Councilor Minutolo Recuses Himself From Town Manager Discussion
Kruger, Olsen, Culbertson, and Sidman speak during public comment
BAR HARBOR—At the Town Council meeting on Tuesday night, councilors entered into executive session to discuss the town manager search. Prior to entering the session, councilors unanimously recused Councilor Joe Minutolo from the session due to an appearance of a conflict of interest.
The specific nature and extent of that conflict was not stated in a public forum. Section B in Chapter 78 of the Bar Harbor Town Code speaks specifically toward disclosure. It also speaks as to when a councilor can refrain from disclosing “the details of the interest.”
Typically, initial interviews and applications are discussed in executive session to protect the candidates’ privacy and confidentiality. Conflicts of interest are defined in section A and usually relate to a person or an immediate family member having a financial or special interest.
“Nobody’s going to understand what that means at this point,” Chair Valerie Peacock said during the meeting of the recusal.
This is the second round of application discussion after the first finalists withdrew earlier this year. The second round of interviews took place in September in executive session as well. The Mount Desert Islander’s Malachy Flynn reported that there were two candidates as of September 15.
The public has not interacted with those candidates and their names have not yet been released. The council took no action after the executive session.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Bar Harbor Town Council began its meeting Tuesday with Chair Valerie Peacock saying that though people have diverse opinions about how, that everyone is in agreement that they want to make Bar Harbor better.
“We can have these discussions constructively,” she said without calling out individuals or singling anyone out.
Her comments at the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting came before the regular public comment period of the meeting when people can speak for up to three minutes on any matter that isn’t on the council agenda.
Councilor Matt Hochman later expressed dismay at the tenor of some of the public comment at the beginning of the meeting though he said he appreciated that people are coming to speak.
ANNLINN KRUGER
Annlinn Kruger spoke first saying, “Today I am a data point. I am also standing here giving you another opportunity to be compliant,” she said to councilors, speaking toward their own rules of meetings, which is to listen and respond. She said that despite asking for a response to her issues with former Town Manager Kevin Sutherland, the council has been silent.
She said her “Google Leonard Leo” chalk project was initially approved by the town police under her first amendment rights. Then, she said, Sutherland created what she called a campaign of erasure, suppression, and lies as he told town employees to erase her messages. She said the council had hired Sutherland despite him having a difficult tenure in the town of Saco. She said that the police stood up for her when her rights were suppressed, but the council did not.
She asked why the council took no official action to stop Sutherland. She also wanted to ask for the cost to take public works personnel off other projects to erase her messages. She’d like to know why they haven’t answered her questions.
Also, during public comments, Charles Sidman said that Kruger has made numerous requests for factual accounting of those events late last summer and early fall.
“I think she deserves a response from the town,” he said.
During councilor comments at the end of the meeting, Councilor Kyle Shank, who wasn’t on the council when Sutherland was town manager, said he thought the council should answer one of Kruger’s comments, if not both, to the extent that the council is able to answer those.
Also, during councilor comments, Vice Chair Gary Friedmann said he’d like to answer Kruger’s concerns. The council dealt with this issue, he said, which is a personnel issue in executive session, “and we are not able to speak about it.” He continued, saying that the council takes its responsibilities very seriously and that one of their primary responsibilities is to supervise the town manager.
“We did that with the previous town manager and it was dealt with,” he said.
“We’re not going to talk about it, no matter how many times you raise that question,” he said, adding that they are never going to talk about it no matter how many times it’s raised in public.
Kruger’s questions about town funds and/or time being diverted to erase her messages were not addressed.
OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mike Olsen of Otter Creek commended the community for tackling the housing crisis but questioned how the town does and will subsidize affordable housing and said that the Knox Road solar farm was the most misused piece of real estate other than Acadia National Park’s gun range. He also questioned whether or not the town would use taxes to subsidize affordable housing and what income and other guidelines would qualify people to benefit from it.
He also thanked the community for helping his wife keep her head above water after her business missed the short-term rental renewal time by days. That business is now for sale.
“They have defined what community means to me,” Olsen said of the supporters in the community.
He said he remember in the 1980s teachers, like his dad, were renting out their houses and living on boats in the summer to stay on the island.
With some estimates that you have to earn $200,000 a year to afford a house on MDI, he said, “I’m not really sure where the blue-collar line is in this community.”
He said the property values have not dropped after short-term-rental changes and felt that the voters were mislead about those changes making a difference in property values.
Tim Culbertson said that councilors needed to change the sound system in the Council Chambers.
“Us seniors can’t hear you,” he said. “I’m still frustrated at why in the world—and I would say this stupid town—pardon the word usage—has telephone poles in the road.”
He was also concerned about electric busses being larger and potentially hitting those polls. He also advised the town to look into the 2007 application for a local hotel that he said is supposed to have five units for affordable housing.
“The housing authority doesn’t know anything about it,” he said.
Charles Sidman said he’s been urging that cruise ship tendering be brought to the town property. He also said that putting people’s concerns during public comment into future agenda action items would make people feel heard.
The public comment session came before a meeting that also focused on creating a working group or subcommittee to help fine-tune the town’s current committees. We’ll have a final council article about that later today. An earlier article from last night’s meeting focused on toxic soil at the YMCA.
To watch the meeting, click here.
"He also thanked the community for helping his wife keep her head above water after her business missed the short-term rental renewal time by days. That business is now for sale." --- was that a sarcastic comment? I can't tell. Other people missed the short term rental deadline and were out of luck. I thought destination health changed their room usage to a hotel type use? Which allowed for one night stays? I can't tell if he is linking the sale of the business to the room rentals?