Douglas and Rebecca Carter of Boothbay Harbor purchased land located at 182 Lobster Cove Road from the town on Aug. 21, 2013 for $41,600.

The land, according to the town maps, was 1.3 acres. As the Carters found out when they attempted to put a septic system in for the home they were building, the land is actually just 1.0 acre.

The Carters previously came to the Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen in mid-January of 2015 asking them to refund part of their purchase price ($10,000 at the time) so they could purchase the remaining 0.3 acre from the abutting neighbor, Joan Rittall.

The Boothbay Harbor selectmen decided they would seek the advice of the town attorney before they made any decisions.

The town attorney, Rob Crawford of law firm Bernstein Shur, sent Town Manager Tom Woodin and the selectmen his thoughts and recommendations on the matter.

“I do not think the selectmen have the requisite authority to make a refund or payment, because as a body they require specific voter approval to make disbursements of town funds or to distribute town property,” Crawford states in the email sent to Woodin and the selectmen.

Crawford states that in his opinion, the only way the Carters’ request could be granted, would be to draft a warrant article that the town taxpayers would vote on at town meeting. The article would have to state a specific amount of money to be disbursed, and give the selectmen the authority to reimburse the Carters.

On Feb. 23, the Carters returned to the selectmen to request such a warrant be created, and to go over the email sent by the town attorney. As the selectmen had already read the email, they asked Carter to skip over his notes and only present new information.

“I have hired a lawyer to negotiate with Joan Rittall,” Douglas Carter said. “If something can be worked out, hopefully you people will have the decency to do the right thing.”

Vice Chairman Bill Hamblen stated he had “no problem” letting the townspeople decide on this matter.

“I'm a supporter of letting the townspeople decide,” Selectman Wendy Wolf agreed.

Selectman Russ Hoffman was leery of the idea.

“I'm not sure this is an issue that should go to the town to decide, I'm not sure it sets the right precedent,” Hoffman said.

However, he said if the other selectmen were in favor of the idea, he would go along with it.

Woodin advised the Carters that the town warrant would be sent to the printers in mid-March, and time was extremely short to get a warrant article in. He also stated it would need clear, specific wording to be allowed.

“I recommend you work with Tom (Woodin) on the warrant article once you have a specific amount from the negotiations,” Chairman Denise Griffin said to Carter.

“I was extremely disappointed with the select people for not giving me the time to respond to the thoughts and recommendations of the town lawyer,” Douglas Carter said the next day. “I was hoping for concise legal information from the lawyer, not just his thoughts and recommendations.”

“In the last two meetings I've been at, my wife and I have been humiliated,” Carter said. “The next meeting we are at, I will not let that happen.”

Related: Carters seek resolution with town over land purchase