A dispute between residents and the town of Andover over the name of a street is to be decided in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris. Rose Lincoln/Bethel Citizen
ANDOVER — Brenda and Lance Stickney live either at 211 Skyline Drive or at 188 Corneliusen Road.
A dispute between the Stickneys and the town over the name will be decided in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris.
The couple filed the civil lawsuit after years of discussion, and some argument, with town officials over the name change from Skyline to Corneliusen, which they say they were not consulted about, and they have asked the court to make “Skyline Drive” official.
In a letter the Stickneys sent to the Andover Planning Board on Feb. 4, they said they have received mail “from the town and many others at this Skyline Drive address. The town recognizes Skyline Drive on its property tax maps and tax bills, Maine DOT refers to the road as Skyline Drive, as does many other agencies, such as the US Department of Commerce, US Census, Maine GIS system, etc.”
In the same letter they said there was no conflict until the current Board of Selectmen and the new addressing officer took office. Referring to the new officer, they wrote, “her action being sudden and without justification, after we lived and received mail on this road for the past 20 years. An unauthorized address change was made on our behalf with the USPS.”
Along the way, former Selectman Jane Rich and Selectman Leo Camire tried to help. More recently, Selectman Joe Luce visited the Stickneys at their home to talk about resolving the issue.
Asked about the situation last week, Rich said in a phone call that, “It has been going on for years and should be resolved. Every board of selectmen that has dealt with it has tried to resolve it.”
Camire said he didn’t want to get involved.
Luce responded to The Bethel Citizen by text that “all matters regarding the Stickneys will go through the town’s attorney.”
Lynda Airhart, the addressing officer, said the same in a phone conversation.
The town’s attorney, Adam R. Lee, has not responded to an email.
The Stickneys believe that clerical errors are most likely at the root of the problem, beginning with Ken Dixon, the former Andover fire chief. “I believe that he was supposed to probably do some paperwork with the state 911 people that mushroomed into some kind of controversy with the selectmen and I don’t know why,” Brenda Stickney said.
In 2010 and 2013, Dixon, who is deceased, assigned 248 and 268 Skyline Drive to two cabins the Stickneys owned. And, a 2018 Andover Comprehensive Plan map shows Skyline Drive as the name of their road.
“To me, this is my biggest piece of evidence,” Brenda Stickney said.
In a letter to selectmen in March, Camire, wrote, “It was named Skyline Drive by the previous E-911 Addressing Officer. That person (Dixon) did not keep written documents of changes or new road names. He just gave you an address or a road name if you requested it.” On this same document, Camire notes that he entered the information (the name Skyline Drive) into the system.
The Stickneys do not believe the town’s attorney has provided all of the documentation needed for the town to write a fair review. “If he went online he would have seen all this stuff pop up that says Skyline Drive in Andover. If you do Corneliusen (Road) nothing comes up. So where is this road that is not even in existence?” Brenda Stickney asked.
In March, in a letter to the Andover selectmen, later sent to the Stickneys, Lee noted that the road name had been Corneliusen Road for many decades and the name change is not compliant with the town ordinance. He closed his letter with a harsh warning that the Stickneys said they feel is a threat.
According to that letter, “It would be appropriate to remind Ms. Stickney, that failure to comply with Andover’s Ordinances, including these road ordinances, may lead to code enforcement efforts, and if willfully violated, can lead to the assessment of substantial fines” under state law.
On page three of the Town of Andover brief, Lee wrote, “The road is and has always been named Corneliusen Road, despite the Stickneys attempts to unilaterally rename it through fraudulent signage, or by cajoling municipal officials and county government to change it.”
The Stickneys question how the town names the many other private roads in town and also why theirs has an official sign when others do not.
“Why did they run up with a Corneliusen Road sign, when all the other private roads in town have handmade signs by the residents?” Brenda Stickney asked.
The reason that changing the name would be difficult for the Stickneys, they say, is because they use the name for their rental cabin business. “I don’t want to look at Corneliusen on my envelope three times a day. You have to keep spelling it. You can’t even say it. It’s not fair what they’re doing. Bottom line,” she said.
The Stickneys also wonder why the town would want to name a road after the developer who made the road narrower than promised, never did the drainage, and never added the turnaround for firetrucks as he should have.
“The town spent thousands of dollars fixing the bridge,” Lance Stickney said.
In 1991, the Stickneys bought 11 acres; later they bought more and now own 63 contiguous acres. Their property, where they moved full-time in 2002, is about half a mile from the end of the two-mile road.
The road is off Sawyer Hill Road in the north end of town.
While the other five neighbors on the road do not live there full-time and likely have post office boxes, the Stickneys wonder how the neighbors’ addresses are listed as Skyline Drive.
“Who named them?” Lance Stickney asked.
The earliest paperwork the Stickneys have – with the Skyline Drive address as the official name – is a building permit application for their addition in 1999.
In 2003, at a town meeting, an article to name the road Skyline Drive was not approved. The Stickneys were at that meeting and say the warrant was passed over after much discussion, in part, because townspeople felt they did not have full authority to name the road.
“This is what they are hanging their hat on,” Lance Stickney said.
In 2019, after two ambulances couldn’t find the Stickneys house, they decided they should get a sign identifying the road as Skyline Drive. They contacted the state and a Skyline Drive sign arrived around June 2020.
They felt relieved to be finished with their ordeal. However, their relief was short-lived when the sign was replaced with a Cornelieusen Road sign by an unknown person. The couple asked town officials, their neighbor and their contact at the state about it. All three said that they did not remove the Skyline Drive sign.
The only clue is an email to the Stickneys from Airhart, secretary for the selectmen and town addressing officer, saying, “The Planning Board left your sign here.”
At a March 21 Planning Board meeting, which was arranged via email with Chairman Sydney Pew, the Stickneys say they arrived early and were angrily asked to return in half an hour.
“The chairman, Syd Pew, I’ve never seen anyone so hostile,” Lance Stickney said. “He was screaming at (Brenda), he wouldn’t even let her present her case. They didn’t even want to hear it.”
The Stickneys are asking Oxford County Superior Court for a declaratory judgment to end the controversy and rule the road name is Skyline Drive.
If the court decides, instead, to send them back to the Planning Board, the Stickneys feel they will not be treated fairly. They also feel bad that taxpayer money is being spent on this issue.
Lance Stickney said he has two questions for town officials: “Where did all the other people (their neighbors) get the Skyline Drive address?” and “Why does all the correspondence up to 2022 say Skyline Drive?”
Ironically, in June when the Stickneys voted, their address on the voter registration roll was Skyline Drive.
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