New Board Chair, Old Town Piers: Southwest Harbor Looks Ahead on Harbor Committee Structure and Manset Repairs
Burby and McFarland to lead board
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SOUTHWEST HARBOR—The town’s select board is getting closer to how it wants to compose the town’s harbor committee and it will do so with a new chair, Noah Burby. Chapin McFarland was nominated as vice chair. The duo will take over those duties at the next board meeting, replacing Chair Carolyn Ball and Vice Chair Natasha Johnson.
Johnson was reelected to the board last week as was past select board member Dan Norwood who had a one-vote victory in the town election last week over incumbent Jim Vallette.
On Tuesday, May 13, the board continued to tackle the structure and composition of the harbor committee.
Ball had requested a further review of the selection of applicants to the town’s harbor committee. This previous discussion had been continued from the April 22 meeting for further review of the committee’s structure and composition.
“We have a number of folks who have applied. We’ve had a couple drop out,” Town Manager Karen Reddersen said of the current pool of applicants.
Currently, the board hosts nine members. Twelve can serve according to the town’s harbor ordinance.
“It’s very flexible,” Ball said of the current’s ordinance’s stipulations on number of members.
“We have 13 people applying and currently serving,” Johnson said.
The town is unsure if current member Donald Sullivan wants to head back for another term, Ball said. Sullivan is one of a few current committee members whose terms are up for renewal.
The board discussed if appointees should have previously attended the committee meetings prior to being appointed.
The town’s volunteer guide recommends people attend three meetings for the committee or board they are applying for, but Ball doesn’t believe every committee currently does that. The volunteer guide is a guide rather than a policy. That guide hasn’t been going out to volunteers because it hasn’t been updated, Johnson said.
That could be something the select board tackles at one of the next meetings, Ball said. Reddersen agreed.
The town’s generalized policy for three meetings attendance would likely be for all committee meetings except the warrant committee.
Planning board member Mike Levesque said he believes the harbor committee should bring changes to the planning board, citing the town’s website.
According to the town website’s harbor committee page, “The harbor committee is composed of seven to twelve members appointed by the board of selectmen for three-year terms. The harbor committee deals with issues relating to the management of the harbor, including review of applications regarding harbor related projects, work on the Harbor Mooring Plan, recommendations to the board of selectmen and planning board on harbor-related activities, review of the condition and suitability of the town's three docks, development of requests for repair and changes to those docks, recommendations for mooring fees, and review of applications for leasing of town dock space. Any interested townsperson is encouraged to attend harbor committee meetings which are held on the first Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at the town office.”
The select board members hope to have everything ready for a potential ordinance change in July for the November ballot. Appointments usually happen in July.
Michael Brzezowski and Harbor Committee Chair Nicholas Madeira are seeking reappointment, Town Clerk Jennifer LaHaye said.
During the select board meeting, harbor committee member Anne Napier said that the harbor committee in recent discussion had felt like the number of members should be no less than seven and no more than nine for quorum needs and also to keep the committee from being unwieldy. She added that she has gone before the planning committee before as a harbor committee member to present things.
Napier said she’d been thinking about the categories related to the committee composition.
During this select board meeting, the only criteria established was the wish that appointees would attend a harbor committee meeting prior to attending.
Madeira said he’d prefer to go with a smaller number in general. Nine would be preferable to twelve.
“It seems to flow pretty well. It gives us enough diversity and keeps the meetings moving along,” he said.
Southwest Harbor Fee Schedule:
According to Reddersen’s memo to the select board, “The harbormaster, in collaboration with the harbor committee, has recommended reducing the transient mooring rental fee from $60 to $50 per night for the 2025 boating season. This reduction, along with the implementation of an automated reservation and payment system, will streamline the process and align our rates more competitively with neighboring harbors.”
Reddersen said they’d had a discussion at the harbor committee about the fees. The harbormaster will look at the data after the change and see if the lower cost increased use and brought in more people into the town’s revenue stream.
“We were the last stop when all the other moorings filled up in town so often nights we weren’t full,” Madeira said.
If they stayed at $40, they’d be losing $7 per reservation.
The updated fee schedule was also adopted. The board also implemented the automated payment system.
Chapin McFarland thanked Harbormaster Rob Leavitt for the memo, which he found helpful.
MANSET REPAIRS AND FEMA SUPPORT
FEMA has balked at the cost to repair the 16-foot Manset pier, which is used by commercial fishers in the area. January 24 storms damaged the well-used and well-loved dock, which is both a commercial hub and a community gathering place. Now, the town government is looking toward other options to take care of the pier.
Just back on April 30, Reddersen and LaHaye opened the two bids received for the repairs of the Manset dock. The options were to do the precast option in the spring, or in the fall, or poured concrete options in the fall or spring, and hopefully have support from FEMA to help fund the repairs.
The poured concrete option was the only option bid on.
“Bancroft Contracting Corporation bid on poured concrete Options A and C, in the amount of $797,500. CPM contractors bid on poured concrete Option C in the amount of $720,000,” Reddersen said. “No vendors bid on the pre-cast concrete options.”
FEMA, Reddersen said, have said the costs are too high for mitigation from a FEMA perspective.
“They weren’t inclined to fund any portion,” Reddersen said of the proposals and pricing. “We’ve received no funds yet.”
Both the harbor committee and select board have pivoted instead to replacing the 16-foot Manset pier decking with wooden material. The harbor committee will continue to work on this option and the board, on Tuesday, moved to spend up to $84,808 for the Manset decking and materials related to the installation of that decking.
There had been $84,000 specifically for decking and a total of $243,851 for Manset dock and related properties in the town’s CIP budget.
The town is also developing bids for storm damage to Harbor Ave., Shore Road, the parking lot at Manset Dock, and Cable Crossing. Requests for permits are in process and abutters will be notified. FEMA intends to fund around $133,422, Reddersen said.
“It is anticipated that that bids’ documents will be ready mid-June. Once submissions are received, a total determination of funding for the projects will need to be identified,” Reddersen wrote.
She’ll be working with the state to apply for a FEMA extension because of the bids’ timing, “summer season impacts, permit schedules, and other factors,” she wrote. “Projects have been obligated by FEMA and funds are being distributed to the state.”
“Time is of the essence,” Reddersen told select board members.
SEAWALL PIPE PROJECT REQUEST
The town’s water and sewer district manager has asked the town to fund the completion of the 12" water main pipe replacement in Manset.
“This past year, 25 service locations between King's Lane and Ocean House Road were upgraded, and temporary road patching was installed as directed by the district,” Reddersen said. “Due to lack of funding and the transition of the district supervisor, the road work required by MaineDOT was not completed and the MaineDOT inspector has stressed the need to complete this aspect as soon as possible.”
The temporary patching is not sufficient. MaineDOT said the permanent paving must be completed to the DOT’s standards.
According to staff at the select board meeting, “we literally ran out of money due to some other scope of work.”
Other emergency replacements due to pipe breaks on the old six-inch line occurred. Those emergency fixes required money and the allocated money ran out.
“The district has provided a quote from the vendor who has completed the initial part of this project for the completion of the project in the amount of $107,808.00. They have confirmed that they can begin the work May 28 and complete this work in a two-week period, weather permitting,” Reddersen said.
They keep having breaks on the old six-inch line which is why they ran out of money, fixing those lines.
There are funds that the town is getting back for the water and sewer improvements on the main street project.
The board decided to put the full $209,500 the town had into the water and sewer infrastructure reserve account. Then members allocated $107,300 for the completion of the water sewer district project.
HOT BOX PAVING TRAILER
The town of Tremont asked to use Southwest Harbor’s hot box paving trailer, which is needed in a limited way once a year and costly to purchase. That was approved.
LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWAL AND SPECIAL AMUSEMENT PERMITS
Public hearings hosted no opposition to the liquor license renewal request from the The Upper Deck, 433 Main Street, SWH, for its on-premises beer, wine, and spirits liquor license nor the business’ special amusement permit. The business might have a band on the Fourth of July and sometimes will have a guitarist.
The Upper Deck is still unpacking and hopes to open next weekend or soon thereafter.
APPOINTMENTS
Matt Caldwell and Jeremy Frye are now assessors. They are both with RJD Appraisals.
Town Manager Karen Reddersen is treasurer, tax collector, general assistance administrator, and road commissioner.
Becky Gatcomb, Jennifer LaHaye, and Madilynn Michaud were appointed as deputy tax collectors and treasurers. LaHaye was also appointed the public access officer and deputy general assistance administrator.
Officer James Kamorski continues as the animal control officer.
John Larson continues as the code enforcement officer, plumbing inspector, E-911 addressing officer, and health officer.
Michael Slater was appointed to the deputy harbormaster position. Tremont Town Manager Jesse Dunbar was appointed the fair hearing officer for general assistance.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
http://www.southwestharbormaine.org/
http://www.southwestharbormaine.org/harbor-committee.html
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