Trenton May Join Community Resilience Partnership
Select Board and School Committee Seats Open
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund.
TRENTON—There are 52 communities in Hancock County, Maine. Of those, one is a city, 36 are towns, and 15 are unorganized townships. Of that 52, only eight are part of the state’s community resilience partnership.
Soon, Trenton may become number nine.
On Tuesday, February 18, the Trenton Select Board heard a presentation by Hancock County Planning Commission (HCPC) Regional Resilience Coordinator Janna Richards on potential opportunities available for partnership members.
According to its website, the state’s community resilience partnership is “recommended by Maine's four-year climate action plan, Maine Won't Wait, the partnership offers communities support for both climate mitigation and adaptation activities. It is administered by the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.”
As explained on the HCPC website, “the community resilience partnership provides direction and grants in support of municipal, tribal government, and regional climate projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Once enrolled, communities can apply for between $5,000 and $50,000 (collaborative proposals up to $125,000) to help pay for various activities their residents prioritize.”
The projects range from climate change resiliency endeavors to energy efficiency and energy usage and cost savings projects. Richards explained that many communities have begun to change to LED lighting in community buildings and for streetlights to save large amounts of money via energy usage efficiency.
In the second year of the program—2023—the state reports that it awarded a total of $2.75 million in grant money to 53 communities and another $298,805 to 25 communities for service provider grants.
Service provider grants are used to pay organizations that provide services to a collaboration of towns who have chosen to work on a joint project.
After Richards’ presentation, Trenton Fire Chief Steve Heckman said that he had been working on a grant application to help the town find a new water source for firefighting and found it to be very challenging. Heckman said that he would love to enroll the help of Richards and the HCPC to help with this project.
A motion was made and seconded that the town take the necessary steps to move forward with joining the community resilience partnership and it passed unanimously.
FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATE
Heckman reported that he had just finished working on an updated memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport and had just presented it to the select board for review so that the board members can comment at their next meeting. Heckman said that the MOU deals primarily with water rescue assistance to the airport from the Trenton Fire Department.
Heckman also said that Versant had worked quickly to fix the utility pole that had been broken on February 12 when it was hit by a truck and that power had been restored by 10 p.m. that night. The truck, according to Heckman, fled the scene. There is no update on whether law enforcement located the truck and its driver.
QUITCLAIM DEEDS
The select board unanimously approved the signing of five quitclaim deeds by the select board members to return real estate property to the property owners who had made good on the property taxes that they owed the town.
UPDATE FROM SELECT BOARD MEMBER DAN MONAHAN
After the select board meeting, the budget committee also held a meeting.
In a select board meeting update distributed by member Dan Monahan, he wrote, “The committee reviewed some preliminary budget numbers but there are still some big numbers that we don’t have yet including the county’s tax bill and the school’s proposed budget. Otherwise, the town office staff salaries are proposed to increase at the same rate as county workers, roughly 5 or 6% according to the board chair’s proposal.
“The fire department is expecting that we will need to replace a fire engine in the next few years and that can cost about $500,000. The fire chief recommends not putting money into an account for a new fire building for the next few years and instead doubling the amount we typically put in reserve annually toward a new fire truck.
“There was a long discussion about whether to fully fund the Ellsworth Public Library (at approximately) $9,000 as a separate line item in the budget (like YMCA and others) and take it out of the non-profit requests budget. I supported doing this, but the rest of the committee did not, so the Ellsworth Library funding is expected to be taken up along with the other non-profit requests as usual. Also, FYI, If you know of a non-profit that wants to request funding, they should have their request letter in before the next select board meeting.”
The town’s final budget is approved at its regular town meeting, May 20.
SELECT BOARD AND SCHOOL COMMITTEE SEATS
From the town’s Facebook page, “Nomination papers are available at the Trenton Town Office on February 7, 2025, for the following positions:
“Two open Board of Selectmen seats: one three-year term and one one-year term.
“Two open School Board seats; both three-year terms.
“Nomination papers must be returned to the town office no later than noon March 21, 2025.
“Elections will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, May 19, 2025, at the Trenton Town Office.
“Town Meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 20, at the Trenton Elementary School.”
SPECIAL TOWN MEETING IN MARCH
Prior to the regular town meeting, there will be a special town meeting in March.
From the town’s website, “the Town of Trenton will hold a Special Town Meeting from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. on Monday, March 10, 2025, to vote on proposed changes to the Land Use Ordinance, Sections III and VIII Solar. Copies of the proposed changes are available at the town office. Absentee ballots for this referendum vote will be available February 10, 2025.”
The next select board meeting will be March 4, 2025, at 7 p.m.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Penbay Pilot article: Maine's public advocate asks community solar companies to produce billing rates after complaints
Bangor Daily News article: Solar companies would pay fee for using farmland under proposal
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