JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Resident Matthew Amey last Wednesday approaches the Berlin Historic District Commission with renovation plans for his Jefferson Street home.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Nov. 15, 2018) Some people play by the rules, while others might work around them in Berlin’s Historic District.

Historic District Commission members last Wednesday expressed frustration over some unnamed projects while considering renovations to the home and business of Matthew Amey.

Amey, several commission members said, had earned their respect as a man of his word. He asked the commission to approve adding a wheelchair ramp, changing a retaining wall from wood to brick, making some siding and roof changes, adding a deck and fire escape, and enlarging a shed for his home on 8 Jefferson Street. The building also doubles as the Wooden Octopus art studio and gallery.

Commission member Mary Moore said she was skeptical of some of the renovations, but Chairwoman Carol Rose vouched for Amey, saying the two had spoken extensively about his plans.

“He’s been here to us numerous times,” Rose said. “When he has been approved to do something with that property, it has been done exactly like we have approved it – unlike a lot of people in this town who do the opposite.”

Moore said she did not have the benefit of talking to Amey outside of public meetings.

“You’re saying, ‘Well, I’ve had conversations with him.’ Well, I have not. So I’m sitting here as a member thinking, do I give my seal of approval?” Moore said, adding some of the mockups Amey provided were hard to follow. “I found the whole thing a little confusing, because it was a little rough.”

“I’m just the opposite. I thought it was a really well put together packet, compared to some of the things we get,” Rose said.

Amey admitted he rushed some of the computer drawings he gave to the commission and said if the final product were to deviate from those plans, he would return and ask for approval for those changes.

“If and when I do that, I will come before you with exactly how I want to present it, because that’s what I prefer to do, is get permission rather than forgiveness,” he said.

“We’ve had disappointments,” Moore said. “I’m not sitting here trying to be difficult. I’m just saying … if I put my name on something, I don’t like the ambiguity of it.”

Commission members Laura Stearns and Norman Bunting vouched for Amey. Stearns said Amey and his wife were “quiet neighbors.”

“I know you’re a perfectionist and take pride in what you do,” Bunting said. “[I think] this will look nice.”

The commission approved all of the items except for the shed. Rose instead asked for a continuance and for Amey to return with more information next month.

“That’s not a problem,” Amey said.

Also during the meeting, the commission approved a pair of antique doors for a home on 414 South Main Street and a shed for a neighboring residence on 416 South Main Street.

Commission members also granted several changes for a home on 26 Broad Street. A contractor representing the homeowners said leaks in the attic were found when working to replace the existing roof. The changes were said address the problem.