FREEPORT
In what may provide a resolution to a 15-year-old zoning issue, a Cumberland County Superior Court Justice ruled late last month the Island Rover, a vessel under construction at a Freeport property, must be relocated or launched by late-August or face fines of $500 a day.
For several years, Freeport resident Harold Arndt has been trying to build a steel-hulled research vessel on his Lower Flying Point Road property. The boat is 113 feet long, with a 22-foot high mast. He envisions it being used as a floating classroom and laboratory — outfitted with ultramodern scientific equipment — to study Maine marine life and coastal conditions, according to a previous report.
But the location where he is building it is a residential area and not zoned for commercial boat construction, explained Freeport Town Manager Peter Joseph.
Joseph said the issue has been the cost and logistics of moving the vessel, considering power lines are 15-feet tall, saying relocating the boat would be akin to moving a house.
The town went to litigate the matter in 2013 after several extensions allowed by the town council for the boat to be finished and launched were not met. In mediation, the parties agreed the boat would be finished in September 2016 and moved from the area.
The vessel remains at the Bucknam Road property, in violation of the agreement.
In January, the town filed suit and in a separate action, sought a contempt order. Following a hearing in late June, a contempt order was issued by Justice Thomas Warren, who said Arndt must move the boat by Aug. 21, or face a $500 fine each day it remains thereafter.
The town would also be allowed to take possession of the boat after that date and decide what to do — scrap it or move it — at its discretion.
Nothing in the order prevents work from being done on the vessel in an effort to finish it, nor does it hinder the application for permits to launch the vessel or arrange transport.
The order also enjoins the Island Rover Foundation from encumbering any property it owns in order to avoid paying fines.
Joseph said since January, the town has spent between $5,000 to $10,000 in legal fees. Joseph said the town will discuss the possibility of seeking legal fees with its attorney.
On Wednesday, Arndt declined to speak publicly about the case, or the recent court order.
jlaaka@timesrecord.com
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