Tremont Select Board Discusses Multiple Items Including Property Foreclosures
Approves Extra Money For Bass Harbor Memorial Library, Talks About PFAS and Seawall Road
TREMONT—With budget season getting wound up for all of the Acadia region towns, the Tremont Select Board eased into its budget preparations at its meeting on Monday, January 21, with a request from the Bass Harbor Memorial Library.
Historically, the library has asked for cost of living increases every year that are in the 3% range. This year, the library’s board of trustees unanimously approved a much larger ask in order to complete some long-standing projects and to make improvements to the library. The request started out as an overall increase of 35%. Town Manager Jesse Dunbar met with the board’s chair and treasurer and the group was able to whittle the request down to a 19.9% increase.
Representing the library at the select board meeting were acting Board of Trustees Chair Melinda Rice-Schoon, Treasurer Jayne Ashworth, and member Joseph Paolino.
A QUICK HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY
According to the library’s website, “the history of the Tremont public library begins with a private collection of books made available by Mrs. Vesta McRae, probably from her own home in Bernard. This collection grew to about 1200 volumes by 1920. The 1922 portion of the present building was designed by an unknown architect and was funded by Rhoda M. Watson, a Tremont native who was memorializing her late husband Edwin, an industrialist from Leicester, Massachusetts, and was formally accepted by the town the following year. It is possible that the builder, Charles Lawson, was also its designer; he was Rhoda Watson’s brother. Its construction took place at a time when many public libraries were underwritten by charitable gifts, and when libraries were seen as an important aspect of a community’s educational offerings.”
In 2020 the library added a circulation area and children’s room.
“The 2020 addition was funded entirely by generous private donations from Tremont and MDI residents, summer patrons, and private foundation,” the website says.
WHAT THE REQUEST WOULD BE USED FOR
The 19.9% increase brings the total contribution from the town to the library to $112,804 which is an increase of $18,687.
The library plans to use these funds for the following projects.
An alarm system, fire and security, for the building because of the artwork and other valuables that are onsite.
Deferred maintenance which includes landscaping, a fence reinstallation, and an emergency exit that leads out to a path that is very uneven and full of roots. The trustees worry about the safety of mobility-impaired patrons who may have to utilize this exit in an emergency.
Wage (2.5%) and special program increases.
Online subscription services for the library to be able to offer more online books.
According to Rice-Schoon and Ashworth, many of the deferred maintenance issues are holdovers from the 2020 addition. The fence that they want to put it up is actually to replace a fence that was removed for the construction of that addition and it had provided a sound and sight barrier to the neighbors. Rice-Schoon stressed that the neighbors were not complaining about the lack of fence, but the library had promised them that it would be replaced after construction and the library wants to stay true to its word.
While select board member McKenzie Jewett had an approved absence for this meeting, the remaining four members unanimously approved the library’s request.
SOUTHWEST HARBOR AND TREMONT EMS PLANNING COMMITTEE BYLAWS
Pursuant to previous select board meetings, Dunbar had created a set of bylaws for the formation of a Southwest Harbor and Tremont EMS Planning Committee. The Tremont Select Board approved those bylaws on January 6 and sent them to the Southwest Harbor Select Board for review. At its January 14 meeting, the Southwest Harbor Select Board reviewed the bylaws without approving them and sent them back to Dunbar with some requested changes.
The changes requested by the Southwest Harbor Select Board, which were completed by Dunbar and unanimously approved by the Tremont Select Board, are below. The new, or added, verbiage is in italics and the old verbiage is stricken.
Section V. Paragraph 6. – “Discussion of Committee business by
six (6)seven (7) or more members outside of a properly posted meeting is illegal under the Maine Freedom of Access Act and is forbidden.”Section V. Paragraph 9. – “Members shall be appointed for terms of three years. Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of the term of the person who is no longer a member of the Committee.
All terms shall expire on June 30 of the year in which the term expires.The terms shall be assigned for equally staggered expiration dates, there after the terms will be three years.”Section VII. Paragraph 6. – “In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, or designee shall perform all duties of the Chair.”
Section XI. Paragraph 5. – “Once posted, no item may be added to the agenda, except that by
a two-thirdsmajority vote of the Committee members present and voting, the Committee may add items where:”Section XII. Only Paragraph. – “Unless otherwise provided herein, the officers and members shall conduct all meetings as set forth in the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. All members shall abide by the conduct policy outlined within their respective municipality.”
The bylaws will now go back to the Southwest Harbor Select Board for approval or further changes requests.
PFAS TREATMENT
Since the discovery of PFAS in the wastewater effluent and drinking water at MDI High School, the testing of water and discovery of PFAS in drinking water supplies has blossomed around MDI. Tremont has had a number of presentations regarding the presence of PFAS in Tremont water supplies.
At a May 2024 meeting of the select board, the select board directed Dunbar to set aside $15,000 of unspent ARPA money to pay for testing of the drinking water of Tremont residents who wished to have their water tested.
Richard Hilliard, Ph. D, of the MDI Biological Laboratory, who has conducted some of the presentations and has been handling the water testing, was at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Hilliard told the select board that approximately 35 households have taken advantage of the town paid testing and that approximately 15-20 households had their water tested prior to the town paid funding for a total of approximately 50-55 households that have had their drinking water tested.
Hilliard said, “PFAS have been found in a lot of them.”
According to Hilliard, simple and oftentimes inexpensive, water filters can eliminate the PFAS from household water supplies. The purpose of the agenda item on Tuesday night was to see if the select board wanted to set aside some of the remaining $9,585 of ARPA funds for the possible subsidizing of water filters for Tremont residents.
After some discussion regarding options amongst the board and with Hilliard, the select board voted unanimously to direct Dunbar to “research the cost of PFAS treatment systems and bring the select board back recommendations on a plan.”
SEAWALL ROAD UPDATE
According to Dunbar, following the announcement of the pushback of the planned Seawall Road rebuild by MaineDOT, the Southwest Harbor Select Board tasked Southwest Harbor Town Manager Karen Reddersen with seeing if the Town of Tremont would be interested in being included in talks between MaineDOT, Southwest Harbor, and Acadia National Park in the future. Additionally, the Southwest Harbor Select Board directed Reddersen to see if the Town of Tremont had any interest in any financial participation.
Dunbar told Reddersen that financial participation would “likely be a stretch” but that he would inquire about both possibilities with the select board. At Tuesday’s meeting the select board had very little discussion on the issue and directed Dunbar to not participate or spend any time on the project.
DEDICATION OF TOWN REPORT
The town historically has a dedication to a townsperson in the front of the annual town report and Dunbar asked the select board if they had any ideas of who it should be this year. Unable to come up with any suggestions on the fly, the select board asked to think about it and bring back any suggestions at the next select board meeting.
TAX ACQUIRED PROPERTY
The select board then went into executive session so that they could openly discuss the disposition of six properties that the town has foreclosed on for unpaid FY23/24 taxes. Once the board left executive session, that discussion was tabled until February 24. At that time, it is scheduled to be discussed again in executive session.
The next meeting of the Tremont Select Board is scheduled for February 10 at the town office.
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