, Community Concept’s adult day services program served 128 people in the tri-county area.

With the help of those services, clients were able to continue living in their communities, forestalling the need for institutional care, said Community Concept’s executive director, Matthew Smith, in a recent press release.

Smith said he worries about the demise of locally based support for mental health, fearing it will lead to greater stress on other public services.

“Our clients will be faced with worsening conditions and may be forces to seek help at hospital emergency rooms, or find themselves involved with the police [and] our courts,” he said.

“Folks won’t have this service anymore, so what are they going to do when they end up having a crisis?” asked Therriault, rhetorically.  “They are going to end up in the emergency room.  They are going to end up at the police station.”

“The long-term effects on our elderly, our poor, and those among us that suffer from mental illness will be devastating,” said Smith.

“It’s going to end up costing us all more in the long run,” added Therriault.

Already, Community Concepts has fielded calls from both clients and family members expressing concern over the loss of services and questions about where they can turn.

“Unfortunately, there isn’t much to refer them to,” said Therriault.  “There is no other place to take people for day services.  There is no other program like this anywhere [in the area].”

To explain why Community Concepts will no longer provide adult day services, Smith pointed the finger at the state.

"In February of 2005, the Department of Health and Human Services changed its MaineCare practices, reducing client time for mental health services, which translated directly to the loss of essential revenues to support the program," he said.

Therriault said these changes resulted in the number of hours MaineCare would pay for being slashed in half, across the board.  Fees structures also were reduced and “made more complicated”, she said, resulting in the adult day services program running at a monthly deficit of "thousands and thousands of dollars" since DHHS enacted its new rules.

But Geoffrey W. Green, deputy commissioner of operations and support for DHHS says the fault lies with Community Concepts.

Under MaineCare regulations, day services — which consist of activities — are reimbursable at approximately $15.00 per hour, per person.  Skills development — described as a “specific and specialized service” — is billable at a higher rate of approximately $50.00 per hour. 

“CCI was billing for day services at the higher rate for skills development,” said Green, “but the service being provided did not meet the requirements for skills development specified in the rule.

“DHHS staff attempted to work with CCI to modify its program so that billings would be consistent with the service being provided,” said Green.  “We thought that the agency had made the necessary adjustments.  In fact, CCI opened two additional sites this past summer.” 

But at Community Concepts, the story seems to be one of the little guy being bullied by the behemoth of the state, with little or no assistance, and no recourse but to eventually throw in the towel. 

“We tried really hard.  We tried since February,” said Therriault, referring to the various consolidations, service changes and recruitment efforts reportedly undertaken to keep the program running.

“We just couldn’t sustain it,” she said.  “We were running at a deficit since February, trying to make it work.  But at some point we knew we had to accept that we are a nonprofit and we had to be able to at least make it a go of it [financially].”

“We are aware that other day services providers have had to modify their programs to come into compliance,” said Green.  “The Department [DHHS] has worked cooperatively and successfully with them to do so.  CCI is the only provider we are aware of that has opted to close its program.”

That closure now leaves as many as 50 local families hanging, and the people Smith laments as “vulnerable citizens” without a safe harbor, possibly exposing them to increases risks.

“I think that what we would like people to know is that this change that happened at the DHHS level is really just one small piece of what is becoming a trend to reduce community-based care,” said Therriault.  “It is actually going to result in higher costs.  It is something that we are concerned about and we think that the community should be aware and concerned, as well.”

“DHHS will focus its efforts on making sure that the clients affected will continue to receive needed support services,” said Green.