Stonington beach deal eyed Under proposal, town would lease popular swim spot

STONINGTON – Although Sand Beach has been privately owned, it has been used as this Hancock County town’s public beach for generations, largely though the generosity of the longtime owners, the McGuffie family.

Voters at a special town meeting next week will have a chance to formalize that relationship and to ease some concerns of the newest owners. Several articles on the warrant relate to a proposal for the town to lease the 5-acre parcel that looks out onto Penobscot Bay and allocate the amount due on annual property taxes to be used as rent for the land. In other words, the public gets to use the beach in exchange for the owners not having to pay the taxes on it.

The family and town officials have talked about the property for several years, according to Town Manager Richard Avery.

“They want to share it with the public and not be exclusive about it,” Avery said Monday after a brief press conference to publicize next Monday’s vote. “But they’ve seen the level of use going up some, and there are more users there that they don’t know. And they have encountered some rudeness from some users.”

In addition, the current family owners, sisters Jean Read of Bangor and Donna Jackson of Lamoine, have concerns about liability and about the financial costs that go with owning the shorefront property. Property taxes on the parcel are about $5,000 a year, Avery said.

Residents so far have been generally supportive of the idea, Avery said.

“There are a lot of old-timers around who have used the beach and appreciate the family’s generosity,” he said. “There seems to be broad-based support for helping them out.”

The three articles on the warrant ask voters whether they will approve the five-year lease and appropriate funds equal to the property taxes on the property, and whether they will appropriate an additional $3,000 to improve parking at the site.

In fact, there is no parking available, and users generally park on the narrow road, creating a dangerous situation, according to Avery. If voters approve, the town would widen the gravel shoulder at the site to create a public parking area.

The town also would chain off the narrow gravel road that leads to the beach area, and would be responsible for maintaining and cleaning the property. It would establish rules for use of the property and would be responsible for enforcing those rules and enforcing a ban on parking on the road once the shoulder parking area is established.

Although public ownership of the site might be a possibility in the future, Avery said, the lease of the beach is the first step toward sharing responsibility for the popular spot.

“This is a reasonable balance,” he said. “This is an opportunity to continue the public access to the property, develop a good working relationship with the family and manage the use of the property that works for everyone.”

In other warrant articles, voters will be asked to increase the property tax limit established by the state. According to Avery, funds added to the proposed municipal budget at the annual town meeting in March pushed the tax levy above the state limit of $688,671.

Voters also will vote again on whether to expand the territory of the Stonington Sanitary District, establish new qualifications for trustees and expand the powers of the district. In a referendum vote in March, voters rejected the plan. A petition circulated by the district trustees brought the issue back for another vote.