A sign near the entrance to the RiverWalk in Pittston alerts people they are not to enter the property. The town’s Select Board voted in October to temporarily close the area after a leaky drum was found there that contained an oily substance. A sample of the substance has been sent to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the RiverWalk is to remain closed until Pittston officials receive the results of the agency’s analysis, expected in early spring. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

PITTSTON — A member of the Pittston Select Board violated a ban recently enacted by the board that prohibits motorized vehicles — or anyone — from entering the town’s RiverWalk property after a potentially dangerous substance leaked there.

Residents and officials took aim at Jean Ambrose, who was the sole vote against the ban, at Wednesday’s Select Board meeting after she let a member of the public through the roped-off area because he was “hysterical” over not being able to use the property to fish for smelt.

Select Board members Joe Caputo and Jane Hubert said they voted to block access to the property because of safety concerns. They expressed their frustration to Ambrose on Wednesday for her having gone against the decision. After an audience member asked if Ambrose would face repercussions, Hubert, the board’s chairperson, said she will consult with the town’s lawyer this week on the matter.

“You should not have done it,” Hubert said to Ambrose at the meeting. “It was declared not to do it. Just because a child throws a tantrum, you don’t give them the candy.”

“I used my best judgment and will stand by it,” Ambrose said.

The RiverWalk is on Old Cedar Grove Road and includes 40 acres of an old gravel pit with frontage on the Kennebec River and a 22-acre island.

The incident comes as Ambrose and her allies are seeking to remove Caputo from office for reportedly disturbing the “once friendly” town environment. Caputo has not faced disciplinary action.

Residents at Wednesday night’s meeting said that while Caputo faces a recall initiated by Ambrose’s sister, Cheryl Peaslee, Ambrose’s violation of the ban presents a better reason to remove someone from office.

“How can everyone go around and beat up on Joe (Caputo) and say, ‘He’s doing this’ or ‘He’s doing that,’ but this is more in line with someone that’s affecting the municipality as a whole?” resident Jason Corliss said.

A sign on a cable that blocks the entrance to the RiverWalk in Pittston alerts people they are not to enter the property. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

When Caputo raised the issue, Ambrose said she “did what she thought was best for the person in the situation.”

Caputo and Hubert said they found out their colleague had removed a barrier to the property and let a resident in after they received “angry” and “threatening” calls from the resident.

Ambrose said she told the man to take up his frustrations with other members of the Select Board and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The Select Board voted to close the RiverWalk in October, after officials found a leaky drum there that contained an oily substance. A sample of the substance has been sent to the state DEP, and the RiverWalk is to remain closed until Pittston officials receive the results of the agency’s analysis, expected in early spring.

The Select Board voted last week to ban motorized vehicles, snowshoeing and other winter activities at the property.

Several members of the audience Wednesday voiced their concerns, including that if one person uses the property, others will feel entitled to use it, too, even if the property has a notice of closure at its gate.

“You guys are Select Board members,” resident John Andrus said. “When you vote, if you vote against it and the other two vote for it, it’s a decision made by the Select Board.”

Andrus added that even if some members of the board do not agree with the decision, “you have to follow (it) until the rules are changed.”