A trial date could prompt a Southport man to work out a deal with the town of Edgecomb over his alleged illegal junkyard, a lawyer for Edgecomb said May 29.

“Nothing settles cases like trial dates. People start settling like that,” said attorney William Dale while repeatedly snapping his fingers.

Dale was updating Edgecomb selectmen on two civil cases the town has brought in Wiscasset District Court, in connection with alleged junkyard violations at two properties in the Route 27 area.

One case was filed against Timothy Stephenson of Southport regarding a lot on Gleason Road, the other against Rachael and Mark Murphy of Edgecomb, regarding their Route 27 property.

The Murphys have done a good job working to clean up their property, Dale and selectmen agreed.

“We didn't have to chase after them too much,” Dale said.

Selectmen supported Dale's recommendation to seek reimbursement from the Murphys for the town's legal costs, but no fine; the board also agreed to seek a court finding that the violation did occur. That would help the town in court, if any additional offenses ever occur, Dale said.

The legal costs should come to about $450; selectmen said they would be willing to accept $300 from the Murphys.

The Stephenson matter has not moved as swiftly toward resolution, however, according to Dale. He said he expects a trial date to be set within a few weeks, with the trial to follow another two or three weeks after that. But Stephenson will have several economic incentives to come to an agreement with the town instead, Dale said.

Among them, if the town ends up cleaning up the property for him, it will probably cost him more than if he does it himself, Dale said.

In addition, any deal could include a set of “forgiveness” milestones in which a fine shrinks with each step of the cleanup Stephenson completes by a certain date.

A deal would need a judge's approval. “The judge is going to see that the town of Edgecomb isn't trying to put money in its pocket. It's just trying to get the property cleaned up,” Dale said about the forgiveness milestones.

The possibility of a property lien in connection with a fine would be further incentive for Stephenson to reach a deal, Dale said.

Stephenson is the beneficiary of Stephenson Marine Trust, which owns the property, Dale said.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has been involved with Stephenson on a possible erosion issue with the same property, Dale said.

Reached later, Stephenson said he's spending $3,000 on an engineer to conduct a study for the DEP.

As for the town's issues with the property, Stephenson said he's been trying to resolve those for more than a year. He's cleaned up the property and attempted to get town permits for items that are still there, he said. He's spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, he said.

“I don't want to go to trial. I want to get my permits and get this to go away,” he said.

The likelihood of an agreement with the town is significant, Stephenson's lawyer Eliot Field said May 30.

“He's trying to live within the law,” Field said of his client. “He's certainly willing to do whatever needs to be done.”

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.