SOUTHWEST HARBOR, June 29, 2022 - Justice may be elusive elsewhere but it’s alive and well on the Quietside.
Select members Chad Terry and even Alan “Snap” Willey did not want to be remembered for a single act of bullying a small business for their years of service to the town.
They sat in silence, along with member Carolyn Ball, in front of a packed room of supporters of Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound and 20 persons on Zoom when chair George Jellison Tuesday night asked for a motion to order the police to surround the road next to the restaurant with “no parking” signs.
He had lost control of the meeting quickly as folks talked over him, ignoring his declaration that he would take no comments. One woman came dressed in a handmaiden’s costume.
The crowd burst in to a loud cheer when the motion failed.
The local potentate Jellison has gone to extraordinary lengths to prosecute his sister’s request for fewer cars parking on Seawall Road where she lives across the street from the restaurant. She and other neighbors put up illegal boulders and fencing which the DOT has ordered be taken down for safety reasons.
Tuesday was his latest effort but failed spectacularly when he couldn’t even marshal the support of trusted sidekick Willey.
The QSJ has asked Town Manager Marilyn Lowell to explain Jellison’s claim that the “no parking” request came from the state. Lowell was the lone town official who spoke to DOT Region 4 chief engineer John Devin, who old the QSJ that such decisions were a local issue and that any such action required the approval of the select board.
The QSJ also asked Lowell to explain her reason for placing the item on the agenda and which select member she consulted:
Authorization for “No Parking Signs”: Request of the Town Manager for a motion to authorize the placement of “No Parking” signs on Seawall Road from Trap Mill Road to Balsam Way.
The QSJ will publish her response when he receives it.
Terry and Willey are stepping down from the board, replaced by Jim Vallette and Natasha Johnson.
The combative Jellison has locked horns with citizens and boards and committees from the conservation committee to the harbor committee.
awesome news! glad to see charlotte get justice
Thanks for keeping us so well informed.