York Town News
Selectmen say no to Willis dock on Western Point
By Larry Favinger
YORK HARBOR - The protracted effort by Dana Willis to have a dock built opposite his home at 122 Western Point Road took another hit Monday night when the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously not to issue the license required by state law.After listening to about two hours of testimony at the Dec. 11 meeting, and visiting the Willis property in late November for an on-site public hearing, Selectman Michael Estes said the area in question is "a very challenging part of the harbor" and he had no doubt putting a dock there would be "a navigation hazard to the river."
It didn't take long for the rest of the board members to agree, siding with previous decisions handed down by the Harbor Board and Harbormaster John Bridges that the dock should not be built.
Those denials were overturned by a York County Superior Court judge, citing a lack of authority by those entities to make such decisions. The issue was then returned to the town.
State law requires the selectmen to issue a license for these kinds of projects. Despite the court's decision, the action by the Harbor Board and harbormaster weighed heavily in the selectmen's decision.
"We must rely on our local authorities," Selectman Torbert Macdonald, Jr., said. "I have to go with the local experts. This is definitely an obstruction to navigation."
Selectmen Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell said he was certain the board and the harbormaster had the best interests of the people who use the harbor at heart, and fishermen who testified against the placement of the dock "know what they're doing."
Attorney David Ballou and former York Harbormaster Sarah "Tinker" Newick, now a consultant, described their client's proposal.
Ballou told the selectmen their decision had to be based on whether the project was an obstruction to navigation and/or injured the rights of others. He said the more than two-year process to have the dock approved was frustrating to his client, especially where there is already a dock 50 yards away that was unanimously approved some years before.
Citing permits already received from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, Ballou said the dock was designed "not to be a hazard" and referenced several letters in support of the project.
Newick, who now works to help people gain permits needed to build docks, said there was ample room on the corner in question for boats coming and going. She said she would not work on a project she felt was dangerous to anyone involved.
Comments during the selectmen's public hearing, however, were overwhelming against the project.
Bridges stepped to the podium noting, "I'm the person who turned this down (because of safety considerations.) … This is definitely a bottleneck here. … When you come to a bottleneck on a highway you have accidents. We want to make sure we keep this as safe as possible."
Steve Roberts, current chairman of the Harbor Board, said his group is the town's "eyes and ears down there (in the harbor) and this project would create a hazard that does not exist today" in an area of very swift currents.
Others who commented included David Linney, Joseph Donnelly, David Bridges, Ron Nowell, Jonathan Strater, Charles Stacey, David Webber and Pat White.
"This is an accident waiting to happen," White, a fisherman, said.
Also during the meeting, on a different matter related to safety, Town Manager Rob Yandow said the town's public safety personnel would gather after the holidays to work out a protocol for parades and other town activities to help ensure the safety of all involved.
This action is in response to the recent tragedies in other towns with youngsters falling from Christmas parade floats, including the tragic death of a nine-year-old boy at the Portsmouth, N.H., holiday parade.
In other business, the selectmen approved the purchase of two 2007 Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers from Starkey Ford.
Police Chief Doug Bracy said Starkey's low bid was $32,989 for the cruisers. The money will come from the capital vehicle reserve account as will the funds needed to equip the cruisers. The other bid was from Quirk Ford of Augusta for $33,712.
The board also voted to accept $854 from the state in funds seized by local police in connection with the arrest and conviction in a drug case. The money is to be used to fund drug investigations, equipment and/or education to help combat illegal drugs.
