Eminent domain ‘unfair’ to Sail Inn

PROSPECT – Many of those who showed up for Saturday’s closing of the Sail Inn Restaurant are upset about the price the state Department of Transportation has placed on the 5-acre parcel through the eminent domain process.

The department’s appraiser listed the price at $225,000, which represents fair market value.

Geoff and Becky Smith of Clifton visited the restaurant with their 1-year-old son, Parker, who was wearing a specially made T-shirt with the slogan printed on the back that read: “Pay them what it’s worth.”

“Like everyone else, we’re concerned that if they’re going to take it, that they get what it’s worth,” Becky said. “The DOT needs to be able to pay them enough to start a business elsewhere.”

“This has been their life,” Geoff added. “Now they have to go out and find something else.”

Although DOT officials have indicated that the appraiser’s figure of $225,000 is a starting point, the issue has left the two owner-brothers, Paul and Bob Dyer, in limbo, their futures uncertain.

They say that the amount the state has offered is not enough for them to start another restaurant if they want to.

“I know they couldn’t buy a parcel with this view for what the state’s offering them,” said brother Dick Dyer.

Dick, who has become spokesman for the family on the issue, noted that the business takes in $400,000 to $500,000 annually and that the land itself includes deep-water frontage on the Penobscot River. He noted that nearby parcels of less than an acre have sold recently for $250,000 each.

“It’s just not a realistic price,” he said.

Surprised and upset about the low offer from the state, the Dyers are also upset with the eminent domain process and what they said was a lack of communication on the part of DOT.

While concerned about their own worries, the brothers are considering starting an effort to change the eminent domain process.

“It’s not a fair process,” Paul said. “Not just for us, but for all people who could have their property taken.”

One customer said the process amounts to “legalized stealing,” and others pointed out that the situation with the Sail Inn should be a warning to other small businesses that could face a similar fate.

The Dyers have hired an attorney and have arranged for their own appraisal to be done, both on the property and on the business. That appraisal should be completed by the end of the month or early in December.

But the negotiation process, and an appearance before the Maine Compensation Commission to resolve the issue, could take some time.

Though they have had some encouragement to start another restaurant, both Paul and Bob feel as if their hands are tied until the process is completed.

“A lot of people have said, ‘Put up another restaurant and we’ll find you,”‘ Bob said. “But we have to get through this stage before we move on.”