No date has been set, but Southport officials agreed to meet with a seasonal couple regarding an $8,000 shoreland zone fine prior to their appeals hearing. On Feb. 21, Selectman Gerry Gamage told his fellow board members, he and Code Enforcement Officer LeeThompson would meet with Paul and Mary Bloch “on some Wednesday night” to discuss their shoreland zone fine for cutting too many trees last spring. 

Selectmen fined the couple after a code enforcement officer discovered “eight additional cut stumps than the permit allowed” in the shoreland zone. “Basically, it was a $1,000 fine for each additional tree,” Gamage said. 

Gamage reported the alleged violation occurred in either July or August 2023. The property was purchased last spring. The Blochs knew maintenance was needed on the grounds and requested a permit. The cutting was limited to specific trees for removal of mature trees over a septic system and an enormous, downed white pine near the harbor. “It was clear the previous owner hadn’t done any significant tree or groundwork in years,” Gamage said. “There were several dead trees threatening to land on the house. They hired someone who did a ‘bang-up job.’ The only problem, there were more stumps than the permit allowed.”

Gamage said regardless of the meeting’s outcome, the Blochs can still go through with their town or court appeal. Selectmen agreed they needed to enforce the shoreland zone ordinance to prevent others from following suit. “This is a doubled-edged sword,” Gamage said. “You can come up here and get a permit to cut a tree down. Or, you can cut it down, and ignore us. And when we find out, do we fine you or assess a penalty for cutting that tree. Or do we ignore it. If we do, it then becomes a free for all,” Gamage said. 

In other action, selectmen finalized their proclamation making June Pride Month in Southport. The board signed a proclamation acknowledging “the inherent dignity and equality of all individuals regardless of gender, identity or expression.” The proclamation states June has historically been recognized as “Pride Month,” commemorating the Stonewall Riots in June 1969 in New York City, “a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and liberation,” the document reads. The proclamation further states “The rainbow-colored Pride flag is the movement’s symbol of diversity, inclusivity, acceptance and became synonymous with the fundamental American value that every citizen has the freedom to be themselves.”

Gamage reflected on the board’s action as sending out a positive message of tolerance. Resident Leigh Sherrill thanked the board for approving the proclamation, flying the Pride flag in June, and painting a crosswalk in a rainbow pattern. 

Selectman Smith Climo repeated a phrase his father often said. “Never get tired of doing the right thing,” he said. 

Selectmen also approved a partial slate of annual municipal appointments: plumbing inspector, code enforcement officer, building inspector, Lee M. Thompson; assistant LPI, CEO and building inspector, Jim Gagnon; emergency management director, David Cody; animal control officer, Betsy Pratt; constables, Gamage and Stephen Gaudette; shellfish management warden, Nick Upham; Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District trustee, Amy Harkins; Boothbay Region Ambulance Service director, Gamage; tax collector, Donna Climo; planning board, Bruce Joule and Jennifer Gaudette; planning board associate, Jeff Long; planning/appeals board, Matt Cole and Mike Buckley; and historical committee/museum trustee, Donald Duncan and Sarah Sherman McGrail. 

Selectmen meet next at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 in the town office.