Staff Writer 

Sylvia Gordon lives in Standish, but she probably knows every resident of South Portland’s Willard Beach neighborhood by his or her first name. For 11 years, she has run the city-owned “Snack Shack” on Willard Beach, a seasonal full time job she said helped her make upwards of $30,000 during the summer. 

“Everybody that we’ve served down there has been so supportive and nice,” she said. “It’s a shame we won’t be able to see them.”

This summer, Gordon’s contract with the city has been discontinued. She said she will have to find a new summer position, and will try to help the 10 South Portland employees who worked at the Snack Shack do the same. 

“I’ve got a license, I’ve got the equipment, and these are kids who need work,” she said. “I might as well try and do something.”

A week before the Memorial Day holiday, she said she called city officials about opening the Snack Shack for the 2010 summer season. To her surprise, Gordon said she was informed the Snack Shack would not be open for business. 

“I have $8,000 worth of equipment in there,” Gordon said. “Did they think I was just going to leave it?”

Since inheriting the business from the previous operator in 1998, Gordon said she typically left frialators, refrigerators and grills in the shack during the winter. Although other city employees had keys to the building, she said her property was always there in the spring.

This year, she said things inside the shack were “not as they were left” last fall.

“The place was trashed,” she said. “It was nasty, but I just started cleaning.”

Gordon said she didn’t complain about the mess since she had been instructed by Parks, Recreation and Public Works Director Dana Anderson to “keep things quiet” at the Snack Shack.

“He said ‘I don’t want to hear from you guys,’” Gordon said. “He didn’t want any issues.”

Gordon said Anderson – whom City Manager Jim Gailey said is currently on paid administrative leave during an investigation into his department – renewed her lease to operate the Snack Shack three times based on her performance. The contracts were subject to city council approval and a public bidding process. Gordon said she was the only person who offered to run the shack through three separate bid processes.

“For 11 years, not a single soul showed up as an interested party. Now they’re saying there are three or four people interested in going in there,” she said. 

This year, a new tenant for the Snack Shack has been selected – after Gordon was told it would not be allowed to open – without the public bid process.

“They called me back and told me the building just needed some work so I said ‘OK, just call me when it can open,’” Gordon said. “Now they’ve got somebody else in there.”

The new Snack Shack tenant is Kevin Strout, whose Saco-based family business “Seaside Grille” currently operates several lunch trucks from Scarborough to Westbrook, he said. On Monday, Strout said some work was being done on the building’s propane system, but he expected to be fully operational by Thursday this week. He said he responded to inquiries about running the Snack Shack that were initiated by the city. 

“They chose me based on a recommendation from the health inspector,” Strout said. “She came out and inspected a few of our lunch trucks and was impressed.”

According to an email from Gailey, a new tenant for the “Snack Shack” was sought since Gordon didn’t file the correct requests with the Parks and Recreation Department by a May 19 deadline. Gordon said she wasn’t aware of the requirement, and had never been asked to do so in the past. 

“It was always Dana Anderson that was running things, there wasn’t ever anything in writing,” she said. “I’d never done it before.”

The public bid process was not required since Strout’s lease is only for a single year, as opposed to longer-term leases held by Gordon in the past, according to Gailey’s email. 

“I have the authority under the Ordinance to enter into a lease no more than one year in term,” he wrote. “Any lease for additional years needs council approval.”

City Councilor Tom Coward said he wasn’t familiar with the city’s protocol for the Snack Shack, but was interested in making sure “everyone was treated fairly” in the changeover.

“Business contracts come and go with people and the city all the time,” he said. “The truth is, if we follow the rule and treat everybody fairly, there shouldn’t be any reason for council intervention.”

Gordon said she was consulting with legal counsel to ensure the city’s decision wasn’t driven by a personal agenda. Strout said he was only just beginning to get to know South Portland officials during the week the Snack Shack has been open for business.

“I just wonder if somebody with the city knew someone who wanted to get in there,” Gordon said. “I’m going to pursue it.”

    Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.