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Confederate flag resolution doesn’t fly

Eastport City Councillor Scott Emery threatened Councillor Hailley Bradbury that he would put a Confederate flag back on his boat, located in the Eastport breakwater's inner basin, if she didn't stop lecturing him on why the city council should support a resolution proposed by resident Kendall...

Eastport City Councillor Scott Emery threatened Councillor Hailley Bradbury that he would put a Confederate flag back on his boat, located in the Eastport breakwater's inner basin, if she didn't stop “lecturing” him on why the city council should support a resolution proposed by resident Kendall Zeigler. Bradbury was addressing the council and audience when Emery told her to stop talking. The audience was sparse at the August 22 special meeting of the city council, with 11 present who were not city employees or councillors.
Emery had flown a Confederate flag on his fishing boat for a few days while it was tied up at the inner basin. The inner basin is no longer city property, as the breakwater was turned over by the City of Eastport to the Eastport Port Authority and is under the port authority's jurisdiction. However, because the port authority is a quasi‑municipal entity, the inner basin is considered by many to represent the city.
At the council meeting, Zeigler read a statement outlining the Maine and Eastport lives lost in the Civil War while fighting to preserve the union and end the enslavement of people. "Flying the flag," she read, "is a painful reminder that many people still believe in white supremacy, and it is a means to intimidate and terrorize non‑whites." The resolution stated, "The Confederate flag does not represent the good people of Eastport, Maine."
Bradbury said that she wholeheartedly supports the resolution and that it would be wise for the city to distance itself from such a hateful symbol.
Councillor Rocky Archer, however, disagreed, stating that both he and his son have Confederate flags. "I do not take offense at that flag." He pointed to pirate flags and the harmful history of pirates. "Some people find Canadian flags offensive," Archer said. He then mentioned that taking away the right to fly the flag would be just one more right taken away by minorities. Bradbury responded that his white privilege was revealing itself. "You can stand as clearly as you want to on the wrong side of history," she told him, and then stressed that the resolution in no way takes away his right to fly the flag on his private property but rather states that as elected officials the city does not support the flag as a symbol.
The vote on the resolution was a tie, with Bradbury and council President Gilbert Murphy in favor of it and Emery and Archer opposed. With the tie vote the resolution failed to pass. Councillor Shannon Emery was not present. Murphy explained that she is now working in Bangor and has not submitted her resignation or discussed her plans as an elected official. Councillors need to miss three consecutive regular meetings to be removed from their position.

Barbecue take‑out eyed for Quoddy Village
Quoddy Village may have a barbecue take‑out if the owner, Jo Sutton, can find a location for her business, Rob's Backyard Bar‑B‑Q. While the council granted her a victualer's license, the current location of her take‑out is in a residential only area. Code Enforcement Officer Robert Scott explained that the business has to be located in a different zone unless there is a zoning change. If Sutton wants to operate at her current location, across the street from the former Grossman's site, she would need to file an application for change of zone with the planning board. A public hearing would need to be held, with the planning board making a recommendation to the council, which would then vote on whether to change the zone or not. Bradbury summarized for Sutton by saying that the granting of the victualer's license would allow her to operate in a different location while the request for zoning change went through the process. Sutton said that she had filed such paperwork, but Robert Scott replied that he had not received it. The council voted unanimously in favor of granting the victualer license.

Sale of former city hall
The council approved the sale of the former city hall building at 78 High Street for a drastically lower price than its $98,000 listed price. Bradbury was the lone dissenting vote to the prospective buyer's offer of $45,000. She noted that the city had gotten into some "tricky situations" in the past with real estate transactions and suggested putting it back out for sale with a listing price closer to the $45,000 amount. "I think many people would be interested" if they knew it were half the current asking price, she said. "It would make an equal playing field." Murphy, Emery and Archer disagreed.
In other business the council voted to amend the city charter to conform with a change in state requirements to the deadline for nomination papers.
Council meetings will be held in the Shead High School band room on the first floor rather than in the second-floor library.