BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 4, 2023
More than three years after a dispute arose over changes to a small privately owned boat launch in a tiny midcoast town, the controversy is grinding on in court while a selectman opposed to the changes has been barred from participating in the town’s legal deliberations. Jeffry Spinney, who lives in the Lincoln County town of Alna, wanted to make modifications to the small boat launch on his property on a tidal section of the Sheepscot River. He applied for permits, was granted them and made the improvements including lining the ramp with gravel. But the town later reversed itself and tried to revoke its approval. Spinney is suing Alna in Lincoln County Superior Court. The fight is both costing the town money and exposing the pitfalls of small-town governance, in which elected or appointed officials may not have the authority they think they do.