The Search for a New Town Manager Will Soon Begin
Tom Wallace Honored, New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association Funds Taken Away, Town Committee Hopes to Write Letter to MDI Hospital
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund.
MOUNT DESERT—Mount Desert will soon begin its search for a town manager, a topic brought up by Selectboard Vice Chair Wendy Littlefield at the town’s selectboard meeting, Monday, May 19. He intends to stop working at the end of August.
“We’ll get that rolling along,” Selectboard Chair John Macauley said.
The town has not yet advertised for Town Manager Durlin Lunt’s replacement. The Mount Desert Selectboard had officially accepted Lunt’s resignation at its February 24 meeting.
“Best resignation letter ever,” Littlefield had said. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Lunt had announced his resignation in early February and formalized the letter to Macauley, Feb. 24.
Lunt has served as town manager for fifteen years. During that time, he oversaw implementing a capital improvement program (CIP) for the town, developed partnerships with neighboring communities to ensure critical services get delivered such as the combined administration of the Bar Harbor and Mount Desert police departments, and led the island-wide League of Towns and advocacy for the working waterfront of Otter Creek.
SPIRIT OF AMERICA AWARD
When Littlefield first met Tom Wallace, they were babies in the MDI Hospital maternity ward in 1967.
Decades later, she officially presented the business owner and firefighter the Spirit of America award.
“Congratulations Tom,” she said.
Wallace has been more than a mainstay in the firefighting community and had been assistant fire chief in Mount Desert. He has trained, laughed with, and helped countless people and raised countless dollars for fallen hero projects. He’s volunteered in Bar Harbor and Ellsworth, and trained firefighters at the Hancock County Fire Academy.
Wallace became assistant fire chief in 2001. At the time, the four volunteer departments merged. Wallace officially joined the fire department when he was around 18 and served for 38 years.
Littlefield told those gathered how as children, they sold raffle tickets together, year after year, she said. They’d go town to town selling them. The big prize was a bike.
Wallace’s dad volunteered for the fire department when Littlefield’s dad was the chief. One year, the firefighters gave Wallace an honorary badge and made him the department’s mascot.
“They burned grass and you were allowed to go on the fire truck,” Littlefield remembered.
It was a big deal. All that service to the town, to other people, is a big deal.
“The Spirit of America Foundation was established to encourage and promote volunteerism, and the foundation presents awards to honor local individuals, organizations or projects in appreciation of community service. We extend our congratulations and best wishes,” the special sentiment from the Maine Legislature reads.
“I'm sure one of your proudest moments is seeing your son also become a firefighter for this town and EMT and I think it's pretty amazing that it's a third generation in this community,” Littlefield said. “So congratulations Tom and thank you so much for your dedication and service.”
Tom and Allyson Wallace’s son, Benjamin Wallace, is a lieutenant in the fire department.
REDUCTION OF SPENDING
During the town meeting, town voters reduced the amount of money that will be distributed to social service agencies by $5,000.
That was after discussion about the $5,000 request by the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, which had been proposed and included in the budget presented to the voters.
At the May 6 town meeting, some voters worried that the organization was about advocacy rather than delivering a social service to the town.
At the selectboard meeting, member Rodney King said that the voters were mislead and the organization does help fishermen, which he felt was important.
“It’s a good group,” he said.
The board decided that it might be helpful for someone from the group to present to town meeting next year, but that for this year, they’d follow the voters’ sentiment and remove the $5,000 from that budget line and not give it to the organization.
HOSPITAL NOTE
Keri Sands, co-chair of the town’s Economic Development Committee, expressed that the committee would like the town to write Mount Desert Island Hospital, expressing the committee’s “feelings about the proposed closure of the labor and delivery unit and its impact on economic development islandwide.”
The hospital said in late March that it would closing down its maternity wing as of July 1, 2025.
Sands inquired into the process of having an official letter. She will submit the letter and Town Clerk Claire Woolfolk will include it in the selectboard’s next packet for consideration at its June meeting.
HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANT
The board approved appling for a Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) Housing Assistance Grant for fire safety upgrades at the Maple Lane Apartments, at 24 Maple Lane, Northeast Harbor, ME, which serves low-income elderly & disabled adults.
Maple Lane Apartments hosts 18 units of public housing.
According to a letter sent by Matt Williams, a planner with the Musson Group, “MDHA is in need of fire safety upgrades to ensure the continued health and safety of its vulnerable population (As a “grandfathered property” the installation thereof was not mandated at the time of construction).”
MDHA applied for Congressional funding and was approved, but the award amount was not enough to cover all the costs or complete the project. Now, the town will move forward with a CDBG application.
“Typically, nonprofits cannot apply for CDBG funding, but municipalities can apply,” Williams wrote.
The town acts as the fiscal agent and receives the funds.
OTHER BUSINESS
The town appointed Stephen Madeira to its economic development committee. It also reappointed several officers.
It authorized $2,389.88 of a prior encumbrance of $9,800 for structural firefighting gear.
It allowed Dobbs Productions Inc. to use public access channel 1301 for summer 2025 and winter 2026.
A special event application for a Qigong class for seniors in Suminsby Park was approved. It will occur on Fridays, June through October 2025, from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. and run by Susan Sassaman.
The board approved a modified solar array installation on the Somesville Fire Station with a capped peak generation of 34kW. The board approved changing the enrollment of the solar array at the Northeast Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant to the kilowatt hour program instead of the tariff rate program.
The board members released up to $13,273.93 from the town’s fire equipment reserve account and authorized the fire chief to purchase structural firefighting gear.
The board also accepted the unconditional gifts to the Mount Desert Fire Department in memory of Stuart Burr: $50.00 from Thomas and Susan McKay and $100.00 from Ellen Grosseibel.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
HOW YOU CAN BE MORE INVOLVED IN MOUNT DESERT GOVERNMENT
Volunteer for a Town of Mount Desert Board or Committee
Here is your chance to become more involved with your community!
The Town of Mount Desert seeks volunteers for its boards and committees.
Click on “Boards & Committees” for more information and submit an application to the Town Clerk today.
Community Shredding Day
Sustainability Committee is sponsoring a free document shredding event
Date: Saturday May 31, 2025
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Place: 307 Sargeant Drive – Highway Garage
Bring any documents needing to be permanently destroyed\shredded
Old paper files, records, paperwork, etc.
This free service is open to all Mount Desert Residents
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
For the board’s agenda and packet, click here.
Disclosure: I once was a part-time emergency dispatcher in Mount Desert.
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