The city of Waterville takes full responsibility for maintenance issues on the Two Cent Bridge, even when that involves cleaning up human waste, Town Manager Mike Roy said Friday.

“We have a responsibility to take care of it,” Roy said.

Roy was responding to a Morning Sentinel article published Friday reporting that Winslow resident David Nevedomsky, 58, used a bucket of water Thursday to wash a large pile of feces and toiler paper off the bridge, which connects Waterville and Winslow across the Kennebec River.

Nevedomsky said he tried to get officials in both Waterville and Winslow to clean it up, but said they did not offer to do it so he did it himself with a bucket.

The incident underscored apparent confusion over bridge cleanup responsibilities.

But Roy said Waterville has always accepted its responsibility for the bridge, which it took ownership of in 1981. Roy said when Nevedomsky raised the complaint with an administrative worker in the municipal office, Nevedomsky was so confrontational that the complaint was not effectively communicated.

Advertisement

Nevedomsky agreed Friday that the conversation with the town employee was confrontational, but said he was not at fault and should have been listened to.

Roy said the employee felt threatened by Nevedomsky, who also complained about separate issues.

Roy said if he had been in the office at the time, he would have resolved the situation and sent an employee to clean the waste up.

“She never got to the point where she could address his complaints,” Roy said of the city worker. “I think, if the complaint would have gone to the right person, we would have taken care of it.”

Meanwhile, Roy and others also questioned Nevedomsky’s statement to the Morning Sentinel that the 58-year-old served three tours of duty in the Vietnam war. Nevedomsky would have been 18 or so when U.S. troops officially pulled out of the country in 1973.

Nevedomsky Friday defended his statement, saying that he served three tours beginning when he was 17 years old and was there until 1975, when the final U.S. troops pulled out. This month marks the 39th anniversary of the fall of Saigon — April 30, 1975. U.S. civilians and troops who remained in Vietnam after the official end of the war were pulled out right before the fall.

Nevedomsky said that he was pleased to hear that Waterville will address any future complaints about cleanup problems on the bridge.

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling — 861-9287 mhhetling@centralmaine.com Twitter: @hh_matt


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.