Thank you for your interest in a matter that has been consuming many of us in Harpswell these past few years, i.e., whether the people of Harpswell should be able to continue their centuries old tradition of accessing Bailey Island’s Cedar Beach by Cedar Beach Road (Times Record editorial, 7/28/14).

Ironically, the matter of keeping Cedar Beach open and accessible to the public has been an absolute godsend in that it has unified our town in a manner like no other in quite some time. The most concrete manifestation of that unity has been the near unanimous votes at each of the last two Annual Town Meetings supporting our efforts to keep the beach open. In fact at the last Annual Town Meeting, the people voted in overwhelming numbers to override the wishes and recommendations emanating from the then selectmen and from the then town attorney.

In admonishing us to “Let It Go,” you’ve set an incredibly low bar for the public’s engagement in their community, not to mention the negative message it sends to our young people. Essentially, we’re being told not to utilize all of the rights our legal system has put at the disposal of its citizens. Our current legal case, which will be decided by Justice Mills and is based on a bedrock principle of property law, is that decades ago the public acquired a prescriptive easement to use the road to travel to the beach.

Similarly, the response of ignoring other options that our legal system makes available to us, including appeals should we need them, is an unacceptable alternative.

We do agree with the editorial, however, when you opine that it is “too bad that the property owners are refusing to continue the tradition of allowing people to walk across their property to get to the beach,” or when you insinuate your feelings by saying that ”we may not like it or agree with it,” or, finally, when you acknowledge that it is a single property owner who doesn’t spend the bulk of her time on the property making a decision that so negatively impacts the entire community. Perhaps what is most galling about all of this is that the single person understood when she made her property purchases that the townspeople customarily travelled the road.

We understand, as does The Times Record, that her behavior, as unfortunate as it is, does not provide a basis to challenge her actions. Her behavior does, however, fuel our efforts.

But with all due respect, the core of your argument, that is that the property is private, couldn’t be further from the truth!

It is our opinion, and as we believe we proved at trial, that the public long ago also obtained a form of ownership, or easement giving it the right to travel on the road. That was the core of our case before Judge Mills months back, a concept embedded in Maine law that precedes any of us who are walking this earth today. It is not the prerogative of the current owner of Cedar Beach Road to close the road and, by doing so, to rob the public of its right to this treasure of the Harpswell community.

We and the numerous Harpswellians that travelled to Portland to either watch or testify at the trial firmly believe in our case and on the legal basis on which it is based.

Why would we ever “Let It Go,” as you suggest?

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Michael Helfgott is president of Cedar Beach/Cedar Island Supporters.