HARPSWELL

In an annual meeting Tuesday night, the Cedar Beach/Cedar Island Supporters board announced its unanimous decision to ask the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to reconsider its ruling against them.

“We have no choice,” said Michael Helfgott, the group’s president. “Given how much time and how much money we’ve spent to travel 99 percent of this journey, to put the brakes on this close to having taken every step we can take makes no sense at all.”

The board came to that decision on Saturday, less than a week after the high court reversed a Superior Court decision which had granted the public entry to Cedar Beach via a path on private property. Since that ruling in 2014, residents of Harpswell have enjoyed convenient access to the beach. Last week’s reversal, however, throws that access into jeopardy.

Betsy Atkins, who owns the property in question, has made it known that she will continue to allow people to use the path to the beach, but she has the right to revoke that access at any point. Members of the organization in attendance on Tuesday expressed frustration and disappointment that they could lose access to Cedar Beach after a years-long legal battle.

Barbara Lenox, a Harpswell resident who has supported the group since the beginning, expressed concern that the beach that she had taken her grandkids to for years could be taken away.

“I was devastated that the ruling was reversed,” she said.

Mary Leeman, who lives on Bailey Island, expressed frustration that property owners could block access to a beach that had been used by Harpswell residents “forever.”

“Some people decided to buy the land and stop us from being allowed to go down there for, in my opinion, no other reason than greed and the ability to do so,” she said.

Asking the court to reconsider may be the group’s final action in a multi-year legal battle to gain access to the beach. While supporters of the suit remained hopeful that their motion is accepted and successful, they admitted that it was a longshot. However, Helfgott noted that regardless of what happens with the motion to reconsider, the group will continue to fight for access to Cedar Beach.

“If we lose, we’re going to investigate other avenues that might be available to us,” said Helfgott.

Filing of the reconsideration will stay the court’s reversal, meaning that Harpswell residents can continue to access the beach with or without the owner’s permission until the court rules.

Many at Tuesday’s meeting expressed gratitude about how the issue had brought the community together.

“It’s been a great experience,” said Martin Eisenstein, a co-founder of the group and a lawyer involved in the Cedar Beach case. “It’s caused the community to come together and to appreciate an asset — a natural resource — and it’s made us all appreciate really, truly appreciate respectful use of the beach and the resource that Cedar Beach is.”

While the group no longer needs to raise money for legal costs, Helfgott expressed hope that their annual pancake breakfast, which began as a fundraising tool, would continue.

“It’s one opportunity every year to bring us all together,” he said. “There’s a wonderful sense of community here.”

Cedar Beach/Cedar Island Supporters has until Tuesday to actually file their motion to reconsider.

nstrout@timesrecord.com