PALERMO, Maine (WABI/Gray News) – A property owner in Maine, upset with a hefty fine that he was facing, decided to pay it in his own way.
Contractor Kirk Sherman purchased waterfront property along Lake Sheepscot in Palermo in April 2024.
But last December, he, along with building partner Dusty Haskell, was issued a $20,000 fine due to violating the town’s lake shore ordinance.
“We actually approached the town before we bought the property about what could be done on it,” Sherman said. “[Palermo’s Code Enforcement Officer] stated that we could do a six-foot meandering path for 100 feet, then the next into the next 200 feet we could fill in 1/10 of an acre.”
Palermo Selectman Robert Kurek confirmed those parameters, but said Sherman took the construction too close to the lake.
“What we got was basically a 20 to 12-foot road built with a bulldozer. The area cleans the water that different wildlife use and things like that. So, if you start to compact that soil, you can affect the health of the lake,” Kurek said.
A statement from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which also had a hand in the case, confirmed Sherman did disrupt wetlands with the construction. But if quickly rectified, the men would not face any penalty from the department.
Sherman said that is exactly what they did.
“Within a day of the notification, we hired the people that we were supposed to. We contacted DEP. We did exactly everything the DEP asked us to do,” he said.
However, the DEP confirmed it was up to the municipality whether it would like to pursue further disciplinary action.
The town’s selectboard unanimously decided to pursue the violation. It said it did so to ensure property owners on Lake Sheepscot know that they must follow codes and ordinances, even if they remediate damages once a violation has been issued.
“We can’t fine people for shoreland zone violations, but we can enter into an agreement if they agree to pay the fine,” Kurek said. “Before [Sherman] signed the consent agreement, we had already established a court date to go to the District Court with him, and then the next day he signed it.”
Feeling targeted with no desire to pursue the issue in court, the pair decided to agree to Palermo’s request, but not without a little payback of their own.
Last Thursday, Sherman dropped off the $20,000 payment entirely in loose change, weighing over 12,000 pounds, to the Palermo Town Office.
The Palermo Select Board members say they felt the gesture was unnecessary due to the option of taking the violation to court.
“While we can’t speculate why they did what they did, we find it very unprofessional on their part,” Kurek said. “And we believe everybody that deals with the town ought to deal with the town in a respectful manner.”
Sherman said the change was meant to send a message.
“I’m paying it, and I just want them to realize that they weren’t fair with us. So this is our kind of one fun way of saying: ‘Here’s your payment, good luck.’” he said.
Kurek said the town is looking into possibly issuing Sherman a handling fee, citing the work placed on town clerks to count the change.
