This is posted on behalf of Tom Murray, Co-Founder of the Government Integrity Project.
I am absolutely perplexed at how incompetent Windham’s Community Development Director Rex Norman and our Planning Board are. Look at the video of the Planning Board meeting that took place on 8/4/21 (WCTV21.com). At 1:25:00 Rex Norman seeks to convince the Planning Board to overturn a unanimous decision that was correctly made by the Windham Zoning Board on 7/27/21 regarding the Crossing Life Church’s right to erect a tent on their property located in the rural zone.
Related: The Windham Swamp: Weaponized Government – Part 1
It is important to mention that the Crossing Life Church was unnecessarily run through the ringer with extensive legal bills and multiple denials while trying to obtain a building permit for a temporary tent structure. It is also important to mention as a matter of equity, that NO OTHER ENTITY in Windham which erected a tent was required to obtain a building permit before erecting their tent.
Friendship and cronyism run deep in Windham. But when you run outside of those circles, you better have deep pockets – because our government will make you pay. And pay. And pay.
The incompetence of the Planning Board is on full display. The fact that they all discussed and contemplated Rex Norman’s suggestion that the planning board has a perceived right to ask for a re-hearing request of the Zoning Board’s lawful decision is absurd. The Planning Board members should all know they have NO STATUTORY JURISDICTION to intervene. Furthermore, the planning board should never have permitted Mr. Norman to come before it regarding this issue. In my opinion under the criminal code of Chapter 643 ABUSE OF OFFICE, Rex Norman has violated the statute 643:1 Official Oppression.
Rex Norman should know this as the Community Development Director – and disregards that inconvenient truth. Instead, he unjustly continues to run up the legal bills for the Crossing Life Church at an alarming rate.
Why? Because the Church is being made an example of.
This type of lawfare abuse has become commonplace in Windham. It is only directed towards those who are not embraced by those who control the power. I will provide countless examples in the upcoming weeks.
This type of abuse costs targeted Windham residents, businesses, schools, and churches enormous amounts of money every year, year after year. It costs Windham taxpayers as well – because Windham’s legal bills grow significantly for each lost case after lost case to amounts that hit 6 figures.
It is a sad statement that our Selectmen and Town Administration conveniently continue to look the other way as their employees use their appointed positions within our Windham government to continue to target and harass those who do not align with their ideologies.
The Planning Board who allowed Rex Norman to bring his appeal before them couldn’t be more uninformed about our Zoning regulations, the Building Code, or State Statute! Those Planning Board members should resign, and Rex Norman should be FIRED!!!
What terrible representation!
There is so much more to this story. Stay tuned.
Tom Murray
Co-Founder, Government Integrity Project
