PLEASANT POINT – Not everyone approves of the shotgun wedding the Passamaquoddy Tribe had last year with LNG terminal developers.

Several people are calling for a separation if not a divorce until the tribe ascertains whether it has entered into a lasting marriage.

The tribe and Oklahoma City-based Quoddy Bay LLC, which has no LNG experience, have entered into an exclusivity agreement to build a $400 million facility on tribal land near Gleason Cove.

Tribal state Rep. Fred Moore introduced the two and for a time guided their courtship from the initial meetings until last year when tribal members voted for the proposal.

Now Moore and officials in nearby Eastport are wondering whether the tribe is getting the best bang for its buck or should be talking instead to a multinational oil company.

Moore said last week that he learned about LNG last year when developers tried to locate a facility in southern Maine.

He said he predicted the project would go down in defeat because southern Maine people would not want it in their back yards. They didn’t.

After learning more about LNG, he wanted to know whether a terminal could be built at Pleasant Point.

“I was thinking about my own community and our horrific economic situation,” he said. “I concluded if Pleasant Point were to host an LNG facility, Pleasant Point would become independent and quite possibly an economic power.”

In April 2004, Moore approached Maine lobbyist Jim Mitchell who knew people in the LNG industry. Mitchell introduced Moore to some people from Oklahoma including Don Smith, owner of Smith Cogeneration. Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electricity and heat. Smith is a partner in Quoddy Bay LLC and the point man for the project. Moore then introduced Quoddy Bay LLC to tribal officials.

At first, Moore said, he worked closely with the tribe to get the issue placed before voters. In August, tribal members gave their leaders the green light.

Shortly after the vote, Moore said, the tribe slammed a door in his face, and he doesn’t know why. He speculates it’s because he advocated for tribal ownership of the facility.

“I advocated for a much better position for the tribe,” he said. “I believe that’s one of the reasons I’m cut out of the loop. I advocated for tribal ownership of the facility where industry developers funded the construction of a facility and entered into a management contract with the tribe.”

Moore said he believed industry leaders would jump to the front of the line to be part of the deal.

“There’s nothing wrong with thinking big because this is a huge project,” he said. “For us to settle for $8 million or $10 million [the amount the company has offered the tribe each year], and for us to be simply landlords, we’d be falling into the old ‘get the Indian land cheap as you can’ thing, and I am opposed to that,” he said.

The tribe’s attorney, Craig Francis, denied Moore was dropped from the project. “I know he was very actively involved when [the Legislature] was not in session, and they’re back in session now,” he said.

Eastport City Manager George “Bud” Finch said he also felt the tribe should seek the best deal. “Anytime you are selling off exclusivity or any forms of rights, you should be out there competing,” he said.

Finch said it wasn’t like opening a hot dog stand. “This is something that impacts the whole area, and the whole area should benefit from it if there is going to be one,” he said.

Although the tribe and Quoddy Bay have offered nearby Perry $1 million a year over the life of the potentially 60-year project, they have not made similar offers to other communities.

Right now, Perry holds the key to the tribe’s future. In 1986, the tribe gave Perry voters veto power over the commercial development on the 390 acres they purchased from the town.

Before entering into any agreement, Finch recommended that the town talk with its attorney, “making sure that a business transaction of this magnitude is being executed in [their] best interest. If the voters of Perry vote against a change, they can in time bring it up to vote again, but if they authorize the change, it becomes irreversible. This is not a decision that should be taken lightly,” he said.

Finch said the project would forever alter the area. “I’m not saying that it is bad. What I’m saying is the cards need to be put on the table, and everybody has to openly and honestly put the issues out there so the people can make a rational decision,” he said. “It may be that LNG gas is going to come in here whether we like it or not. But we ought to be looking out for our communities as a whole so that that we’re getting everything possible that we can.”