Expect caterwauling over wall at Monday selectmen's meeting

The rock wall has been a well known and well recognized fixture along White Mountain Highway for five years. (Lebanon Voice photo)

Editor's note: The name of the owner of the property at 254 White Mtn. Hwy. was misstated in an earlier version of this story. The Lebanon Voice apologizes for the error.

2017© MILTON - Monday night's Board of Selectmen's could put two town officials under the spotlight: one for giving possibly questionable advice on whether a permit was needed to build a 20-foot retaining wall behind a town business and another for continuing a crusade to have it brought down as a selectman that he began long before he was elected four months ago.

But what may overshadow both of these contentious issues is a philosophical and legal one: Is the town liable for perceived safety hazards on private property, and can it statutorily force compliance at the owner's expense? And should it be able too?

The wall in question is the retaining wall behind Three Ponds Automotive at 254 White Mtn. Hwy, which was built several years ago and has been a thorn in the side of Selectman Ryan Thibeault ever since he moved into the house just north of it.

Thibeault went to the previous board of selectmen and other town boards several times prior to his running for selectman to complain the wall was a liability, was structurally unsound, and was a danger to people and cars in the garage's rear parking lot and citizen who might fall off the top of the wall.

After one of the current owners of the property, Eric Goodrich, received a letter from Town CEO Brian Boyers recently saying he had to pay for an engineer to check the stability of the wall and/or take it down, the holder of the mortgage and former owner Joseph St. Lawrence, attended the June 26 selectmen's meeting to vehemently complain that Thibeault should recuse himself from any discussion of the wall since he had precipitated the drafting of the letter as a selectman, but exhibited a longtime fixation that the wall should be brought down while a private citizen.

Thibeault at the June 12 meeting had waved a letter from the town attorney, Jim Sessler, that stated the wall was a liability to the town.

"Ryan started complaining about this as a resident, now he's pursuing it as a selectman," St. Lawrence said. "That's a conflict of interest."

It should be noted that in several interactions with the previous boards recorded on video, liability concerns for the town appear to largely fall on deaf ears.

St. Lawrence also said that when and he and a local builder went to Boyers when they were building the wall, he said no permit was necessary.

"This seems like its Ryan's agenda, not the town's," St. Lawrence said.

The retaining wall was completed in 2013, and since then there had been no issues or complaints about it till now, St. Lawrence added.

Thibeault argued that all he cared about was the liability of the town and that that's what people should focus on.

During the often-contentious meeting June 26 former selectmen Bob Bridges pointedly questioned Thibeault on whether his motives were more about liability to the town or a personal vendetta that began before he was a selectman. Bridges was so concerned he said he stopped by Thibeault's home prior to the March vote, he said.

Looking at Thibeault, he said, "I asked you if the problem you have with the garage is why you're running for selectman," Bridges said. "You said, 'No, it's finished.'"

"I asked the attorney if there was a liability," Thibeault replied.

"See, that proves it," Bridges said.

Another in the meeting audience called it "an abuse of power" by the freshman selectman.

Boyers, who was not at the June 26 meeting, will be on hand for the 6 p.m. Monday meeting.