SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Members of City Council faced a difficult decision this week, when they received an application for a liquor license from a convicted drunken driving offender.
The council ultimately decided at its Monday night meeting to grant the license to the applicant, Peter J. Verrill Jr., of Falmouth, with the provision the decision be re-evaluated in a year.
Verrill, 38, owns Foreside Tavern in Falmouth and Outliers Eatery in Portland and has plans to open the SoPo Bar and Grill at 740 Broadway. He plans to manage the restaurant with Gary and Tasha Hurtubise, who will oversee its operations.
Verrill was convicted of five Class D and Class E crimes between 2000 and 2012. Charges included operating under the influence, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, speeding, violating bail conditions and, most recently, leaving the scene of an accident, according to previous reports.
“Failure to follow the law means that one may not follow the rules,” Police Chief Edward Googins told the council. He said he also was concerned only the most recent conviction, in December 2012, was included in the application.
Verrill said he did not intend to omit the crimes but knew a background check would be performed and assumed it would show his past charges.
“We just want to do our best to add to the community and start a good business,” Verrill said, adding he already invested $200,000 in the establishment.
He told councilors he was convicted of the OUI when he was 21 years old and said he has received weekly counseling since his 2012 incident.
Verrill said he holds three liquor licenses and has never had a problem with his restaurants. His businesses have been financially successful and positive additions to the area, he added.
Councilor Tom Blake was skeptical whether giving an OUI offender a liquor license was wise and said he had “grave concerns” about the matter because the city prefers to run “clean businesses.”
The other councilors were in favor of giving the benefit of the doubt to Verrill, who ran into similar problems obtaining licenses in Portland.
Councilor Melissa Linscott said she was happy to see a new business in the area and suggested a sort of performance evaluation could be conducted in a year. Councilor Michael Pock pointed out the issues were of a personal nature, not about a business, and that adding stipulations did not allow Verrill the same chance as other applicants.
Mayor Jerry Jalbert said he was in favor of passing the motion to grant the license with the knowledge that, should the terms of the license be broken, immediate action would be taken. Googins’ concerns were valid, he said, and re-evaluation would be prudent.
The councilors voted 4-2 to amend the motion to include a check-in after one year, with Pock and Councilor Patti Smith dissenting. The motion to grant the license passed 5-1, with Jalbert dissenting.