The Lewiston, Maine, City Council has decided not to eliminate its local restaurant inspection program or withdraw funding from the city's sanitation sector. The vote was unanimous.
Lewiston remains one of three Maine cities responsible for the state's local restaurant inspections.
City Council heard the public's overwhelming support for the local inspection program and its Inspector Louis Lachance and took action.
These decisions effectively end the city's response to the January closure of DaVinci's, a popular Lewiston restaurant that has been infested with cockroaches for almost a year.
After the closure, city officials prepared a letter to the state of Maine terminating the city's agreement to inspect local eateries. Had the letter been sent, the state would have been charged with inspecting the Lewiston restaurant.
The council also rejected a resolution to cancel the Certified Health Inspector/Law Enforcement Officer budget for next year.
These measures were proposed after Da Vinci's closed for nine days in January.
Lewiston restaurant inspectors ordered the closure after Da Vinci staff and pest control contractors have been working on the problem since early 2023.
Cockroaches are a harbinger of diseases and pathogens. Cockroach shedding exoskeletons and feces can cause asthma in healthy people, and large cockroach infestations can be incredibly unhealthy for people. Cockroaches also leave behind dirt and odors. When they or their waste come into contact with food, humans can develop food poisoning-like symptoms that can be severe enough to require hospitalization.
Upon closing, the city immediately put long-respected law enforcement director David Hediger on leave and prepared to fire restaurant inspector Louis Lachance.
Subsequently, the Maine Service Employees Association, the union representing city employees, issued a vote of “no confidence” in Lewiston Mayor Carl Shelein.
The “no confidence” vote was attended by 60 city employees, including law enforcement officials. Labor's Adam Jones said Mayor Sherine had created a toxic working environment.
Shereen was elected to a second term as mayor of Maine's second-largest city in 2023. He won by a margin of 122 votes out of a total of 4,664 votes cast in the special mayoral runoff election.
He said he was disappointed with the no-confidence vote, saying it does not have the power to hire or fire city employees, which rests with City Administrator Heather Hunter.
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