Potential Alternative Site for Dog Park? Discussion Continues.
Annlinn Kruger hopes to continue to spread her message about Leonard Leo, memorial plaque approved, committee looks for more members
BAR HARBOR—The Parks and Recreation Committee meeting was the place to be Monday afternoon as members of the public sat in the Council Chamber benches and yellow padded chairs to discuss the proposed dog park, constitutional speech in the Village Green, memorial plaques on benches, and Glen Mary’s pool and woods restoration and revitalization.
Chair John Kelly presided over the meeting. Members Jeff Dobbs, Bob Huff, and Greg Veillieux also attended.
Much of the crowd was there to discuss the proposed dog park on the far end of the town’s athletic fields, which are located between Cromwell Harbor Road, Ledgelawn Ave, Main Street and Park Street.
However, Kelly said that he didn’t want to have a discussion or recommendation or deliberation without first hearing from Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt who was unable to attend the meeting. He said he hadn’t heard from her about some questions he had.
“The committee is not going to discuss the merits of that location tonight,” Kelly said. “I told Bethany that I wasn’t going to say anything about an alternative site at a public works site until we had her opinion.”
However, he said he mentioned it to a town councilor and the possibility got out there into the public.
That other site could be the town’s public works property off the Crooked Road. An acre or two is not actively used by public works, Kelly said. He then opened the discussion up to the organizers of the potential dog park to give an update.
Dog park co-organizer Enoch Albert said, “We haven’t raised any money yet because we’re waiting on you folks to make a decision.”
Albert said that he’d like that decision soon because the town is likely going to install sewer piping this year and the gravel parking lot located near the proposed dog park site will be staging for that. He’d like the okay for the preliminary work to happen close to the time that the town is working on the sewer piping.
Committee member Jeff Dobbs said, “The record for bringing something up for Parks and Rec is 11 years and that’s the skate park.”
There was also discussion about Acoustablok, which Albert said had “good success at dog parks specifically at dog parks in Florida.”
Kelly received an email that contained a link to the site just a day or two before the meeting. He asked if this was a proposed solution to attenuate noise and if so, others should see and know about it. Acoustablok is typically applied on a chain link fence. It was originally created to help decrease the sounds of dogs barking for neighbors of dog parks.
Co-organizer Jeff Miller said, “This is all being hypothetical. If we’re moving forward there and there’s a problem, there’s a solution.” But if there isn’t a problem, they don’t need it, he said. It could be a plan for that event should it be necessary. They would research further how tall the fence would need to be for sound mitigation, but he thought they would start with a six-foot-tall chain link fence so that they’d have an option to apply the soundproofing product.
Kelly said that just sending a link to a company that manufactures it raised more questions and concerns than it helped.
Member Jeff Dobbs asked, “Do you take it down in the winter. What is the longevity?”
“Good questions,” Miller responded.
Kelly then asked how it would affect wildlife and how it fit into the landscaping.
Committee member Greg Veillieux said that an attempt to mitigate noise before complaints happened would be preferable.
Member Bob Huff agreed, “Having the best plan in place is really important.”
Kelly said sketches and renderings would help the committee and public visualize the space.
A member of the public asked how a six-foot fence would block noise on the second floor of an apartment building, which exists in close proximity to the potential location.
Jay Hanscom who lives next to the proposed location said that a planning engineer who has dealt with the creation of dog parks outside of Maine has said the only thing that remedies the noise is distance. “Bar Harbor’s never done it before. This person has.”
Kelly said he’s been in contact with her
“It’s trying to ram a square peg in a round hole,” Hanscom said of the site.
“Another issue that I think is critical is item 7 in the MOU,” Kelly said. This item says that the group, Friends of Bar Harbor Dog Park will be in charge of the upkeep. He has questions about the permanence of the group. “I’m concerned because I’m not seeing about how that happens—sorry about the term—when you’re a loose group of people who want the same thing.”
Because the group isn’t a nonprofit or incorporated, there have been worries about its longevity or ability to fulfill item 7 in the memorandum of understanding between it and the town. This MOU was created when Kevin Sutherland was town manager.
The skate park at the ball fields also was organized by the public and the town does its long-term maintenance.
“The skate park group didn’t make long term promises about maintenance,” Kelly said. “In the end they were only responsible for raising money and suggestions about design.”
Hanscom also said that he believed there are issues with the deed despite an email from the town’s attorney.
“That’s not gospel. It definitely states that it’s opinion,” he said of the email. The deed speaks of not allowing activities that annoy neighbors or impair the use of their own property. “We’ve had plenty of attorneys disagree. Just like that.” He made a clapping noise. “They don’t have to think about it.”
Kelly said that the deed is still in play. “Lawyers do not run the town. Sarah (Gilbert, interim town manager) and the Town Council do.” He later added, “I’m saying that you’re correct; it’s not necessarily an issue that’s off the table.”
Hanscom said he was also concerned about the age of the deed. Dog parks didn’t exist in the 1930s when the deed was created. The first dog park occurred in the 1970s, he said.
“Is it worth the town walking into another unnecessary lawsuit?” Hanscom asked.
“We can assure you that it will be in a courtroom,” the woman next to him added.
Kelly said he’s heard legitimate arguments on both sides and in the end, it’s a very subjective process.
INFORMATIONAL TABLE ON THE VILLAGE GREEN
Annlinn Kruger’s hopes to go on the Village Green and raise awareness about Leonard Leo, a conservative judicial activist and leader of the Federalist Society. Leo is a summer resident of MDI.
An article by the Maine Beacon summarizes some of the actions and intentions of Kruger and other citizens on MDI this past year as they’ve protested Leo’s actions. Kruger has also asked the Bar Harbor Town Council for an accounting of former Town Manager Kevin Sutherland’s actions concerning her chalk messages in Bar Harbor and his reactions to them. A Bangor Daily News article details the beginnings of those events.
Her request caused a small bit of confusion for some of the committee members because they believed that she was requesting a constantly running presence at the Village Green. She was not. Instead, she is hoping to go to a public town space and give out information occasionally.
She said she was thinking of a park because the town’s sidewalks are so congested and she didn’t want to impede people’s movements or add to that congestion. Similarly, she envisions the information sharing as more of an educational pop-up space with a table or just a folding chair and sign to alert people what she was doing so that they could come up and engage. She could potentially have copies of news articles and links to news articles via a QR code or website link.
“I don’t want to create a situation where I’m handing out things and people litter,” she said about passing out paper flyers of information.
There was a short and cordial discussion about freedom of speech and prior restraint as an impediment on exercise of free speech such as permitting and its constitutionality.
Both Kruger and Kelly agreed that it most likely wasn’t the committee’s jurisdiction to give approval or disapproval to her activity.
“We as a committee are a volunteer citizens committee appointed by the Town Council,” Kelly said and members aren’t studied in constitutional law. Similarly, they are meant to approve events on certain town properties, and Kruger’s request didn’t seem to fall under the committee’s purview.
“There’s nothing we’re empowered with to say, ‘Go for it,’” Kelly said. He’d like to take no action or give no opinion. “We can’t sanctify or bless.”
Kruger thanked the committee and Highway Department Office Manager Suzanne Banis for their help and for the discussion.
“Whenever I do anything, I like to check with the authorities,” she said. “I even believe that if you’re breaking the law you should do so knowingly” and let the police and potentially impacted parties, such as the Parks and Recreation Committee, know that you’re planning to do so when it comes to activism, free speech, and protest. Though she hasn’t ever broken the law, she said.
She said that she hopes to head out to the Village Green on a future nice and sunny day when she has time.
The Dobbs Decision that the chalk mentions is the Supreme Court Decision that reversed Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Both those decisions had said that abortion was a fundamental right if performed before the fetus is viable. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization said that this is not a right in the U.S. Constitution and gives the power (or authority) “returned to the people and their elective representatives.” A Cornell Law School brief about the case is here.
BOARD RECRUITMENT
Secretary Desiree Sirois has stepped down, which creates a vacancy on the committee. People who might want to be on the committee would have to submit an application, meet with the Appointments Committee, and then be officially appointed by the Town Council.
“I think it’s incumbent on us to recruit,” Kelly said.
Anne Damm, who was attending because she and her husband had requested a memorial plaque on a bench, said that she had been on the committee in the early 1990s and could potentially be interested.
JACKSON LABORATORY
A Jackson Laboratory information request that was on the agenda was taken off the agenda at the lab’s request.
MEMORIAL PLAQUE BENCH
During the meeting, Ed and Anne Damm requested a memorial plaque to be installed on a bench at Grant Park. It was unanimously approved. The couple applied months ago and said they were the first ones “in the pipeline” for the bench.
“The benches have a lot of life,” Kelly said. “The town is completely responsible for that maintenance.”
The process is relatively easy. The couple next needs to write a check to pay for the plaque, order the plaque, and then the town will install it and maintain it.
“That will look nice for a long time,” committee member Greg Veillieux said.
According to Jeff Dobbs, the oldest benches are those that are currently at the Village Green.
NEXT MEETING AND OTHER DISCUSSION
August 7 is tentatively scheduled as the next meeting. It would be at the Bar Harbor Municipal Building, Council Chambers, and likely begin at 4:30 p.m.
Possible topics of discussion may include RV use of the tennis court parking lot as well as the parking area between the athletic fields, which Kelly said he’d like to see as parking for residents.
He said the town needs to favor those who should support those parks. Gilbert said she would facilitate a discussion with the Parking Solutions Task Force. Committee members said that the parking lot off Main Street at the far end of the ball fields is also an issue.
For earlier posts on the dog park, see below:
Bar Harbor Dog Park Staked Out, But Neighbors Hope It Is Not A Done Deal
https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/proposed-dog-park-site-explored-monday
https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/potential-dog-park-location-continues
https://barharborstory.com/2023/05/25/tips-on-visiting-acadia-on-memorial-day-weekend/
https://barharborstory.com/2022/12/06/dog-park-plan-waits-for-updated-agreement/
https://barharborstory.com/2022/12/22/dog-park-might-not-be-mission-impawssible
TO CONTACT THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE AND TOWN COUNCIL:
Emails supporting or indicating a lack of support can be addressed to the following members of the Parks and Recreation Committee, the town’s public works director and the town council (all of these emails are public and on the website and meant for public comments and concerns about this and other town business):
· John Kelly: jkelly0709@gmail.com
· Jeff Dobbs: jdobbs@jeffdobbs.com
· Greg Veilleux: vfamilymdi@gmail.com
· Bob Huff: operations@mdiymca.org
· Bethany Leavitt: pwdirector@barharbormaine.gov
· Town Council: council@barharbormaine.gov
The friends of the Bar Harbor Dog Park request that if supporters email, that they be cc’d at barharbordogpark@gmail.com
*This has been updated to include the deed image and town attorney email. Apologies for that initial glitch.
**This has been updated at the Jackson Lab’s request. Though it was said at the meeting that the lab was taken from the agenda because the lab’s representative could not attend, it was not the reason for the lab’s request.