Regulatory ‘power play’ in Standish results in one less dining option for locals.

STANDISH – Sunday was the last hurrah for The Inlet Restaurant in Standish.

After years of bitter “power play,” as owner Roland Hurtubise describes the tumultuous relationship between himself and Standish code enforcers, The Inlet served its last meal, a private breakfast function to benefit the York County Shriners Club, an organization for which Hurtubise has raised more than $30,000 during the last decade.

Hurtubise, his wife Linda and sons Todd and Brian were all on hand to host the semi-annual breakfast, and had heavy hearts as they closed up one last time.

“We’re tired of fighting. (Linda’s) tired of it, I’m tired of it. We’re all just tired of it,” said Hurtubise, who was told by the town that the restaurant needed to fix a series of safety violations. The cost of making the changes was too steep to keep the restaurant in business, he said.

But town officials said they were willing to work with Hurtubise so that he could make the changes over time, and merely needed the restaurant owner to show that he had a plan for addressing the problems.

Hurtubise opened The Inlet in 1976 on Route 113 near Watchic Lake in Standish. The 5-acre property fronts a stream that leads to the lake and offered diners a beautiful view while they ate at picnic tables on the grassy lawn or inside the large building, which grew over time. Customers also appreciated not having to pay tips, which Hurtubise said was company policy as a way to help out diners, many of who were elderly and on fixed incomes. “You have to add in a tip, say 20 percent, and that can add up,” he said.

Through the years, Standish residents and out-of-towners would flock to the restaurant while it was open, usually from April to October.

“I absolutely loved going to the restaurant. For years we went there. I wished it would have stayed around for the rest of my lifetime, but life is change. You’ve got to enjoy what’s there while it’s there,” said Marie Ciccarone of Standish, a regular visitor to The Inlet each summer.

Another longtime customer, Standish Councilor Phil Pomerleau, would take his wife and their grandchildren to The Inlet nearly every Friday night for dinner. Like many in town, Pomerleau is shocked to see Hurtubise close the popular landmark on account of a flap with code enforcers, a result Pomerleau said could have been avoided.

“I’m extremely upset. I consider Roland a friend, and there’s no way the town would have shut him down,” Pomerleau said.

About six weeks ago, Pomerleau said, he tried to convince Hurtubise to meet with him, Town Manager Gordon Billington, Fire Chief Brent Libby and the town’s part-time fire inspector, Adam Royer, concerning several health and safety violations the town had cited The Inlet Restaurant for during the last three years. The meeting never happened, and, Pomerleau said, the closure could have been avoided had Hurtubise agreed to meet.

“I heard about it by reading his ad in the Shopping Guide,” Pomerleau said. “Needless to say I was shocked and saddened. It is a great Standish restaurant.”

In the full-page ad in the April 21 Shopping Guide, Hurtubise announced the restaurant wouldn’t reopen for the 2010 season and provided a transcript of a phone conversation Hurtubise taped between the town’s fire inspector and himself.

“This is a very difficult decision on the part of the Hurtubise family. After having the state fire marshal called in by (Standish fire inspector) Adam Royer for the past three years, our decision is final … I had no intention of complying with Mr. Royer, which would have had a price tag of between 35 and 50 thousand dollars,” the ad read.

Hurtubise said Royer has cited him for 11 separate violations ranging from not having proper fire doors or a back-up generator to not having a sprinkler system. But, Hurtubise argues, he is exempt since his business is “grandfathered.” Therefore, he doesn’t believe the town has a right to force him to comply.

“If I do just one of these things they ask, even the smallest, I’d have to do everything or be shut down,” he said. “But I know I shouldn’t have to do anything because I’m grandfathered.”

The town sees it differently. Fire Chief Brent Libby, who oversees the part-time fire inspector, said Standish, like every town in Maine, is bound by the national Life Safety Code 101, which applies to all businesses no matter how long they’ve been in existence.

“We fall under the state, which mandates us to use the Life Safety Code 101, which governs health and safety. We have no choice but to abide by what is written in that code,” Libby said.

Libby clarified that while all buildings fall under some part of the code, existing buildings have different requirements from new construction. Libby said Hurtubise is mistaken to believe he’s exempted from the public safety aspects of the code.

“The way the life safety code is written is that there are stipulations for existing buildings and those for new buildings. The items we’re talking about regarding The Inlet are all items which fall within the existing building regulations,” Libby said. “And safety items are never grandfathered.”

Before Royer starting inspecting The Inlet three years ago, Hurtubise said, he had never been inspected for safety violations. Royer, as well as inspectors from the state Fire Marshal’s Office, were in regular contact with Hurtubise trying to get him to comply, and detailed reports were given to Hurtubise asking him to indicate how he would remedy each safety violation. And while Libby acknowledged the list of violations was long for The Inlet, he said the town was willing to work with Hurtubise and not force him to close if he couldn’t comply.

“We know these businesses don’t have extra money, and we don’t expect them to do everything right away,” Libby said. “We only ask that they send us back a plan for how they intend to address the items we’ve noted. In this case, there were 11 such items, some of which could have been easily addressed.”

Hurtubise was most worried about the sprinkler system mandate, which he said would have cost tens of thousands of dollars by itself, and required him to install a water reserve tank capable of feeding the necessary amount of water. And maybe most concerning, and the reason Hurtubise didn’t dare open, was that he was worried about being fined up to $500 a day since he was out of compliance with the code.

“For every day you’re out of compliance they can fine you $500. I’m not going to risk that,” Hurtubise said.

Libby said the severe penalty was never a possibility, and said Hurtubise could have avoided installing the sprinkler system by instead installing a two-hour fire-resistant Sheetrock barrier between the ground level storage area and the first floor where the restaurant is located.

“He didn’t need a sprinkler system. There were other methods he could have used,” Libby said.

While some of the items would have been expensive, Pomerleau said some of the less-severe violations – such as removing gasoline from the basement and covering electrical outlets – could have been remedied for less than $100, which would have bought the restaurant time.

“I told him he should work on the low-hanging fruit, as I called it. And later, we could have dealt with the other stuff. But, like I told him, just take care of the little stuff and he could have hung on for years and years and years,” Pomerleau said.

While Hurtubise appreciates Pomerleau’s concern, he said, “They’re just hollow words. Phil is just one vote, and he could be voted off the council at any time. He’s not in the position to give the final word here.”

At one point last year, Hurtubise said, he tried work with the town. Hurtubise said he sent a letter to the town last May agreeing to the health and safety upgrades as mandated by the Life Safety Code if the town would do several things in return. His demands included such items as providing around-the-clock coverage at both the main fire station and nearby Steep Falls, a less-than-15-minute response time, chemical air drop capability, and a promise to let the building burn to the ground if it ever did catch on fire.

“Hey, I agreed to do what they wanted if they would do what I wanted. If I’m going to put all this money into the building, I want some promise from them that it’ll be protected from fire. I guess they couldn’t provide that,” Hurtubise said.

Hurtubise said his case is typical of the modern business owner. Heavy government regulation disguised as well-meaning concern for the public’s safety is taking the profit out of many smaller businesses, eventually pushing them out of business and hurting the economy because of the ripple effect of lost jobs.

“You know how many people work here? At least 20. Those people had good jobs. And what about the people who would come to eat here? I doubt this was their only stop in town. There are no health and safety issues here. It’s all ridiculous. This is just a power play that’s been going on a long time and they won. Because I’m done,” Hurtubise said.

According to property tax records, The Inlet generated $4,847 in property tax and $153 for personal property (business equipment) tax for the current tax year. Tax Assessor Peter Arnemann said Hurtubise has yet to pay his Nov. 15, 2009, tax bill.

Billington said many people have called him to complain about the restaurant’s closing and blame town officials for the restaurant’s demise. He defended the town’s role, saying the loss of the Inlet has little to do with an overzealous fire inspector. Instead, the town was just doing its job.

“The Life Safety Code has nothing to do with grandfathering. Signage, zoning, yes, those items can fall under the grandfather clause, but not safety issues. Safety issues are safety issues. They aren’t grandfathered,” Billington said.

Billington also said the town “never intended to shut him down. It never started any action to shut him down. We were waiting for him to come in with a plan, which is all we asked for, for him to address some safety violations that the state Fire Marshal’s Office had identified.”

Roland Hurtubise, left, closed The Inlet Restaurant in Standish after growing weary of an ongoing dispute with the town’s fire inspector. The family-run business was in operation since 1976, opening each summer on Route 113 near Watchic Lake. Accompanying Hurtubise last Friday afternoon as they prepared for a final breakfast event on Sunday are his son Brian, employees Megan Mayberry and Ken Wright, and his wife Linda. (Staff photo by John Balentine)

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