Jesup Asks Town to Close Portion of School Street For Construction
From Mount Desert Street to Newton Way will be closed “upwards” of 18 months if approved; Other Town Council Agenda Items
BAR HARBOR––The uppermost portion of School Street could be closed down to traffic for 18 months because of the Jesup Memorial Library expansion project.
The concept planning for the library’s 11,400 square foot addition began in 2017 and after a disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gained final approval this year. The project is estimated to cost $13.9 million and officially broke ground on October 14.
The library is asking to shut down the entry to a regularly used arterial town side street for what would encompass at least one full summer season and a portion of a second, or potentially longer depending upon the length of construction.
Agenda item VIII of the Town Council’s upcoming meeting on November 21, is a consent agenda vote.
A consent agenda, according to civility.co, is “a single item (usually one of the first) on the overall agenda, and—here’s the key point—it uses a single motion to approve multiple noncontroversial action items. Rather than passing each of these items separately, a consent agenda groups them into one motion that passes without discussion unless there is an objection.”
This consent agenda vote contains seven separate items.
Island Explorer Lease—Possible motion to authorize the town manager to sign a one-year lease renewal with Downeast Transportation Inc.
Health Insurance Reimbursement and Opt Out—Possible motion to maintain the maximum annual payouts under the health reimbursement plan and establish the maximum annual payouts under the wage stipend program.
AOS91 Reorganization Planning Committee—Possible motion to appoint a councilor.
School Street Closure—Possible motion to approve.
2024 Council Meeting Schedule—Possible motion to adopt the 2024 Council meeting schedule as presented.
Municipal Review Committee—board of directors election.
Code Enforcement—Possible motion to authorize the Town Manager or his designee to enter into a Consent Agreement or Decree to resolve the 11 Eno Pines Land Use Ordinance violation on the terms he deems to be in the best interests of the Town pursuant to Section 125-101(A)(2) of the Land Use Ordinance.
The fourth item on the consent agenda item VIII in the Town Council’s packet is labeled “D.” This item is a potential vote on the closure of a portion School Street. Also in the packet is a letter from Interim Police Chief David Kerns asking for the Town Council’s approval to close School Street from Mount Desert Street to Newton Way in order to accommodate the library’s expansion project.
Consent agendas are used routinely by group-based decision-making bodies, including the Bar Harbor Town Council. Based upon the definition, it implies that no member has an issue with the item. Civility.co also points out the danger of consent agendas. “Using a consent agenda suspends a basic right of every member—to discuss and vote on each motion. Because a consent agenda takes away that right for a minute by passing multiple motions with no discussion, it requires extra permission.
And because the right to discuss is so important, consent agendas carry an extra safeguard: if even one person wants to discuss a certain item, they can tell the presiding officer, and then that item comes off the consent agenda and is placed back onto the normal agenda.”
The Bar Harbor Town Council has in the past removed items from the consent agenda to vote on separately. They do this via a motion during the meeting to amend the agenda.
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
The Council has two executive sessions scheduled for its meeting on Tuesday at the Bar Harbor Municipal Building. One is about code enforcement. The other is about the solar project. No more specifics were given other than the citation of state law, which allows executive sessions. The meeting begins at 5:45 p.m.
ADDITIONAL REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS
Also on the Town Council’s agenda on Tuesday are:
Public hearings for the water budget, sewer budget, update from the cruise ship working group, a public hearing on the cruise ship disembarkation ordinance amendment, 2023 cruise ship standard operating procedures and the port and harbor ordinance amendment
A resolution to support the City of Lewiston,
A motion to potentially purchase parking kiosks to replace current meters,
A motion to appoint David Kerns as police chief,
A motion to amend the rules of orders,
A review of an offer to sell a Hulls Cove parcel to the town.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ ABOUT SOME OF THESE ITEMS
To read the Town Council packet
Disclaimer: The author and editor live at the opposite end of School Street, away from the closure.