Marshall takes legal action against town and puts property up for sale

By Bill Pearson
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — Gerry Marshall has become so frustrated with his efforts to develop his 42-acre Abbott Hill property that he’s put it up for sale, taken legal action against the town of Dexter and displayed four signs located in two locations stating his displeasure with the town manager and former code enforcement officer.

     Marshall, who is best known as the owner of Gerry’s Used Cars, is embroiled in a dispute with town officials over his efforts to develop the property into a lakeside attraction.
    The town granted his request for a zone change to limited commercial in December. Marshall’s next step was to convert the five portable units, which remained on the former school grounds, into a storage facility. Marshall was in compliance with the new zoning regulations until he attempted to install plumbing into the units.
    Marshall wanted to equip the buildings with both plumbing and electricity. The new zoning allowed for electricity, but plumbing resulted in a land use change requiring him to provide the planning board with subdivision plans.
    Town officials ordered Marshall to stop work on his project until he provided the planning board with those plans. Marshall later filed a legal complaint in Bangor Superior Court seeking a temporary restraining order against the work stoppage. Last week, the court upheld the town’s ruling.
    A second dispute between Marshall and the town was resolved earlier in the month. Gail Flye ruled against Marshall’s attempt at expanding his airport hangar. Marshall made the request after discovering his plane was too big for the hangar. Flye’s decision was eventually overturned after town officials discovered an ordinance which permitted his request.
    Marshall’s ongoing problems with town officials resulted in him placing four signs two weeks ago stating in black lettering on a white background: “Dexter closed to business, town manager & code (code enforcement officer) needs to go.”
    Three of the signs are located on his Abbott Hill property on Route 23. The other sign is located on former Town Councilor Charles “Chip” Merrill’s property on Route 7. His business is located just across the town line in Corinna.
    Marshall has also listed the property with real estate broker Prudential Northeast Properties in Bangor. Marshall declined to elaborate on his problems with the town officials citing the matter was in litigation, but he was glad that Flye submitted her resignation on May 15.
    “No, I’m not going into it. The sign is self-explanatory, but I’m glad to see the CEO resigned,” Marshall said. “She had no clue on what was going on.”
    Merrill agreed to let Marshall place a sign on his property because the two have the same view about the town manager.
    “I have no problem with the CEO,” Merrill said. “But Gerry knew we were like-minded about the town manager. He asked me to put the sign on the property and I agreed to it. Each time I have met with her I’ve found her difficult to deal with.”
    Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs indicated that she’s had one conversation with Marshall and less than five with Merrill. She believes that the two men’s opinions aren’t held by others in the community.
    “There are any number of folks who feel, up to and including business people, that would say I’m very easy to deal with,” Briggs said. “So I don’t know how to answer folks who really don’t want to spend the time to get to know me.”
    Briggs confirmed last week that Flye submitted her resignation. Flye cited personal issues in her resignation letter and wanted to separate her employment from the town immediately, according to Briggs. She also confirmed that the town is involved in legal proceedings with Marshall.
    Haskell indicated that Marshall and Briggs got off to a “bad start.” He added that problems with the CEO only made matters worse between the town and Marshall.
    “She (Flye) made several bad decisions. She was right about half the time and he was right the other half,” Haskell said. “And I don’t think the town manager and Gerry particularly like one another. I think that’s another big part of the problem.”
    Haskell also believes that Marshall and the town would be better served if he stayed focused on his original plans. He described Marshall as making a lot of changes which created difficulty in managing his proposal.
    While Marshall wouldn’t talk about his problems with town officials, Briggs indicated their relationship soured after she felt slighted by him. Briggs said she was “uninvited” to a ceremony at Abbot Hill where Marshall presented a car to the person who had the best idea for developing the former school property. Briggs said she’s had only one conversation with Marshall.
    “When I challenged Mr. Marshall as to why I was being excluded he got very angry with me,” Briggs said.
    Marshall purchased the property two years ago for $205,000. He has withstood challenges by the Dexter Utility District and a legislative overture made by Rep. Raymond Wallace (R-Dexter) to prohibit the town from changing the Abbot Hill property zoning.
    He submitted subdivision plans on May 16 to the town. The planning board will review his proposal at 6:30 p.m. on May 24 in the council chambers.