Editor:

I was in attendance at the Scarborough Town Council meeting last week when some councilors voted to give away a public road to the beach to a private business. 

There were several speakers urging the plan be defeated. There was one speaker in favor of passing the proposal. Some councilors expressed strong reservations about the plan and its lack of details and questioned if funds were available to get it done.

I thank Councilor Sullivan, who spoke about the need for more information and study. Thanks also to councilors Roy, D’Andrea and Rancourt who tried multiple times to get the item tabled. For a moment it seemed like the proposal would be defeated and that there would be time to develop a plan that would be more agreeable to the citizens and not just the business owners.

However, during the council’s deliberation, Chairman Wood tried to rebut the excellent points made by citizens that spoke, and disparaged those who collected the signatures on the petition as well as those signing it and suggested that some people will sign anything. It was a disservice to those  many of you who thoughtfully signed the petition supporting the effort to save that wonderful public road and view of the ocean.

I hope the two councilors who went on record as concerned about this but voted in the affirmative, Councillors Sullivan and Roy, will put this issue on the agenda for reconsideration. Please acknowledge this was not the right decision for Scarborough. Please ask for a “reconsideration” agenda item for your August meeting to save this road for public use and seek an alternative plan.

Joan Lourie

Scarborough