BAR HARBOR—On Tuesday, the Bar Harbor Town Council unanimously approved the Cruise Ship Disembarkation Ordinance’s rules. The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days and limits the amount of cruise ship disembarkations to 1,000 a day. This ordinance was approved by voters in November 2022.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council in tune with residents' concerns about the negative impact of excessive cruise ship tourism. With such a town council, there would have been no need for a Citizens Initiative.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council understanding the Citizens Initiative as a wake up call and a spur to making proactive plans to implement it should it pass.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council which once the Citizens Initiative passed with overwhelming support, sprung into action to implement what was now the law.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council, which defends Bar Harbor residents and rule of law against APPLs attempts to override residents' rights and overturn the law.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council which takes its legal and fiscal responsibilities seriously. Ha! Only in your imagination.
In reality, a Bar Harbor Town Council wasting town resources doing everything wrong and then whinging at the costs they have incurred through their own malfeasance. Sheesh! Whatta crew!
“That’s a phenomenal amount of money for a town this size,” Council Vice Chair Gary Friedmann said of spending $400,000 on legal expenses, and he added that the cost alone tells him why the town should be pursuing alternatives for litigation.“
$400,000 and climbing. Will us taxpayers fork over more for litigation than Bar Harbor takes in from cruise ship passenger disembarkations this year? Stay tuned.
Public policy by referendum is a disaster and should be avoided at all costs.
Hopefully Council will start to lead instead of following.
Oh I see, in other words whenever a wealthy out of state corporation wishes to do something that the majority of local Bar Harbor citizens oppose we should just let them do it to avoid a lawsuit? Somehow I don't quite think that's what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they broke away from Big Bully Great Britain and created the United States of America. Clearly if they thought that corporations should be allowed free hand they would have named the country The United Corporation of Corporations. And our currency would be emblazoned with the phrase "In Mega Corporations We Trust." Alas my guess is they had something quite different in mind. To whit, the creation of a government "Of the people, by the people." That said while the corporate bullies of Bar Harbor and the world in general use their enormous economic and political power to convince us all they we are there for them it's really all a big bluff. The fact is that people don't come to Bar Harbor to stay at hotels and eat at restaurants they come to Bar Harbor because Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island in general are such awesomely beautiful places. Yeah tourists need a place to sleep and eat but that's not why they come here. So this whole shuck and jive BS about the town just letting the big bullies run amuck to avoid lawsuits just doesn't fly. Federal court judge Walker make it crystal clear in his lengthy legal decision that the Big Bully corporation hiding behind the APPLL smoke screen was clearly in the wrong, and that they had quite obviously been aided and abetted by local officials all too willing to roll over and play dead. I had hoped that Walker would rule that said Big Bully corporation would have to pay all court costs borne by the town of Bar Harbor and the many local citizens who donated their hard earned money to the Go Fund Me online fund started by Charles Sidman. Alas Walker either was unable to or simply did not choose to do so. In the old pre Internet days Bar Harbor citizens might well have been forced at this point to lay down and let the corporate bulldozer run over them. But as the kids today would say, "Not anymore!" There are myriad ways for just common every day people to fight back these days and as the previous owner of a small local business I know only too well the power of online forums like Trip Advisor, Google Reviews, Yelp, Fodors Travel Guide, Quora, Conde Nast Traveler, Oyster.com, Michelin Guide, Tic Toc, etc.,etc., etc! If I were a Big Bully corporation I'd be very careful about thrusting a stick into that hornet's nest...very careful indeed.
Oooo, I must have hit a nerve with your spirited screed railing against the system and perceived bullies!
I’m sorry to hear heavily regulated capitalism has left you behind in life. Apparently you seem to think we need more.
I’d also like to point out Mr. Sidman et. al. Isn’t the little guy altruistically trying to protect Bar Harbor from rapacious enterprise. Dive into discovering his anonymous benefactors fueling this ongoing litigation against the town and it will surprise you they aren’t the little guys either.
Leadership sometimes requires making hard unpleasant choices and, it is becoming clearer council is searching for a better, fairer way forward that doesn’t destroy entirely cruise ship lines sailing into Bar Harbor and landing passengers ashore.
It’s probably not gonna be the numbers landed in 2019 but also not the numbers projected in 2025.
I recommend taking half the loaf instead of it all.
It will be far less expensive for our financially strapped taxpayers.
First things first who, one wonders, is this Larry guy? Could it be that he's so well known locally that there's no need for a last name, a sort of male version of the NINA sign? Or is this someone who doesn't feel a responsibility to "own" his opinions. Or worst of all, is "Larry" someone with a vested interest in cruise ships continuing to cruise unabated into Bar Harbor. FWIT I personally feel that anonymous opinions should always be taken with a giant grain of salt as one never really knows from whence they emanate. As to my "perception" of bullies the particular bully I currently have in mind has a long, long list of lies and deceptions committed against the citizens of Bar Harbor dating back to the "Oh no this is not going to be a chain Holliday Inn it's a destination resort." only to have the Holliday Inn sign go up days later. Then there was the "private residence" being built for the corporation's owners sons that quickly segued into a wedding/conference center. Imagine my surprise when I found myself attending a wedding being held in the home of Tom Walsh's sons since I not only didn't know any of his sons, I didn't even know their names. Stranger yet neither did the couple being married there until they wrote out the multi thousand dollar check to pay to the supposedly nonexistent Holliday Inn for the "event" held in a supposedly private home. Then there was the matter of the hotel that broke the allowable building height law and the patently ridiculous defense that the original hotel had been built on added fill and so if the added fill was subtracted from the building height the entirely new structure would meet code. There is, my friend, nothing "perceived" about the bullying of the Town of Bar Harbor by Ocean Properties. Anyone who lives here year round is more than aware of the painful "reality" of the situation as well as with the huge economic drain that the endless lawsuits and legal maneuvering of Ocean Properties has burdened Bar Harbor taxpayers with. It would be interesting indeed to have the town finance department tabulate all the legal costs related to that company. As to the supposedly tainted contributions made to Charles Sidman's Go Fund Me site I can assure you that there was nothing tainted about the hard earned dollars myself and many other locals contributed and I would very much like to see some solid evidence supporting your assertion that there was. As to the fallacious "Half Loaf" argument supposedly supporting continued cruise ship destruction of Bar Harbor's quality of life there has long been and continues to be more than enough bread to go around from dozens and dozens of far less harmfully impactful sources than giant cruise ships belching out poisonous fumes and creating downtown crowding that makes NYC look like a remote village in Nepal. The vast percentage of cruise ship related dollars goes straight into the pockets...drum roll please...of the Walsh sons who supposedly live in that wedding/event center at the supposedly nonexistent Holliday Inn/destination resort.
Holy cow your visceral anger (hatred?) of the Walsh clan is palpably noted! I pray you threw no shade on the bride and her special day while attending her wedding. Perhaps declining an invitation would have been a wiser choice.
That OPL’s past construction habits so incensed you to share with Bar Harbor Story readership speaks volumes about your frustrations and vitriol spilled forth at me over a four sentence comment I made regarding the financial hit taxpayers will bear over litigating an attempt (successful? Stay tuned) at completely ending of cruise lines and attendant passengers enjoying a port call in Bar Harbor. Which also includes a hit financially to all the businesses who built a model around service to said visitors and the landing fees collected by the town. Also non-property tax income used in many way benefitting town citizens and visitors however they arrive is welcome considering the steep increase in our 2025 tax year.
Perhaps what is in play here is revenge and retribution. A burning desire to effect some sort of comeuppance on the nefarious clan bringing along rube taxpayer for the ride.
I can assure you I need no effort on your part to make the Walsh family pay for their perceived transgressions building world class accommodations in Bar Harbor adding significantly to our heavily non-profit property tax base.
I can certainly imagine most voters in Bar Harbor will agree the current stalemate and costly litigation must end in a compromise.
As to my "visceral hatred" of the Walsh family I wouldn't even recognize a member of that family and certainly don't harbor any hate, visceral or otherwise, for any of its members. What I do despise is the growing corporate tendency, here and elsewhere, to feel that those with the most money automatically win and the rest of us should feel lucky to grab a few crumbs from under the table. There are corporations in Bar Harbor and elsewhere that make an effort to accommodate the wishes of the local citizens but I'm not sure that Ocean Properties is one of them. Just a guess but I think I already did see you at the polls and best of my memory you were on the side that lost when the majority voted for limiting cruise ship passenger visits? Maybe you should just take your baseball and go home?
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council in tune with residents' concerns about the negative impact of excessive cruise ship tourism. With such a town council, there would have been no need for a Citizens Initiative.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council understanding the Citizens Initiative as a wake up call and a spur to making proactive plans to implement it should it pass.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council which once the Citizens Initiative passed with overwhelming support, sprung into action to implement what was now the law.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council, which defends Bar Harbor residents and rule of law against APPLs attempts to override residents' rights and overturn the law.
Just imagine. A Bar Harbor Town Council which takes its legal and fiscal responsibilities seriously. Ha! Only in your imagination.
In reality, a Bar Harbor Town Council wasting town resources doing everything wrong and then whinging at the costs they have incurred through their own malfeasance. Sheesh! Whatta crew!
The 5000 citizens cannot read. Only the 7 Town Council members can.
Yikes! What a slap in the face.
The ordinance passed by 58 % to 42%. The explanation of the ordinance was attached to every ballot. The majority rules.
Quit dragging this back into debate. Been there ,done that.
“That’s a phenomenal amount of money for a town this size,” Council Vice Chair Gary Friedmann said of spending $400,000 on legal expenses, and he added that the cost alone tells him why the town should be pursuing alternatives for litigation.“
$400,000 and climbing. Will us taxpayers fork over more for litigation than Bar Harbor takes in from cruise ship passenger disembarkations this year? Stay tuned.
Public policy by referendum is a disaster and should be avoided at all costs.
Hopefully Council will start to lead instead of following.
Oh I see, in other words whenever a wealthy out of state corporation wishes to do something that the majority of local Bar Harbor citizens oppose we should just let them do it to avoid a lawsuit? Somehow I don't quite think that's what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they broke away from Big Bully Great Britain and created the United States of America. Clearly if they thought that corporations should be allowed free hand they would have named the country The United Corporation of Corporations. And our currency would be emblazoned with the phrase "In Mega Corporations We Trust." Alas my guess is they had something quite different in mind. To whit, the creation of a government "Of the people, by the people." That said while the corporate bullies of Bar Harbor and the world in general use their enormous economic and political power to convince us all they we are there for them it's really all a big bluff. The fact is that people don't come to Bar Harbor to stay at hotels and eat at restaurants they come to Bar Harbor because Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island in general are such awesomely beautiful places. Yeah tourists need a place to sleep and eat but that's not why they come here. So this whole shuck and jive BS about the town just letting the big bullies run amuck to avoid lawsuits just doesn't fly. Federal court judge Walker make it crystal clear in his lengthy legal decision that the Big Bully corporation hiding behind the APPLL smoke screen was clearly in the wrong, and that they had quite obviously been aided and abetted by local officials all too willing to roll over and play dead. I had hoped that Walker would rule that said Big Bully corporation would have to pay all court costs borne by the town of Bar Harbor and the many local citizens who donated their hard earned money to the Go Fund Me online fund started by Charles Sidman. Alas Walker either was unable to or simply did not choose to do so. In the old pre Internet days Bar Harbor citizens might well have been forced at this point to lay down and let the corporate bulldozer run over them. But as the kids today would say, "Not anymore!" There are myriad ways for just common every day people to fight back these days and as the previous owner of a small local business I know only too well the power of online forums like Trip Advisor, Google Reviews, Yelp, Fodors Travel Guide, Quora, Conde Nast Traveler, Oyster.com, Michelin Guide, Tic Toc, etc.,etc., etc! If I were a Big Bully corporation I'd be very careful about thrusting a stick into that hornet's nest...very careful indeed.
Oooo, I must have hit a nerve with your spirited screed railing against the system and perceived bullies!
I’m sorry to hear heavily regulated capitalism has left you behind in life. Apparently you seem to think we need more.
I’d also like to point out Mr. Sidman et. al. Isn’t the little guy altruistically trying to protect Bar Harbor from rapacious enterprise. Dive into discovering his anonymous benefactors fueling this ongoing litigation against the town and it will surprise you they aren’t the little guys either.
Leadership sometimes requires making hard unpleasant choices and, it is becoming clearer council is searching for a better, fairer way forward that doesn’t destroy entirely cruise ship lines sailing into Bar Harbor and landing passengers ashore.
It’s probably not gonna be the numbers landed in 2019 but also not the numbers projected in 2025.
I recommend taking half the loaf instead of it all.
It will be far less expensive for our financially strapped taxpayers.
First things first who, one wonders, is this Larry guy? Could it be that he's so well known locally that there's no need for a last name, a sort of male version of the NINA sign? Or is this someone who doesn't feel a responsibility to "own" his opinions. Or worst of all, is "Larry" someone with a vested interest in cruise ships continuing to cruise unabated into Bar Harbor. FWIT I personally feel that anonymous opinions should always be taken with a giant grain of salt as one never really knows from whence they emanate. As to my "perception" of bullies the particular bully I currently have in mind has a long, long list of lies and deceptions committed against the citizens of Bar Harbor dating back to the "Oh no this is not going to be a chain Holliday Inn it's a destination resort." only to have the Holliday Inn sign go up days later. Then there was the "private residence" being built for the corporation's owners sons that quickly segued into a wedding/conference center. Imagine my surprise when I found myself attending a wedding being held in the home of Tom Walsh's sons since I not only didn't know any of his sons, I didn't even know their names. Stranger yet neither did the couple being married there until they wrote out the multi thousand dollar check to pay to the supposedly nonexistent Holliday Inn for the "event" held in a supposedly private home. Then there was the matter of the hotel that broke the allowable building height law and the patently ridiculous defense that the original hotel had been built on added fill and so if the added fill was subtracted from the building height the entirely new structure would meet code. There is, my friend, nothing "perceived" about the bullying of the Town of Bar Harbor by Ocean Properties. Anyone who lives here year round is more than aware of the painful "reality" of the situation as well as with the huge economic drain that the endless lawsuits and legal maneuvering of Ocean Properties has burdened Bar Harbor taxpayers with. It would be interesting indeed to have the town finance department tabulate all the legal costs related to that company. As to the supposedly tainted contributions made to Charles Sidman's Go Fund Me site I can assure you that there was nothing tainted about the hard earned dollars myself and many other locals contributed and I would very much like to see some solid evidence supporting your assertion that there was. As to the fallacious "Half Loaf" argument supposedly supporting continued cruise ship destruction of Bar Harbor's quality of life there has long been and continues to be more than enough bread to go around from dozens and dozens of far less harmfully impactful sources than giant cruise ships belching out poisonous fumes and creating downtown crowding that makes NYC look like a remote village in Nepal. The vast percentage of cruise ship related dollars goes straight into the pockets...drum roll please...of the Walsh sons who supposedly live in that wedding/event center at the supposedly nonexistent Holliday Inn/destination resort.
Holy cow your visceral anger (hatred?) of the Walsh clan is palpably noted! I pray you threw no shade on the bride and her special day while attending her wedding. Perhaps declining an invitation would have been a wiser choice.
That OPL’s past construction habits so incensed you to share with Bar Harbor Story readership speaks volumes about your frustrations and vitriol spilled forth at me over a four sentence comment I made regarding the financial hit taxpayers will bear over litigating an attempt (successful? Stay tuned) at completely ending of cruise lines and attendant passengers enjoying a port call in Bar Harbor. Which also includes a hit financially to all the businesses who built a model around service to said visitors and the landing fees collected by the town. Also non-property tax income used in many way benefitting town citizens and visitors however they arrive is welcome considering the steep increase in our 2025 tax year.
Perhaps what is in play here is revenge and retribution. A burning desire to effect some sort of comeuppance on the nefarious clan bringing along rube taxpayer for the ride.
I can assure you I need no effort on your part to make the Walsh family pay for their perceived transgressions building world class accommodations in Bar Harbor adding significantly to our heavily non-profit property tax base.
I can certainly imagine most voters in Bar Harbor will agree the current stalemate and costly litigation must end in a compromise.
See you at the ballot box in November!
Larry who?
As to my "visceral hatred" of the Walsh family I wouldn't even recognize a member of that family and certainly don't harbor any hate, visceral or otherwise, for any of its members. What I do despise is the growing corporate tendency, here and elsewhere, to feel that those with the most money automatically win and the rest of us should feel lucky to grab a few crumbs from under the table. There are corporations in Bar Harbor and elsewhere that make an effort to accommodate the wishes of the local citizens but I'm not sure that Ocean Properties is one of them. Just a guess but I think I already did see you at the polls and best of my memory you were on the side that lost when the majority voted for limiting cruise ship passenger visits? Maybe you should just take your baseball and go home?