ARUNDEL — Despite a judge’s ruling that a public vote need not be held until November for land use ordinance changes sought by Bentley’s Saloon, selectmen plan to reconsider the scheduling of a special Town Meeting.

“The selectmen are going to revisit the Bentley’s petition and, I would hope, schedule (a special Town Meeting) within 60 days,” Selectman Dana Peck said Tuesday.

The petition, filed with the town on May 18, proposes adding a definition for taverns to the land use ordinance and adds language to include motorcycles as vehicles, among other changes.

The board’s May 24 decision to place the land use ordinance changes before voters in November, rather than hold a special Town Meeting sooner, was due to misinformation, said Peck, Tuesday.

Town Manager John Fraser told the board in May the petition does not meet the qualifications of being an emergency situation and holding off on the vote would not infringe on any of the petitioners’ rights.

However, in the town’s May 19 correspondence with the Maine Municipal Association legal services department, the association’s opinion is that “where the delay would be ”˜unreasonable’ in light of the petition’s objective, a special town meeting within 60 days is effectively required.”

“Unfortunately, this advice was not provided directly to the Board of Selectmen,” said attorney Robert Kline, who is representing Bentley’s Saloon. He said his client is disappointed with the court’s decision

“Half-truths led us to believe it was the right thing to do (to hold the vote in November),” said Peck, who said Monday he had not known about the MMA’s opinion and was told that Bentley’s didn’t care if the vote was held in November or not. No representatives of the saloon were in attendance at the May 24 board meeting, but said later they had expected to have a special Town Meeting scheduled within 60 days.

Justice Paul A. Fritzsche ruled in favor of the town Monday on a civil action that had been filed by the Route 1 saloon on Friday, July 9. The action sought to have the town hold a special Town Meeting on July 20 to allow residents to vote on the articles proposed in the saloon’s petition.

Fritzsche’s ruling confirmed the selectmen were within their authority to place the petition articles on the November warrant, since the town charter refers to state statute, which allows that selectmen “shall either insert a particular article in the next warrant issued or shall within 60 days call” a special Town Meeting.

“If the town wants it, it’s going to get passed,” said Fraser, Tuesday. “We’re not stacking the deck against them.”

Gregg Martinez, saloon manager, said Tuesday that the saloon is “very disappointed (with the judge’s decision).”

“We’ll just have to come up with a different game plan,” he said. “(Saloon owner) Bentley (Warren) is considering closing it down, he’s kicking the idea around.”

A special Town Meeting with a vote in favor of changes that would help the saloon could “absolutely turn things around,” he said.

“We want to stay in business,” he said. “Where do we go from here if the place closes down?”

In response to the judge’s ruling, Selectman Velma Jones-Hayes said Tuesday she would support the board taking another vote to hold a special Town Meeting for the Bentley’s petition, “to get it settled as soon as possible.”

Peck said he has spoken with Warren, who has agreed to wait for the board’s vote at their July 26 meeting before making a decision on the future of his business.

“Bentley is near ready to close. He’s put so much money into this thing, he’s got to have the numbers to get a return,” said Peck. “Fifty-one people work there. They don’t need to be held hostage by the politics of the Town of Arundel. We certainly have an obligation to do everything we can do to keep him in business,” said Peck, who said he believes he has the support of Jones-Hayes and selectmen Mark Paulin and Byron Kindley.

Hearing the judge’s decision Monday, several selectmen expressed confusion over their previous decision on the petition vote.

“If someone takes the time to go off and make a petition, they should be afforded the right, if they’ve done the footwork, to have their day,” said Paulin.

Selectmen Chairman Tom Danylik noted that per state statute the board needs time to review a petition and abutters of the business must be notified.

“I object to the fact that the Planning Board said they don’t have time to do it,” said Kindley, who had advocated in May for a special meeting. “That’s not something you tell a citizen.”

Simone Boissonneault said Monday the town will get much better turnout, and therefore more citizen input, if the vote is held in November during the gubernatorial election.

The Bentley’s petition is part of the saloon’s ongoing effort to increase its occupancy, an effort that has encountered several stumbling blocks because the town does not have a land use definition into which the saloon use fits.

— City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.