PERRY – It was clear during a selectmen’s meeting Monday night that battle lines have been drawn between Chairman David Turner, who favors a proposed liquefied natural gas facility in the area, and Selectwoman Jeanne Guisinger, who doesn’t.

Frustrations grew as the selectmen dealt with a complaint filed last week by Perry resident Dr. Ron Rosenfeld against Turner and the town of Perry.

Rosenfeld was in New Hampshire and unable to attend the meeting, but Andrea Barstow of Quoddy Bay LNG did attend. The Oklahoma-based Quoddy Bay LNG hopes to build a liquefied natural gas terminal at neighboring Pleasant Point with a tank farm in this community.

In his lawsuit, Rosenfeld requested all information pertaining to a deal selectmen struck last month with the company.

At the town meeting on Monday, March 26, voters will be asked to approve a $3.6 million annual payment by Quoddy Bay LNG to the town of Perry over the next 25 years.

Turner, who chairs the three-member board, spearheaded negotiations with Quoddy Bay. Selectman Dick Adams voted with Turner to approve the negotiated deal, while Guisinger voted against it.

It was that deal that led to an exchange of letters between Turner and Rosenfeld and ultimately to the lawsuit.

At the selectmen’s meeting, Turner charged that Rosenfeld made the complaint public “to sensationalize the issue. … The legal action was sent to all the papers; I assume that was for maximum publicity,” Turner said.

The chairman said if Rosenfeld had asked for the documentation at the last selectmen’s meeting, the information would have been given to him. Turner also claimed the doctor was trying to stop the March vote. “This is not necessary, this lawsuit, and it’s very much disgusting that they want to nullify the [coming town] vote and they said we didn’t do things properly,” he said.

But Guisinger denied Rosenfeld was trying to stop the vote.

“Actually, David,” Guisinger countered. “If you really read the [lawsuit] it’s not in there that they wish to nullify the vote and I wish you’d stop editorializing and giving your opinion.”

She then read a letter from Rosenfeld who also denied he was trying to stop the March town vote. “This lawsuit does not request that the vote be stopped and was carefully worded to avoid listing that as a possibility. The lawsuit attempts to obtain public information which may help myself and others decide how to vote, but I am not trying to prevent the vote,” Rosenfeld wrote.

The selectmen then voted to release all documents. They also voted to hire an attorney to represent Turner and the town to fight the lawsuit should it proceed. Turner had asked the Maine Municipal Association to represent the town, but the organization declined.

Turner made the motion to hire an attorney, Adams voted with him, Guisinger voted no.

“You are going to go ahead and spend the town’s money when it’s something you should have given him [Rosenfeld] when he asked for it,” Guisinger said to Turner.

“Jeanne, this is filed in the court, this isn’t filed on my desk just for the hell of it,” Turner said. “This is filed in a court of law. This is serious business. Our special doctor looks down on the rest of us, but we have to defend this lawsuit. This is against me personally, I am going to defend this and the town is going to pay for it. We’ve not done a thing wrong.”

After the meeting, Turner left the municipal building and then returned and told Guisinger that if Rosenfeld dropped the lawsuit Tuesday, he would not hire an attorney.

The selectman also discussed hiring a monitor to oversee the documents if residents wanted to review them because only one copy exists. Turner and Adams voted that those individuals who ask to review the documents should pay for the monitor and the cost of copying the documents.

The documents are expected to be available to the public sometime this week.