BRUNSWICK

After previously stating they would not appeal a judge’s verdict that the town of Brunswick was not compelled to hold a referendum on the creation of a public park at Mere Point, Brunswick Citizens for Collaborative Government has filed an appeal to the state’s highest court.

The group, through attorney David Lourie, filed an appeal Tuesday contending the Superior Court erred in construing the town charter.

“We’ve never wavered in our belief that the Council acted illegally and wrongly out of hostility to citizen involvement,” Robert Baskett of BCCG stated in a press release. “We originally decided not to appeal because we did not have the resources, but after some consideration, our attorney offered to take on the appeal for free because he believes so strongly in this case. We want Brunswick citizens to have a real voice in our Town government, so we’re pursuing the appeal as well as continuing our plans to raise the issue of petition rights during this fall’s Town Council elections.”

The case centered on whether the town council acted according to town law when it voted to sell land at 946 Mere Point Road without considering a petition to allow voters to decide whether to make the 4-acre parcel a park.

The waterfront land was tax-acquired by the town in 2011. In the midst of a months-long heated debate over the property’s future in 2016, 1,100 residents signed a petition seeking to put the option of creating a park with the land to a referendum.

However, the council narrowly voted to sell the land in September 2016, opting to put the property back on the tax rolls.

BCCG sued in February, claiming the council violated municipal law by failing to set a referendum vote after a petition was circulated and presented to the council.

The town sold the property in May for more than a half million dollars to a California couple.

Brunswick’s town attorney has maintained that the decision to sell the property was an order and not subject to be overturned by referendum. The only way for the order to be changed, he said, is for the council to voluntarily put the decision to a citizen vote, which they are not obligated to do.

“Our decision to appeal goes far beyond the Council’s decision to sell the Mere Point land,” BCCG member Soxna Dice said in the release. “A very basic principle of democracy is at stake. Based on the court’s ruling, the Town Council can protect every decision it makes from citizen input by simply labeling it an ‘order,’ not an “’ordinance.’ What redress do citizens have if an unforeseen issue arises in the time between Council elections, or in the event of a poor decision by the Council?”

Baskett stated, “The right to petition for referendum ballot questions is an honored Maine tradition and an important check and balance on local government. The Charter already protects the Town Council from frivolous citizen activism because it requires a large number of signatures for citizens to challenge a Council decision.”

BCCG stated that it “plans to continue to work on protecting petition rights through participation in this fall’s Town Council elections, while the appeal is being considered.”