In a move that immediately sparked controversy, the Block Island Town Council last night voted 3-1 to pull all outdoor entertainment licenses until the end of the summer in an effort to stem what many residents are saying is a summer that has seemingly careened out of control.

Councilors Martha Ball and Sven Risom, and Second Warden André Boudreau voted for the measure, with First Warden Ken Lacoste voting against. Council Chris Willi abstaining because he has an entertainment license.

Frankie DiBiase, manager of The Spring House Hotel, posted on social media lambasting the decision.

“Special ‘Thanks’ to Block Island town council for stripping all business owners from their outdoor entertainment license. Especially Martha Ball and Andre Boudreau. I am tired of them … period. The businesses that are not complying need to be fined. You can’t continue to generalize the public and strip people of their rights. If a business is doing something wrong they should be notified and punished appropriately.”

“When does this stop? They have no reason with three weeks left of summer. They are just negative people who bring up negative subjects each week. With or without outdoor entertainment tomorrow night, the Spring House will still have the same amount of guests on the lawn, they will still be socially spread out, we will still obey state regulations so why strip us from our license?” DiBiase wrote.

Other business owners posted that they had no notice of the council’s decision until they heard about it on social media.

This past Wednesday, Gov. Gina Raimondo said flatly, “Block Island is not doing well” and said she might be pushed to take some form of action regarding facemask compliance and social distancing, but did not offer any specifics.