Strip club lawyer grills officials at appeals hearing

WESTBROOK – A three-hour Zoning Board of Appeals meeting last week felt like a preview of a possible court trial as the lawyer representing Dreamers Cabaret argued for the reinstatement of the Westbrook strip club’s occupancy permit.

The meeting, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, featured the swearing in of witnesses, lawyers making objections and board Chairman Aaron Burns acting as a judge of sorts as he made decisions on what would be allowed. At issue for the board was whether Rick Gouzie, city code enforcement officer, had the authority to revoke Dreamers’ certificate of occupancy and if he did so properly.

All the while, Dreamers owner Larry Ferrante sat as an audience member surrounded by an entourage that included his girlfriend, Alicia Gonzalez, and a man wearing a Westbrook Fire and Rescue sweatshirt.

Thomas Hallett is the attorney representing Dreamers, a Warren Avenue strip club that was shut down just a day after its Sept. 17 opening, in a lawsuit against the city. At the meeting, he aggressively questioned Gouzie and Charles Jarrett, city fire inspector, about the reasons behind the shutdown.

The city employees testified that following an inspection at Dreamers on Sept. 10, Ferrante was told he needed to install a fire alarm system. They denied Hallett’s claim that Jarrett told Ferrante he could open immediately as long as he had the alarm installed within 30 days.

“Do I have that authority? Yes,” Jarrett said. “Did I grant it? No.”

In the days following the shutdown, Gouzie revoked the establishment’s certificate of occupancy. Hallett said Gouzie’s actions went against city law, which overrules building code and requires that those in violation are given “reasonable time” to fix problems.

“You’re supposed to follow local law, are you not?” Hallett asked.

“I would assume so, yes,” Gouzie replied.

“You had to give Mr. Ferrante notice of the violations and an opportunity to fix those violations before pursuing other means,” Hallett said.

“That’s your opinion,” said Gouzie.

Gouzie was mostly reserved in his responses, though at one point did tell Hallett he did not appreciate his “sarcasm.” There were also long pauses at times as Hallett grilled him on what difference it made from a codes standpoint that there was live, nude entertainment going on.

Jarrett was more openly hostile toward Hallett, even refusing to agree with him on the definition of “bar.”

When asked if he knew there was nude dancing going on when he went to the club the day he shut it down, Jarrett said, “Adult entertainment has nothing to do with the fire prevention code.”

At times, Ferrante smirked while listening to their testimony. Other times, he shook his head in apparent disagreement with their statements.

Hallett has called the violations a pretext for shutting down the club, accusing city officials of stifling freedom of expression because they did not want a strip club in the city and realized too late they had no ordinance governing such establishments.

It is clear the city did not know Dreamers was a strip club before it opened. But Hallett maintains Ferrante had no obligation to call it anything more than a “private recreational facility” because that was the closest use listed in the zoning ordinance.

Jarrett said he would only shut the business down if he found violations that warranted it, but Hallett insinuated Jarrett was acting under orders to close the business because city officials did not want a strip club in Westbrook. He was armed at the meeting with 42 pages of exhibits, including e-mails between Mayor Colleen Hilton, City Administrator Jerre Bryant and police Chief William Baker.

The e-mails provide a glimpse into the city’s reaction to Dreamers starting with Hilton receiving a message on Sept. 17 from an acquaintance asking her if she knew anything about the new full-nudity strip club opening in Westbrook that day.

None of the e-mails explicitly states any official’s desire to shut the business down. One from Baker to Hilton and Bryant dated Sept. 20 does advise asking city attorney Bill Dale to research the law and recommend how the city could “close the door once the horse is out of the barn.”

Another, from Bryant to Dale dated Sept. 24, says City Council President Brendan Rielly asked if there was any way the city could “simply say no to Dreamers” or totally prohibit strip clubs in Westbrook.

On Dale’s advice, officials instead crafted a nude entertainment ordinance that places restrictions on strip clubs.

If Dreamers was not open legally on Sept. 17, then it would have to abide by the ordinance. City officials claim it opened illegally because a fire alarm system still had to be installed and a wall was erected without permits.

“I revoked (the certificate of occupancy) because work was done without permits,” Gouzie said. “I also revoked it because the information given to me about what the private indoor recreational facility was gonna be, was not what it was.”

Natalie Burns, an attorney for the city, called it a simple matter from the perspective of code enforcement.

“They were told there was going to be a use. When they went to the property to do the inspection, they were told that the indoor private recreational facility in this case would consist of Nautilus machines (and) pool tables,” she said. “They were not told there was going to be live entertainment here. From a code perspective, it matters very much.”

Due to time constraints, the board was unable to hear from Ferrante, who is expected to give his sworn testimony at another board meeting scheduled for Nov. 23.

The board also requested to hear from appraiser Dean Prindle and master electrician Mike Corey, who were both present for the Sept. 10 inspection of Dreamers.

The public will be allowed to give input at the meeting. The board is expected to deliberate immediately following public comment but will not make a final determination until its regular December meeting.

Meanwhile, Dreamers remains closed. Ferrante gave a reporter a quick tour of the building Tuesday, but declined to comment, citing the ongoing dispute with the city.

Located on Warren Avenue beyond the Sappi Fine Paper complex, the club was dark on Tuesday. Power was shut off as heavy construction equipment churned outside, with crews focusing on dealing with a plumbing issue that remains an obstacle to reopening.

Inside was completely dark, save for the slivers of light coming in through a couple of windows or an open door. At least one stage with a metal stripper’s pole was still in place, as was a bar area.

Workout equipment was still inside, as well. A treadmill and a bench press were located in a small room off to the side of the main entrance.

It remains unclear when, or if, the business will reopen.

Dreamers Cabaret owner Larry Ferrante, right, speaks with his girlfriend, Alicia Gonzalez, during a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on Nov. 10.Staff photo by Joey Cresta