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Dispute over Fish Pier platform prompts lawsuit and extra legal budgeting
Summary
A long-running disagreement over the Fish Pier platform between local dealers and town officials resulted in litigation by Sunshine Seafood and prompted the Selectmen to increase the legal budget; board members and harbor users remain sharply divided over pier access and storage.
The Selectmen heard repeated public comment about the Fish Pier platform and, amid ongoing friction, were later served with a lawsuit from Sunshine Seafood that has prompted the town to increase its legal-line in the draft budget.
Why it matters: The Fish Pier serves dozens of commercial users and the platform is used for loading and processing. The dispute touches access, public-safety concerns and the town’s fiscal exposure if litigation continues.
Board and public debate Town Manager (TM) Billings told the board the platform dispute has produced complaints and at least one lawsuit. Selectman John Steed said the board needs to ensure the facility is safe and estimated outside legal costs could be “somewhere” around $30,000; TM Billings said she used $25,000 as a planning figure for the budget. The budget increase was adopted to cover potential legal expenses.
Harbor users and dealers gave varied testimony at an earlier meeting: some, including Jim Eaton and others who rely on the platform for loading, urged the Selectmen to keep it in place for continued use; others and some Selectmen said personal property stored on the platform (trailers, totes) blocked loading and created unfair allocations of limited space. No final operational change was approved at the meetings recorded in the transcript; instead, the dispute has continued to formal contention.
Procedural steps and next moves The Selectmen directed staff to reflect likely legal costs in the budget. TM Billings said she had not yet received a lawyer’s detailed estimate but the board increased the contingency for legal services. The litigation by Sunshine Seafood remains active according to the minutes; the board has not yet adopted a new pier-access ordinance or a final operational plan in the public record covered by these minutes.
Context The Fish Pier is used by commercial dealers and smaller proprietors and has been the subject of earlier Harbor Committee discussion and votes. The town has previously discussed using reserve funds for pier projects and a recent MDOT parking-match request was approved for pier-related improvements (the town approved a 50% match from the Fish Pier Reserve for a MDOT grant in earlier minutes). The Selectmen continue to weigh harbor-management authority, space allocation and safety concerns while the legal matter proceeds.
The meeting record shows the Selectmen did not adopt a final remedy on the platform during the recorded sessions; the town’s next fiscal steps will reflect the pending litigation and the board’s choices about pier management.
