A Second District Court Judge Gregory FitzMaurice has dismissed Lewiston’s request to issue $28.5 million in bonds to rebuild its wastewater treatment plant, ruling that the city didn’t meet the legal requirement to post notice of court hearing at a prominent location at city hall.
Gregory FitzMaurice didn’t rule on the substance of the city’s argument that the need for repairs is urgent enough to seek approval from a judge, rather than voters. The city council voted this summer to seek “judicial confirmation,” rather than put the issue on the November ballot.
Retired Second District Judge John Bradbury filed a motion to dismiss the request on September 12th, the day before the hearing with FitzMaurice. Bradbury argued that even though the city complied with the statutory requirement to post notice of the hearing 30 days in advance, its placement on a bulletin board with several other notices eight to 10 steps away from the city hall front door was not prominent enough.
It’s not yet clear if they will be able to simply refile the request for judicial confirmation and post notice of the subsequent hearing in a more prominent place. (Lewiston Tribune)
