After a contentious debate and angry exchanges, the South Portland City Council gave initial support Monday night to changing the summer hours that dogs are allowed on Willard Beach from the morning to the early evening.

The vote followed a tense two hours of public comment and bickering among councilors. They included Councilor Linda Boudreau’s complaints that she feels intimidated by the dog owners, Councilor Jim Hughes’ thwarted attempt to ban dogs altogether, and a verbal joust between Councilors Maxine Beecher and Claude Morgan.

“You insult me,” Beecher told Morgan, after he suggested she was attempting to rush through a law change without enough public notice.

“You are trying to stick this in the back door without the lights on,” Morgan said to Beecher, who proposed the ordinance change. Morgan later apologized for his comment.

Councilors then voted 4-3 to restrict pet access on Willard Beach to 6-9 p.m. from July 8-Sept. 30. Dogs currently are allowed on the beach from 6-9 a.m.

Voting for the amendment were Councilors Kay Loring, Boudreau, Hughes and Beecher.

Mayor Jim Soule and Councilors Tom Blake and Morgan voted against it.

Blake predicted hundreds of dog walkers who use the beach in the morning would be surprised by the sudden change, if it passes a final vote.

Likewise, he said, families who use the beach in the early evening may resent the dogs there.

On July 7, the City Council is expected to take a final vote on the ordinance change. A second affirmative vote will allow the new law to take effect immediately.

Monday night’s vote for the ordinance change took place at about 10:15. It followed an emotionally charged discussion and bickering among councilors over how proposed changes to pet access at the beach are being handled.

The City Council first had to vote to allow the ordinance to be considered because Beecher had submitted it for the meeting late last week – after the deadline for items officially to be included on the agenda.

Soule suggested to Beecher that she should have disclosed that she planned to introduce the ordinance when he asked her at last Monday’s Council workshop. Beecher had stated that she was unsure about her plans.

Complicating Monday night’s City Council meeting was the fact that the amendment that led to the hour change for pet access was rewritten hours before the panel met.

Beecher said the amendment was incorrectly written by the administrative assistant who used to work for former City Attorney Mary Kahl. An outside attorney was phoned to fix the phrasing.

On Monday night, Beecher – who sponsored the amendment – seemed confused over the final wording of the newly proposed law and questioned the city manager about it.

Morgan and Blake then argued that the technical problems showed that the process was moving too fast and that the public would not be fully aware of the proposal or its impact.

Soule, Morgan and Blake said a newly formed task force on pet access at Willard Beach should be allowed to meet and make recommendations before laws are changed. The new members of the task force were announced at the start of Monday’s City Council meeting, with the group planning to meet this week.

“It is important that we get this right,” Blake told his fellow councilors. “I don’t want to undermine the process. It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle people sit on. We want the public involved and not to change the law before the committee gets started.”

But Beecher argued that a law change is needed immediately, because of health concerns for people using the beach after people walk their dogs there.

Beecher said she has heard from many families who don’t want to bring their children to the beach, but fear speaking out against the highly active Dog Owners Group (DOG), which turned out for Monday’s vote.

She said the tide can cleanse the beach overnight, making it suitable for families to use the next day.

“I want children to be able to go to the beach and feel comfortable there,” added Boudreau, who said that she has felt “terribly intimidated” by strongly worded assertions and negative comments of dog owners at meetings.

The unusual presence of a police officer at Monday night’s meeting seemed to underscore the tensions.

City Manager Jim Gailey said after the meeting he had not requested that the officer monitor the proceedings. He said Police Chief Ed Googins sent the officer.

About 40 dog owners turned out for the public hearing, with most of them pleading for the City Council to delay a vote until the task force could do its work.

“It is incumbent that we respect the process that has been put in place,” said resident Tom Ayers, adding that when people disagree at meetings it should not be seen as intimidating.

“This is no threat. It’s called democracy,” he said.

But Hughes said that he has heard from many members of the public who are afraid to go to Willard Beach or to openly oppose the dog owners’ group.

Hughes read part of an e-mail correspondence he said he had received from a resident, who complained that a dog growled at her daughter at the beach.

Hughes then proposed a new amendment that would ban dogs from the beach altogether this summer.

He said the ban would allow the City Council to “control” what is happening at the beach while the task force does its work.

But councilors voted 4-3 against the amendment, with Blake, Morgan, Soule and Loring defeating it. Boudreau, Beecher and Hughes supported the ban.

Councilors then worked quickly to vote on Beecher’s original amendment.

Loring, who had remained quiet for most of the meeting, said there are too many dogs on Willard Beach and that she worried about the beach environment.

She said there needs to be alternatives to Willard Beach, and urged the task force to find other places for dog walkers. She suggested a beach off Adams Street and Legere Park, which is near Casco Bay Bridge.

After the vote to adopt the ordinance, Soule urged fellow councilors to be courteous and not be guided by their emotions. It was a plea he made last Monday, when the City Council held a workshop on the same topic.

Prior to the vote, Morgan and Hughes announced appointments to the newly formed Willard Beach committee, which they will co-chair.

Morgan, who represents District 1, tapped residents Elizabeth Ross, who is experienced in leadership training; Dr. Douglas Howell, a gastroenterologist; and Bob Johnson, owner of Scratch Bakery in Willard Square.

Hughes selected businessman Gary Crosby, a regular at City Council meetings; Rita Nappi, a librarian; and Devon Gray, who has spoken out frequently against dogs at Willard Beach.

Some of the dog owners complained about including Gray, who has advocated vigorously for restricting pets on Willard Beach, and excluding members of DOG from the committee. Many supported DOG president Crystal Goodrich for the appointment.

Blake encouraged the City Council and city staff to consider broadening the committee from eight to nine to include at least one member who belongs to DOG.

A Closer Look

Members of the South Portland task force that will study and make recommendations on dog access at Willard Beach include Councilors Claude Morgan and Jim Hughes, co-chairmen; Elizabeth Ross; Dr. Douglas Howell; Bob Johnson; Gary Crosby; Rita Nappi; and Devon Gray.