A barge that had become a fixture of Newcastle's waterfront is on its way out of town.

But not before kicking up a little controversy on its departure.

Newcastle Town Administrator Lynn Maloney said the metal barge, which is anchored near Barroll Point, said the barge's owner had been contacted, and it was going to be moved.

“We had quite a few complaints — it took quite a while to figure out who owned it,” she said.

In a sometimes contentious meeting Monday, Oct. 27, resident Alex Clark said he talked with Harbor Master Paul Bryant two-and-a-half months ago about the barge.

Clark said he looks at the barge, which is the kind used to pull floats and haul moorings, every morning from his apartment window.

“I have been looking at that barge for two-and-a-half months, so I'm very happy to hear that it's moving,” he said. “When I spoke with the harbor master then, I asked him about the ordinance and he said he would review it. When I spoke with him a month ago, he said he would review it again.”

Clark brought a copy of Newcastle and Damariscotta's harbor ordinances with him to the meeting and began reading from the papers.

“I have a copy of the ordinance; I picked it up today,” he said. “It took me 10 minutes. I went to the book store and I had a cup of coffee and a sandwich and I read the entire thing.

“My question is, why does the harbor master not know (the ordinances) by heart? I would urge him to reread the ordinances — this could have been handled a month ago.”

Newcastle town attorney Peter Drum said that with any ordinance, and especially those that might need be enforced, patience is not only a virtue, but usually the right course.

“If you don't look up the ordinances before you enforce them, you do so at your own peril,” he said. “There's no need to be disrespectful.”

Clark said his frustration came more with the timeline than anything else, adding that the barge was in clear violation of being left unattended and anchored where it was not allowed.

In the harbor ordinance, which is the same for Newcastle and Damariscotta, under section 4.4B, it allows the harbor master to enforce the town's ordinance, which Clark said showed that the barge was in violation.

“I don't mean any disrespect, but it seems like all it would have taken was a phone call to say 'Hey, can you move your boat?'” he said. “It's not just that it's anchored where it's not supposed to be, but it's unattended, too. And there are pretty clear ordinances saying that (that's not allowed).”

Clark then asked Drum about one of the ordinances about enforcement to which Drum said that although he helped craft the ordinance five years ago, he would prefer to reread them first.

“I am going to review it before I act on anything,” he said.