Wells has 'rights' to Moody Beach: Fight for public access heats up

WELLS, Maine — Owners of private properties on Moody Beach are ramping up their demands the town back off from getting involved in the dispute over whether the public should have expanded access to their land.

During a June 18 Select Board meeting, one property owner, Dale Baker, even suggested that a recent land agreement, approved by the town, is a case of the town taking advantage of an elderly resident.

Baker was referring to an agreement in which the town acquired the rights, title, and interest of land on Moody Beach once owned by George Tibbetts, the original developer of the beach. Approved by the Select Board on June 4, the agreement is between the town and Wells resident Eleanor Wright, who had inherited the property in a will.

“Do you know how old Mrs. Wright is?” Baker asked Town Manager Mike Pardue.

“I’m not here for discussion,” Pardue replied.

In an email on Friday, however, Pardue stated that neither he nor the Select Board negotiated with Wright concerning the agreement. Instead, town attorneys and Wright’s attorneys did, he said.

“Prior to signing the agreement, Ms. Wright and I had never met, nor had conversation,” Pardue said.

Baker referred to Pardue’s signature on the agreement when he said attorneys were speaking with the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which he said takes reports of frauds committed upon the elderly.

“Now we’ve got attorneys talking to federal agencies,” Baker told Pardue. “You were the signatory of the document, so you’re going to be the centerpiece of that, unfortunately.”

Baker urged the town to withdraw its amicus brief in the “Masucci Case,” which the state’s Supreme Judicial Court is scheduled to decide later this year.

In that case, Peter and Cathy Masucci, of Wells, and other plaintiffs are seeking to overturn a 1989 court decision that sided with the owners of intertidal properties on Maine’s beaches, stating the public was limited to “fishing, fowling, and navigating” on such land.

In May, the Select Board announced that it would file the amicus brief in solidarity with the plaintiffs in the case.

On Thursday, Select Board Chair John MacLeod III responded to Baker’s insinuation that the town committed fraud against Wright. MacLeod said Baker is “mistaken.”

“No one on the board, and no one in the town, especially Mike Pardue, would attempt to take advantage of an elderly resident,” MacLeod said.

MacLeod added that, while he disagreed with Baker’s comments, he respects Baker as a resident and taxpayer and appreciates his concerns about the privacy of his Moody Beach property being enforced.

“I would rather build a collaborative relationship with him than an adversarial one,” MacLeod added.

The agreement with Wright is the result of an unexpected discovery that town attorneys made while researching the Moody Beach dispute. The lawyers found a recorded will from someone named Minnie Dunn, who was Tibbetts’ only surviving heir. The attorneys learned that Tibbetts had left his rights, title, and interest on Moody Beach to Dunn, who then left those rights to Wright.

When town officials reached out to Wright, they learned that she and her family were unaware that they had inherited land on a beach that is at the heart of a decades-long legal battle.

After negotiating with the Wright family, the town decided to present to the Select Board an agreement in which the town would accept a release deed on the property.

In addition to Pardue, Wright and her son, Keith, signed the agreement.

When contacted, the Wright family declined to comment.

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As described in the Quitclaim Deed Without Covenant, the land consists of “all of Moody Beach from the Ogunquit-Wells town line on its southerly border to the intersection of Ocean Avenue with the seawall on its northerly border.”

In the other direction, the land ranges from “the eastern face of the seawall” along “the full length of the beach at its western border.” Gaps in the seawall are included, according to the deed.

The property extends down to the low-water mark of the Atlantic Ocean, “or 100 rods, whichever is greater, as its eastern border.”

During a public hearing on June 10, MacLeod explained the town offered to purchase the rights to protect the Wright family and absolve them from “any potential involvement in any further legal matters” having to do with Moody Beach.

As part of the agreement, the town is paying Wright $30,000 to cover her attorneys’ fees and other expenses related to the arrangement. As well, the town will pay all transfer taxes and recording fees related to the deed.

It is unclear how the agreement will impact the ongoing dispute. Pardue said he was not able to comment on it “at this time” and could not answer questions about what the town might do with the property and whether the public would be able to access it.

During the public forum on June 10, the Select Board heard from both sides of the beach dispute.

Owners of intertidal properties on Moody Beach asserted that Maine courts have been on their side for decades, supporting their assertion that their properties are private and only may be used by the public on a limited basis.

Public-access advocates pushed for more recreational rights to such properties. They claimed some property owners have been aggressive and even vulgar when telling people to get off their intertidal properties. Others questioned that the property owners do not directly pay taxes on the beach land they own down to the low-tide mark.

The June 10 forum ended with the Select Board agreeing the town will work to bring together both sides of feud, so an agreement about beach uses can be reached.

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At the Select Board meeting on June 18, Pardue reported he had received several emails from individuals interested in serving on a committee that will seek to appoint a moderator and lead discussions between the two parties.

During public comments, resident Patty Boucher thanked the Select Board for its efforts.

“I think what you’re doing is trying to get both sides together ... and come to a way we can co-exist and be the community I grew up with,” she said. “I’m grateful you are participating. It’s important. We need your leadership.”

Like Baker, however, the rest of those who spoke were Moody Beach property owners who pushed back against the formation of the committee and any effort by the town to meddle with their privacy rights.

Joan Bissonnette said the town has no such authority to get involved.

“That would be like me establishing a policy on your property without your consent,” she said.

Pam Hicks said the town’s efforts are “unfair” and “not lawful.” She told the Select Board that the issue is costing people a lot of time and money.

“It’s not fair to the homeowners,” she said. “They are residents. They pay taxes in this town. They deserve to be defended by you guys, and that’s not happening.

Hicks accused the town of “opening a Pandora’s Box” and “getting a lot of people riled up.”

“You’re setting the stage for a difficult summer,” she warned.

In his phone interview on Thursday, MacLeod urged people on both sides of the dispute to stop the escalation.

“It’s not going to get us anywhere,” he said. “I would encourage all members of the community and the taxpayers that we need to dial back the rhetoric.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells has 'rights' to Moody Beach: Fight for public access heats up