Homeowner Pleas For Council to Help With Problem Causing Neighborhood Division
Chamber's Wayfinder fees officially taken out of town budget
BAR HARBOR—Doug Heden presents as a pretty patient man, the kind of man who methodically approaches problems as an engineer, the kind of man who for years digitized MDI Biological Laboratory’s decades of reports and papers. As a volunteer, he has taken on the task of digitizing about 3,000 reports, all to preserve science. Back in 2018, Friends of Acadia honored him with the Acadia Preservation Award for his “meticulous research and writing” as well as his “commitment to documenting the history of Friends of Acadia.”
Those are not the only tasks he’s taken on in Bar Harbor that might be a bit thankless, a bit tireless, and a bit meticulous, but will hopefully be worth it. Heden, along with other Atlantic Avenue residents like David Einhorn has been advocating for a fix to a watery mess that’s been tormenting the area residents for years.
The Bar Harbor Town Council heard his plea for help during its meeting Tuesday night.
“It’s causing division amongst the residents. I know there’s a solution to it. I need you to help push the solution,” he said.
It hasn’t been the first time that Atlantic Avenue resident, Doug Heden has asked for assistance dealing with an infrastructure problem that’s frustrated the street’s residents for about seven years.
It was, however, the first regular meeting with new councilors Earl Brechlin, Maya Caines, and Kyle Shank. Val Peacock was reelected and is chair again. Gary Friedmann is the vice chair. The council appointed them to those positions last week during an organizational meeting.
ATLANTIC AVENUE WATER PROBLEMS
Heden, a homeowner on Atlantic Avenue, spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting and said that the situation is causing division amongst neighbors.
Water had been infiltrating a sewer pipe on the road for years. When the town repaired that pipe, the surface water went somewhere else rather than escaping through the hole in the pipe.
That somewhere else was a basement in an Atlantic Avenue residence. That resident has to pump water out of his house almost daily.
“It’s pumping water out of there nearly continuously,” Heden said. Pumping out the back of the home pushed the water toward a dilapidated garage and creates a pond beyond it. Pushing it forward pumps the water down Atlantic Avenue and into neighbors’ yards.
According to Heden, his neighbor spent tens of thousands of dollars remediating the problem.
“It’s a safety hazard in the winter,” he said because the water freezes in the winter.
“Bethany Leavitt has worked her tail off and come up with a solution,” Heden said. Leavitt is the town’s Public Works director.
The town has an easement along a sewer line, but to dig that up would be very disruptive to the neighbor’s yards. Heden said that the issue could be taken care of by putting a drain down the center of Hancock Lane, which runs perpindicularly to Atlantic Ave. “We need to get this drain in.”
The town has a $43 million infrastructure bond that was passed in June, which covers some infrastructure projects including the one on Atlantic Avenue.
The first step, Heden told councilors, is to get documentation to people on Hancock Lane for easement rights to do the work. “I would think with a $43 million bucket of money, you guys should have a progress report every quarter.”
Later in the meeting, Vice Chair Gary Friedmann and Councilor Joe Minutolo both requested putting the problem on an upcoming Town Council agenda for discussion.
Because of the millions of tourists and also the summer residents who visit Bar Harbor every year, the town supports more than its 5,000 residents. According to the town’s Existing Conditions Analysis Report, released in October,
“Major investment is needed on Bar Harbor’s municipal infrastructure. This includes a recent bond for updating the wastewater collection system, stormwater, and water systems. However, this will not address all capacity limitations or future demands. Approximately 5% of Bar Harbor’s population is served by sewer infrastructure and 16% of the town is served by water infrastructure.”
Water and sewer lines are just one part of the town’s infrastructure issues which are detailed in the Existing Conditions Report. With 30 employees, the Public Works Department is the largest municipal department. It is charged with maintaining and improving roads, the three wastewater treatment facilities, 13 pump stations, solid waste transfer station, recycling facility, parks, and cemeteries, as well as sidewalks. Much of its needs are for data collection to plan and manage assets.
FINANCIAL REPORT
During the Tuesday Town Council meeting, interim Town Manager and Finance Director Sarah Gilbert presented the May financial report, which included the invoicing through April.
The legal services line increased by an additional $70,000 in May as the town dealt with legal fees resulting from a federal court case about cruise ship disembarkation limits, as well as regular legal advice as the town navigates personnel issues and potentially changing its ethics ordinance. The town attorney sat in on this council meeting as well. Through April, the town had expended $204,000, that was through April invoicing. May invoicing added an additional $70,000. Those invoices came in June.
“May was a busy month legally for us,” Gilbert said.
“We will be over $300,000 for the year which is five times the budget,” Friedmann said.
Shank asked about how much was budgeted for next year and worried about potential overages to that budget as well. Gilbert said that $200,750 is budgeted for legal expenses for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Shank also wondered about a potential trend about people not making their tax payments on time and how that seems to be increasing each year.
“That might be a very useful signal for financial residential health,” he said, suggesting the councilors look at the number of property tax payments that are late each year at the same time.
Gilbert also spoke to the town’s short-term rental line, which did not come in as she estimated. She said she had been quite conservative in her estimations. That line came in at $155,000, which is $20,000 higher than Gilbert’s estimate.
“That was quite substantial,” she said of the difference.
Acadia National Park’s annual PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) was received and it was for $44,000.
CHAMBER WAYFINDER FEES
The council unanimously approved reducing the wayfinder fees for the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, which were discussed at the town meeting.
According to Gilbert’s memo included in the Town Council packet,
“At the 6/6/23, annual town meeting, Article R, Municipal Budget Expenditures, was reduced by $42,600 for a total $23,603,878. This reduction was presented as one to wayfinding services line item in the cruise ship budget.”
The Chamber had originally requested $60,000 during the months-long budget process to fund the wayfinder service, which assists visitors with making their way through downtown Bar Harbor. That money isn’t raised by property tax but by cruise ship fees.
Hochman said the will of the voters was pretty clear at town meeting.
At the town meeting, Cara Ryan had motioned for an amendment to Article R, saying that she was doing so in light of a recent decision of the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has recently joined the Association to Protect and Preserve Local Livelihoods (APPLL). This connection was first written about by Lincoln Millstein’s Quietside Journal on May 28.
APPLL has sued the town over the cruise ship disembarkation limitations voted in last November. The lawsuit is ongoing with an expected decision this summer. The Chamber has publicly stated in multiple news sources that though it joined the nonprofit association, it was reviewing the membership quarterly and that its membership was not in support of the lawsuit but in the “Bar Harbor Welcomes All” campaign.
Ryan’s motion was to remove the $42,600 that remained in the budget to support the Chamber’s wayfinding fees, which would mean zero funding for that service.
“If we needed harder proof at how the town and the Chamber are working at cross purposes, we just got it,” she said. “The Chamber told us loud and clear where their priorities are.”
Ryan’s motion passed 128-49.
PUBLIC COMMENT
During public comment, Ryan asked if the council could change the rule concerning the public comment time itself. Each meeting, there is time reserved for the public to comment for up to three minutes on items that are not on the agenda.
Ryan said that that prohibition can create a wall that requires people to navigate and it is worth reconsidering that stipulation.
Councilor Matthew Hochman said that there can be public comment on agenda items at the discretion of the chair. Chair Valerie Peacock said they make take up the policy later in the year.
LEGAL SERVICES AND THE PROPOSED DOG PARK
The town’s bond attorney, Lee Bragg, is counsel at Bernstein Shur, which also employs another attorney who may represent someone in opposition to a proposed dog park on the town’s athletic field.
According to a letter Gilbert wrote to councilors,
“An attorney in his firm represents persons who may wish to oppose the downtown dog park which is in initial stages of consideration. Although (an) unrelated matter, this representation would be a conflict due to Attorney Bragg’s representation as bond counsel. The conflict may be waived if both parties agree. A possible motion: to waive the conflict of interest of legal representation for joint representation.”
The council agreed unanimously to waiving that conflict.
Brechlin said, “Let’s talk about whether the town wants the dog park.”
The discussion quickly went there.
“It’s still very much an early proposal phase,” Peacock said. The council said it needed to be a proposal, recommended by Parks and Recreation Committee, she explained. The proposal is still being developed. It will be discussed further at a July meeting of that committee. “It’s not anywhere near for us to be approving.”
Brechlin said that to move a proposal forward you need to have standing. He asked if the group is a 501c3 group.
Peacock said, “I think the dog park is going to be on our agenda soon enough.”
COUNCILORS’ COMMENTS
New councilor Maya Caines spoke at the end of the meeting about Juneteenth as well as equity and injustice in Bar Harbor saying,
“I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge Juneteenth which was yesterday and commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Although 158 years ago all people were declared free in the U.S. we still see injustice and lack of equity across the country and in our own community.
“I want to acknowledge that my responsibility, as part of an elected body, is to work towards deconstructing preconceived notions against those with marginalized identities. For me, being in a position of political power means addressing the lingering inequalities that are a result of centuries of identity and class-based prejudice.
“For the most part, everything I speak about through this platform that you all have given me is guided by finding solutions that foster equitable treatment for all. Happy Juneteenth!”
Brechlin had no council comments. Shank asked about former councilor Jill Goldthwaite’s desire to look into revisions to the special amusement permits process, saying he hoped they could do that.
Hochman thanked the town attorney for running the town meeting and requested future discussion about accountability and transparency at an upcoming meeting. He also suggested councilors disclose the non-town boards and committees they serve on. He said he’d miss the legislative policy updates Goldthwaite gave and suggested possibly forming a legislative policy committee.
Peacock thanked Gilbert and thanked past councilors. She said they’d be updating the public about the town manager search and ethics ordinance updates soon.
There is one council meeting in July. It will be on July 17, which is after the trial, which is scheduled for July 10,11,12. They expect a ruling at the end of August, beginning of September, Peacock said.
CONSENT AGENDA
Councilors unanimously approved all the items on the consent agenda. There were no comments from the public. Those items are as follows.
SPECIAL AMUSEMENT PERMITS:
Bar Harbor Club and Spa for three or more musicians with outdoor mechanical amplification;
Kebo Valley Golf Club for three or more musicians with outdoor mechanical amplification and dancing;
Mainely Meat BBQ, Dreamwood Hill, for three or more musicians with outdoor mechanical amplification;
The Harborside Hotel and Marina for three or more musicians with outdoor mechanical amplification and dancing;
Holiday Inn Bar Harbor Regency for three or more musicians with outdoor mechanical amplification and dancing.
A shared accommodations license renewal for 279 Main Street.
“It’s a renewal of the same application from last year. Nothing has changed,” CEO Angela Chamberlain said of the license renewal. There have been no complaints.
Brechlin said he was wondering about the lack of parking in the area and said that he had heard from neighbors that cars were parked four and a half weeks at a time. With eight more people in that space, whether or not they have cars might make a difference, he said.
TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS
Gilbert reminded everyone that the parking rate changes and discounts are not effective until July 1.
She said six speed indicating improvements approved by councilors in May 2022 will be installed at the end of this week or beginning of next week.
“It really demonstrates the town’s commitment to safety,” she said.
APPLICATIONS FOR COMMITTEES AND BOARDS
Applications for serving on town boards and committee are due July 3. The page with that information is here.
Age Friendly Committee
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
One alternate with term expiring July 2025
One alternate with term expiring July 2023
Appeals Board
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
Board of Assessment Review
Two members with term expiring July 2026
One member with term expiring July 2025
Communication and Technologies Committee
One member with term expiring July 2026
Two members with terms expiring July 2025
Conservation Commission
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
Two members with terms expiring July 2025
Cruise Ship Committee
Rep w/knowledge of the cruise industry in Maine with term expiring July 2026
Shore Excursion Rep with term expiring July 2026
Taxi and Tours Rep with term expiring July 2026
Downtown Business Rep with term expiring July 2026
Acadia National Park Rep with term expiring July 2026
Scientific Industry Rep with term expiring July 2025
Design Review Board
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
One member with term expiring July 2024
Harbor Committee
Four members with terms expiring July 2026
Housing Authority
One Tenant Commissioner with term expiring July 2027
One Community Member at Large with term expiring July 2028
Marine Resources Committee
Three members with terms expiring July 2026
Parking Solutions Task Force
Two members with terms expiring July 2025
Two members with terms expiring July 2025
One member with term expiring July 2024
Acadia National Park Rep with term expiring July 2023
Parks & Recreation Committee
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
Planning Board
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
One member with term expiring July 2025
One member with term expiring July 2024
Task Force on the Climate Emergency
Two members with terms expiring July 2026
One member with term expiring July 2025
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
https://www.barharbormaine.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/3222?html=true
https://mdibl.org/this-is-why-volunteer-doug-heden/
https://friendsofacadia.org/announcement/annual-award-winners-announced/
https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/bar-harbor-infrastructure-needs-are
https://barharborstory.com/2023/06/06/proposed-dog-park-site-explored-monday/
https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/council-approves-parking-meter-fee
Bar Harbor’s Comprehensive Plan documents
Bar Harbor’s Existing Conditions Report
Update: In the original article, I had the subhead (second headline) say ‘council’s budget,’ and the moment I hit send, I realized, “Gah! That isn’t quite right.” I’ve changed that to town’s budget. I’m not 100% on my choice of the word ‘officially’ in there either, but since it wasn’t officially that line item until the Town Council meeting (despite discussion and intent at the town meeting), I’ve kept that one in.