Letters From Readers
Val Peacock, Charles Sidman, Sarah and David Mangs, Linda Post
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BAR HARBOR COUNCIL CHAIR TALKS ABOUT CRUISE SHIPS
Dear Bar Harbor,
Parking meters are on and Memorial Day is behind us—summer tourism is underway. With headlines swirling about litigation and visitor levels, I’d like to offer an update on how the town is implementing and enforcing the Cruise Ship Disembarkation Land Use Ordinance this season.
Pre-2022 Cruise Ship Bookings
There are four ships with 18 visits and a total of 57,482 passengers scheduled for 2025 that were booked before the 1,000-passenger cap took effect. These larger ships—exempt from the cap this season—will visit mostly in the fall.
Dock Use Agreement with American Cruise Lines (ACL)
The town entered into a docking agreement with ACL, whose American-flagged vessels carry a few hundred passengers or less. These ships will anchor offshore and tender passengers to the Town Pier.
The framework for the agreement was reviewed in a public Town Council workshop on January 7, 2025. After negotiations and a legal review to confirm compliance with the Land Use Ordinance and Chapter 52 , the contract was signed on April 4th. The town also applied for and received disembarkation permits. The agreement with ACL ensures at least $69,000 in revenue for 2025, plus $30,000 for gangway upgrades.
Before a contract was signed, or permits issued, our legal team provided advice concerning whether disembarking cruise ship passengers is an allowed use in the Shoreland General Development I District which is the zone that includes the Town Pier. The legal review concluded that cruise ship disembarkation is an allowed use at the Town Pier.
A full visit list of cruise ship visits, including pre-2022 bookings and ACL visits, is being prepared.
New Booking Requests
The town has also received new anchorage requests for 2025 visits from cruise lines (beyond ACL), most for vessels under the 1,000-passenger cap. However, no private dock owners have applied for disembarkation permits for these ships.
As such, the town has stated:
“Given that no private facilities within Bar Harbor are currently permitted to receive disembarking cruise ship passengers, the Town will not be confirming any calls in Portcall at this time... Anchorage remains available and unrestricted, subject to Harbormaster coordination and federal law.”
Town staff will continue to monitor and enforce any disembarkation violations if they occur.
Ongoing Cruise-Related Projects
Following the Harbor Committee's plan, Bar Harbor is working with GEI Consultants on engineering and pricing for development at the Ferry Terminal property. Designs are expected later this year, with early discussions considering future cruise disembarkation and potential cruise line funding for new infrastructure.
This spring, the Town Council also reviewed a proposal to license cruise ship tour bus operators. Initial feedback was gathered at a workshop, and staff are now working with stakeholders to develop a phased implementation plan.
Litigation Updates
The Town is continuing to manage three levels of legal challenges related to cruise disembarkation:
An appeal of the federal ruling
Appeals and challenges at the state level
A new appeal before the local Board of Appeals
Each track involves multiple legal steps. As we round the $1,000,000 mark for legal fees, the amount of time and costs continues to be significant. The Town Manager is preparing a more detailed update on these efforts, stay tuned.
Every action we take to implement, enforce, and defend the Cruise Ship Disembarkation Ordinance is deliberate and rooted in law, policy, and the public interest. Our staff and legal team deserve heartfelt thanks for their tireless work. We’re fortunate to have such a dedicated, professional group serving the people of Bar Harbor.
Val Peacock
Chair, Bar Harbor Town Council
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS?
Is the product presented in this link any part of the answer to our community’s “Sturm und Drang” about additional housing? Would it be legal, and with what constraints? Thought it should be made known, considering community needs and ongoing planning code deliberations.
Charles Sidman
Bar Harbor
SUPPORT FOR DIANE VREELAND
Dear Bar Harbor Residents,
We have several qualified candidates running this election cycle, for which we are very grateful. We also want to thank the Bar Harbor Story for publishing candidate statements to assist with informed decision making.
We are a unique and proud community, and many do not want to speak publicly about the tough daily choices made to ensure we can continue to live in our beloved community. It is often quietly said that Bar Harbor property taxes are unsustainable, Diane Vreeland takes these concerns of residents and businesses to heart, and will ensure our voices are not only heard, but acted upon while she sits at the table at Council meetings.
She, like us, is concerned about how our town is managing its finances. She has stated that we need a smarter approach to budgeting and one that ensures our essential services are funded and taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and sustainably.
Her story mirrors our story, retired seniors who for several years have “watched our town’s budget grow without the careful consideration, caution and planning that’s needed to protect all residents”. During discussions with our financial advisor, and while reviewing our increased property taxes he has asked, “What is your local government doing up there? Is there any evidence that their spending patterns will improve?” Based on the trends we’ve seen the answer is ‘NO’. Moreover, he made it perfectly clear that for us, Bar Harbor is becoming unaffordable.
Diane has raised some thought provoking concerns; including the outsized role of tax funded support for nonprofits, the 1.06 Billion dollars in untaxed private property, housing affordability, our tax debt ratio, concerns for sustainable growth, solid waste costs exceeding 1 million, and the effects of growth on the environment, to name but a few. Rather than “kicking the can down the road”, she has provided reasoning and specific solutions on how we can tackle these challenges over time to ensure the viability, effectiveness, and sustainability for all town members. She has stated, “We need leadership that lifts everyone, builds on that generosity, and makes sure the systems and policies behind our community are just as supportive as the people in it.”
Today many residents and businesses are making significant cuts to their monthly budgets, and continue to make sacrifices due to rising property taxes and inflation. If residents and businesses can make cuts to trim expenses, the town manager and school administrators should be able to do the same.
If you have similar fiscal concerns for our town, please take the time to consider an independent vote for Diane.
Thank you for your time and we hope you will support Diane Vreeland for Town Council.
Very respectfully,
Sarah and David Mangs
Bar Harbor
SUPPORT FOR DIANE VREELAND
We know Diane Vreeland from her helping us with the Land Use ordinance. She is very knowledgeable and her time spent with us was very much appreciated. We are very concerned with the developments around us knowing of the vernal pools, streams and wildlife habitat. We moved to Town Hill because of the abundance of Natural Resources, and our grand children love the wildlife. We must protect these in their natural state for future generations. Talking about grandchildren, we are in a situation where this uncontrolled spending from Town Council is causing havoc with our life and we are unable to save for the grandchildren's higher education. We talked to Diane about this and she is committed to doing something about this for everyone. We urge you to support Diane by voting for her on June 10.
Linda Post
Bar Harbor
Glad to have that update from Val. I like those.