Selectmen approve two Pier buying permits over Harbor Committee objections

The Town of Stonington Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 to sell two buyers'permits for the Fish Pier after a heated discussion about capacity, parking and the Harbor Committee's recommendations.

The decision came during a regularly scheduled Selectmen meeting where Harbor Committee members and local buyers urged the board to consider capacity constraints. "We're at capacity," said Selectman Evelyn Duncan, who cautioned the board that the Pier is congested and that adding buyers could make daytime operations worse. Selectman John Robbins moved to sell the two permits; Selectman John Steed seconded the motion and the board carried it by a 3-2 vote.

Opponents in the audience and the Harbor Committee said the board should have deferred to the committee's recommendations. Dock user Dick Larrabee Jr. told the board that the Harbor Committee's work was being ignored and urged the Selectmen to send the issue back to the committee for more study. Boat buyer Bill Damon said an additional buyers'permit would affect his business, employees and the year-round operation of sellers who use the Pier.

When a later motion by John Steed to stay the decision for one month'to allow the Harbor Committee to seek solutions'was put to a vote, it failed 3-2.

The board recorded the votes as part of the meeting minutes; audience members signaled dismay and several requested a review by the Harbor Committee. No amendment to the permit sale was adopted at the meeting, and the chosen buyers and the precise permit-holders were not identified in the minutes.

The Selectmen said they would continue to consider harbor rules and ordinance revisions in separate Harbor Committee work sessions. The board did not adopt immediate changes to Pier capacity rules at the meeting.