Fire, access issues voiced in Brewer

BREWER – Two residents stood before City Councilors on Tuesday during the public comment portion of the meeting to complain about their individual issues, and in both cases, councilors voted to seek a legal opinion before taking any action.

The first to speak was resident Richard Tozier who complained that his neighbor was burning illegal items in a fire pit and the smoke was a nuisance.

He asked that open burning rules be “tightened.”

The second to speak was Orrington resident Mike Noyes. Noyes used a wheelchair and asked that the liquor license for Pepino’s Taco Stand at 513 South Main St. not be renewed because the restaurant is not Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.

He said that when the restaurant added a porch in 2006 a ramp should have been added to allow people who use wheelchairs access to the building.

Tozier, who lives on Brimmer Street, said that over the last two and a half years his neighbor has had more than 90 open trash fires in a brick fire pit situated 35 feet from his house.

“Most of the time he has burned tree limbs, green brush, leaves, stumps and wooden fencing, but on occasion he has also burned asphalt roofing tiles, plastic bags, a plastic tarp and other construction and household debris,” he said.

“The smoke filters into every room of my house, fouling the air and textiles,” he said.

Councilor Joseph Ferris requested that City Solicitor Joel Dearborn and Fire Chief Rick Bronson research the city’s open burning ordinance to see if there is any way to “tighten up the ordinance.”

Noyes then spoke to councilors about the Taco Stand, saying he was “protesting the renewal of a liquor license” for the restaurant.

“If I can’t have mineral spirits, I don’t think anyone else should either,” he said after a lengthy explanation of ADA rules. “I can’t get into their business and enjoy their business like everyone else. We want to be able to be served, just like everyone else.”

Taco Stand owner Norris Bryant told councilors that to make his 500- to 600-square foot restaurant ADA compliant would take tens of thousands of dollars.

“If someone would show me how this could be done [reasonably], I would do it,” he said.

After words became heated, Mayor Manley DeBeck ended the discussion saying “we’re not going to settle this tonight. We need to get a legal opinion from our attorney.”

During the meeting, the board also:

. Issued a resolution of respect for Sgt. Nicholas Robertson, a Brewer High School graduate and Dedham resident, who died from wounds he suffered in Afghanistan April 3.

. Heard from Gary Ross, president of the Maine chapter of the Children’s International Summer Village, who said his organization is hosting a Peace Village at Brewer High School this summer.

. Endorsed hiring Marturano Recreation Co. of Spring Lake, N.J., to replace the Eastern Park playground equipment for $34,990; and L&D Safety Marking Corp. of Barre, Vt., to paint street lanes for $22,647.

. Posted a repeal to the discharge of firearms ordinance restricting the use of paintball guns that will be discussed and voted on at the next council meeting.