BREAKING NEWS: Plaintiffs withdraw motion for preliminary injunction in cruise ship lawsuit
Town agrees to implement former manager's plan for 2023
BAR HARBOR, March 24, 2023 - With a deadline looming at the end of today, the plaintiffs suing the town withdrew their request for a preliminary injunction Friday saying the action no longer is needed because the town has agreed not to implement the cruise ship visitation cap this year.
Earlier this week the town caved in to the plaintiffs by agreeing to implement the Town Council plan for 2023 instead of the ordinance approved by voters last November, freezing daily visits at 1,000 except for ships already accepted by the town as of March 17, 2022.
But former town manager Kevin Sutherland ignored the ordinance and added more than 30 ships for 2023.
“Not enforcing the Ordinance while we continue to make rules means that we will operate under the published existing schedule for 2023 and the existing SOPs (standard operating procedures) to manage ship visitation until a decision is reached,” the council announced.
Citizens initiative leader Charles Sidman said the action today represented how closely the plaintiffs - local Bar Harbor businesses which cater to cruise ships - and the Town Council are aligned. “So much for defending the interest of the town,” he said of the Council’s actions.
Sidman is a third-party intervenor approved by U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker as a defender in the lawsuit after the judge cast doubt whether the town’s attorney could be trusted to defend the town vigorously.
He had set Friday as a deadline to hear motions to consolidate the preliminary injunction hearing and a trial which now will not be necessary.
Sidman has filed a motion to dismiss the case.
There are no SOP’s. There has always only been one SOP that governed what Bar Harbor demanded from the Cruise Industry if they wanted us to be their customer. Sutherland had invented MOA’s with all the lines that changed who controlled who. He was about to give CLIA the last word on how many ships and passengers could come to Bar Harbor.
Another Reason to vote for Charlie.