After deliberating for about an hour in executive session, the five members of Limestone’s Select Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to fire their new town manager who has been in office less than 10 weeks.
Matthew S. Pineo, who just started on the job on Oct. 2, was still in the probationary phase and not yet under contract, so the board had the right to terminate him without cause.
None of the select people was willing to make comments regarding their decision to end Pineo’s tenure, effective at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Members of the board, however, had expressed their dismay during a meeting in mid-October concerning some of the changes that Pineo had either already implemented or proposed during his first few days in office. Select people voiced concern, for instance, about his changing administrative duties of town employees, reconfiguring offices in Limestone’s municipal building, recommending removal of the soda machine from the town office, and having a staffer rather than the town manager take minutes of board meetings.
Word had spread around town about Wednesday’s impending action as about two dozen residents filled the meeting room at the Town Office to show their support for Pineo.
Julie Weston, owner of Manaus Books and Coffeeshop, was the first to stand up and speak on behalf of Pineo when Board Chairman Steve Beaulieu opened the floor to public comments.
“My experience with him (Pineo) has been terrific. He’s been great for the town of Limestone and I’m here to support him as much as I can,” Weston said. “The Board seems to micromanage him a lot and I say they should just let him do his job.”
Weston also pointed out that the Select Board had been taking longer executive sessions lately and wondered if people were being hired or fired without the public’s input.
“I think we the public are being left out of a lot of discussions that we should be a part of. People get hired and fired behind closed doors and I think we’re all smart enough here that we should have a say in what happens,” Weston said.
Beaulieu defended the board by saying, “Nobody has ever been hired or fired behind closed doors. We can’t discuss personnel matters in front of the public. …”
“But when was the meeting to hire Matthew Pineo?” Weston countered, interrupting Beaulieu.
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- Shortly before he was fired during Wednesday night’s Select Board meeting, Limestone Town Manager Matthew Pineo gives Volunteer Awards to Police Chief Stacey Mahan and Code Enforcement Officer Damon Howarth for their efforts in helping to renovate the Limestone Town Office. (Melissa Lizotte)
“That would be the meeting of the 21th of September,” said Pineo, who was sitting at the desk to the far left of the board, taking the meeting minutes. He began looking through his notes for confirmation. After almost a minute, Pineo told the audience that his notes brought him to Sept. 29, 2017, the day that the board called him about their hiring decision. There were no minutes filed for Sept. 21.
“It must’ve been the 20th when I was hired because I know I came here nine days later on the 29th,” Pineo said. “I wasn’t here when the board met, so I can’t recollect what they said then. I just know when the calls came in. I assume we’re missing some minutes.”
Limestone resident Irma LaBreck then stood up and also offered praise for Pineo.
“I think we should give this man a chance and embrace him. Every time I approach him he’s been considerate of what I’ve had to say. We’re a small town and we’re used to doing things a certain way, but I think this is our chance to embrace change,” LaBreck said. “Let him take the reins and see what he can do.”
Another resident, Brian Weston, was particularly upset with the selectmen, saying that he approved of how Pineo was working to bring new businesses and residents to Limestone. He put most of the blame on the select board members, whom he said refused to cooperate with Pineo.
“What’s the problem here? You just sit there calling him (Pineo) an outsider. Look at the town. We just lost our only restaurant. You guys should be feeling bad about the way you’ve been treating him. He’s experienced, he’s knowledgeable, he doesn’t hide in executive session,” Weston said. “It’s not your town, it’s our town. There’s no insiders or outsiders. I know we can move beyond this and get moving for this town.”
No board member responded to any of the comments made by LaBreck or Brian Weston. Beaulieu asked if there were any more public comments and when no one else spoke up, the board moved on to discuss other items before going into executive session later.
In what was likely his last public action at town manager, though he did not know it at the time, Pineo took the podium to recognize town residents who had recently put in numerous volunteer hours to repair the town office building.
Soon after Pineo arrived in Limestone two months ago, many town employees told him about how some offices were in great need of repairs and paint. Thanks to numerous residents, who volunteered many unpaid hours, the offices got new coats of paint, new cabling for TV and internet, and some renovations, according to Pineo. The volunteers also de-cluttered spaces such as the janitor’s closet and helped install a new air conditioning unit.
“There were multiple projects to get the offices in shape. We added a new door and a new glass window to Chief Mahan’s office. We used materials that people in town donated,” Pineo said. “When I look at all the volunteers that are here tonight I can only smile. Those who went above and beyond are being honored tonight.”
Pineo handed out Volunteer Award plaques to the following people: Police Officer Ken Oliver and his wife Tonya, Town Tax Collector Gayle MacDougal, Code Enforcement Officer Damon Howarth and his wife, Detective Paul Gamble, Sgt. Joey Smith, Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan and Mahan’s two sons Sam, 12, and Connor, 20. On each plaque were etched the words: “For outstanding dedication and commitment to the Limestone Town Office Renovation Project.”
After Pineo gave the awards, Chief Mahan took the podium and expressed gratitude to all the Limestone residents who contributed toward the renovation.
“I’ve been here since 1987 in the same office without windows or airflow. It’s nice now to have an office space that we can utilize,” Mahan said. “I’m really impressed with these guys stepping up and wanting the office to look good.”
The selectmen entered into executive session at 8 p.m. to discuss personnel matters, with most of the public leaving in good spirits from the volunteer awards presentations. At about 8:30, Pineo emerged from the meeting room, saying that the selectmen had asked him to step out.
It was about 9 p.m. that the five-member board voted unanimously to terminate Pineo. No members of the public remained at that hour and the board members declined to comment about their action to the Aroostook Republican and News.
