Appointed!
Bar Harbor Fills the Spaces on Some of Its Boards, Dohmen Stepping Down. Power Outages Planned.
This article was generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund.
BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Town Council appointed multiple volunteers for town committees and boards on Tuesday night, splitting its votes on just three volunteers: Diane Vreeland, Bo Jennings, and Teresa Wagner.
Councilors Earl Brechlin, Matthew Hochman, Chair Valerie Peacock, Vice Chair Gary Friedmann, and Joseph Minutolo voted against Vreeland’s appointment for a two-year term to Bar Harbor’s Planning Board. That seat remains vacant.
Councilors Hochman and Minutolo voted against Jennings’ nomination to the Design Review Board. However, he was elected by the majority 5-2. Similarly, Teresa Wagner received a split vote for her appointment to the Planning Board. Hochman voted against.
All nominations had to be interviewed by the three-person Appointments Committee of Councilor Kyle Shank, Brechlin, and Councilor Maya Caines, Peacock said Tuesday night.
It is not the first time the full Town Council has failed to vote in a candidate. In October 2022, Nathan Young had been nominated by the Appointments Committee to sit on the town’s Appeals Board. Cara Ryan was then nominated at the meeting by Peacock and given the seat in a split vote with Minutolo, former councilor Jill Goldthwait, Peacock, and Friedmann voting for Ryan. Former councilor Erin Cough, Hochman, and former councilor Jeff Dobbs had voted for Young.
The following were appointed by the town councilors on Tuesday:
Appeals Board—Claire Fox, unanimous;
Board of Assessment Review—Charles Saul, Kevin Knopp, unanimous;
Design Review Board—Pancho Cole (unanimous), Bo Jennings (5-2);
Harbor Committee—Jeff Miller, Larry Nuesslein, Jamie Weir, Jon Carter, unanimous;
Housing Authority—Cindy Flye as tenant commissioner, 5-year term; Christine Witham as community member at large, 5-year term; Janet Hamel as community member at large, 3-year term, unanimous;
Marine Resources Committee—John Avila, Matt Gerald, unanimous;
Parks & Recreation Committee—John Kelly, Greg Veilleux, unanimous;
Planning Board—Ruth Eveland (unanimous), Guy Dunphey (unanimous), Teresa Wagner (6-1);
Task Force on the Climate Emergency—Norm Burdzel, unanimous.
Many of the appointments were reappointments after original terms had expired. Multiple boards still have openings, Caines stressed. The listings of open positions on the town’s boards and committees (as of press time) was last updated June 8. It can be accessed here.
There was no public discussion during the process. However, a member of the public attempted to ask questions during the votes and was advised to wait until public comment. No one then spoke during the public comment, which occurred after the votes.
ELLEN DOHMEN AND SETH LIBBY
Ellen Dohmen is stepping down from chairing the Bar Harbor Appeals Board and from the board itself. Her term, as well as Heather Peterson’s term expired in 2024. Anna Durand is the vice chair. She and Robert Webber have terms until 2025. Associate member Michael Siklosi serves until 2025.
Dohmen chaired her last meeting on July 9 though her term officially ends July 31.
“I have told my board that I am ALWAYS available for help as they go forward with new leadership,” she wrote in an email.
Dohmen began serving Bar Harbor on various boards and committees shortly after her arrival in the late 1990s.
The Warrant Committee’s Seth Libby, also a long-serving chair, did not run for re-election this year. That committee has elected its former secretary, Chris Smith, to chair.
COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE PONDERS FUTURE
Bar Harbor’s Communications and Technology Committee met the day before the Town Council meeting to try to help determine its own future.
Todd Edgar, Hochman, Vice Chair Jennings, and Cosmo Nims attended. Jennings led the meeting. There was no staff attending. The last meeting was January 29.
“There has been little to nothing to do recently, but I do believe the committee has provided some useful services in the past,” Edgar said, adding that Steve Cornell’s departure has made it a bit more complicated for the committee. Cornell was a staff advisor to the committee and also in charge of the technology systems for the town. The town is advertising for his replacement.
Fidium service, Edgar said, might not have been so easily facilitated without the committee and Cornell.
Jennings suggested asking the Town Council for direction and/or tasks for the committee to do.
According to the code in the town’s charter, “The mission of the Communication and Technologies Committee (CTC) is to develop or enhance the Town of Bar Harbor's voice, data, and video communication systems for its department network, television channels (public, education, and government), internet website, and other such evolving communication needs.”
Nims said that the year has been slow. “When a committee like this is needed, it is—quite frankly—needed,” he said. He suggested reducing roles in the downtime, but didn’t see a reason to disband entirely.
Hochman said that for four to five years, the committee had a lot of work to do. The town is in a transition space for the IT department, he said. The committee’s bylaws currently say that they meet quarterly. Hochman said they could request the Town Council to change the bylaws so that the committee could meet “as needed.”
Jennings asked if everyone felt comfortable sending the Town Council a message and request the committee’s meeting schedule be changed to “as needed,” and to keep the committee intact.
Nims called that the most prudent course of action.
Hochman said that the town councilors are still working through the committee needs, bylaws, and potential changes. He and Councilor Kyle Shank were tasked with that work last year. Approximately six years ago, Hochman and former councilor Erin Cough worked on committee structures and intent.
This is not the first time in recent history that a Bar Harbor Committee has pondered its future or had its future pondered for it.
In July 2023, the Age Friendly Committee said it would like to disband. The eight-seat committee only has three members. It has not met since that July meeting.
That committee was created in 2020 and its mission is that it “strives for a community where all of the residents of Bar Harbor, regardless of age, can live, grow, and thrive.” It’s meant to explore how to make Bar Harbor more “age-friendly” in the areas of transportation, housing, outdoors spaces and buildings, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services.” These coincide with the AARP requirements for age-friendly community status.
In September 2023, the Town Council disbanded the Cruise Ship Committee which had been charged with making recommendations to the Town Council on cruise ship practice and policy in town.
Planned power outage on Cottage St and Greeley Ave
Versant Power crews will be working on the electrical system in Bar Harbor on Tuesday, July 23 beginning at 9:00 a.m. for approximately 2 hours. Customers on Cottage St. and Greeley Ave. may experience service interruptions during this time as crews work to improve safety and prevent future outages. Rain date for the work is July 24.
Safety reminders from Versant:
Motorists are urged to slow down or move over and change lanes, when possible, if approaching utility crews working on roadways.
Never touch a downed power line or a tree in contact with a downed line.
Customers who use generators are reminded to ensure they are used in accordance with manufacturer guidelines at all times
For more information:
Report outages and other problems by using Versant's Power Issue Report Form or directly from your Online Services account.
You may also call Versant's Customer Contact Center at (207) 973-2000.
Please don’t report outages or emergencies to Versant through social media channels, which are not monitored 24-7.
Correction: Matthew Hochman was on the appointments committee in the last fiscal year. Earl Brechlin now serves. This article has been corrected at 9 a.m., July 20, to reflect that.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
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Hi there,
I couldn't see about the power outages plannd?