With Summer Staffing Short, Mount Desert Tries New Approach
Mount Desert Selectboard Approves Staffing Shift, Discusses Comfort Station Repairs and Asticou Parking
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank.
MOUNT DESERT—It’s not been easy to fill the seasonal jobs for the Mount Desert Public Works Department, so now, Public Works Director Brian Henkel is trying something different: a temporary staffing agency.
On July 7, the Mount Desert Selectboard gave Henkel the OK to try to fill those positions through an outside staffing agency.
“I feel that this is our best option at this late point in our summer season,” Henkel wrote in a July 2 memo.
“It’s really too bad,” said selectboard member Martha Dudman.
Vice Chair Wendy Littlefield asked if it was because the public works department couldn’t fill the seasonal positions.
“It’s typically two new refuse workers,” Henkel said, but this year he has a third to cover the recycling center. “I need three of them and I lost two and I’m down to one.”
Those losses were due to injury and the physical requirements to do the job.
“It’s just really tough at this point,” he said.
“And this way I feel as though when we get someone if it doesn't work out, they have another person they can plug in,” Henkel explained Monday night.
The positions aren’t union positions and only summer seasonal positions.
In late June, the Maine Department of Labor reported that the May seasonal hiring was lower than typical for that time of year. Most of the jobs (1,200) were in tourism and hospitality. For May 2025, the Maine unemployment rate was 3.4% and Hancock County’s was 3.2%. In 2024, that rate had been 2.8% in Hancock County in the same month.
The board also appointed Aiden Mitchell, son of former police officer Ken Mitchell as a seasonal dockhand at the Northeast Harbor Marina at $17 per hour. It also confirmed Donald Sullivan’s appointment to Buildings & Grounds, effective June 23, 2025, at the hourly rate of $27.07 moving to $30.20 after the successful completion of a six-month probationary period.
SEAL COVE COMFORT STATIONS
During public comment in June, Howie Motenko asked about the Seal Harbor comfort stations, which were damaged in the severe January 2024 winter storms and need replacement.
The comfort stations are at the town wharf.
On Monday, Henkel explained that the town is on a list for MCM Electric to do the electrical work there, some of which has been previously done. They also have a partial design from an engineer for the concrete surface in conjunction with getting the piping in place.
“We are getting very close,” Henkel said.
There are two port-a-potties on site.
Macauley worried about getting another big storm and losing the new comfort stations once they are built. These are portable and can be moved if there is a potential for a large storm and flooding, Henkel said. They can also be pinned down.
ASTICOU CONSTRUCTION AND PARKING
Selectboard member Rodney King continued to be concerned about cars parked on the road near the Asticou, which is undergoing extensive renovations. The hotel on Peabody Drive in Northeast Harbor will have 82 renovated rooms including 15 standalone “harborside cottages” and 17 “spa suites” with terraces. It is slated to reopen this summer.
“Today, it was all lined up there on the sidewalk and in the road. Who is responsible if somebody gets hurt walking because they can’t walk on the … sidewalk?” King asked.
He asked if anything could be done about it.
Town Manager Durlin Lunt said the police could look into it.
King had also expressed his worries about pedestrian and vehicular safety at the board’s June 17 meeting.
At the time, Sgt. Soren Sundberg was said to be working with the Asticou to manage parking at the construction site after receiving complaints about vehicles being unlawfully parked.
Selectboard Chair John Macauley said, “They’ve got so many guys working there and not everybody got the memo, but we can send it again.”
Last week, the Asticou Hotel’s owner Tim Harrington said that the inn will be open, with guests in their rooms, by mid-July.
LIQUOR LICENSE
The board granted a new liquor license to Emma Johnson of Arties at 5 Sea Street, Northeast Harbor.
CONSENT AGENDA
In the consent agenda, the board members voted to accept the preliminary 2026 State Valuation Report, selectboard meeting schedule FY 2026, Town of Mount Desert holiday schedule FY 2026, this year’s shellfish commercial license lottery, and annual leasing agreements for the Chamber of Commerce, and Neighborhood House.
GENERATOR AT THE SEAL HARBOR FIRE STATION
Fire Chief Mike Bender received approval to work with Hedefine Engineering & Design, Inc. for professional engineering services. The agreement cost of $44,800 would design and be part of the bidding process for a replacement generator at the Seal Harbor Fire Station.
In a July 2 memo, Bender wrote, “This contract will cover the entire installation process — from design to completion — while coordinating with various contractors to ensure that the project stays on schedule and within budget.”
The generator there now is from 1989 when the building was constructed.
“It has served us well for the past 36 years but is now nearing the end of its reliable life. Maintaining a dependable backup electrical supply is crucial for keeping the station operational during prolonged power outages and will also provide an optional ‘warming center’ for residents in the community room,” Bender wrote.
OTHER BUSINESS
King is now the selectboard liaison for the LUZO (Land Use Zoning Ordinance) Committee, replacing Martha Dudman. She had previously “grudgingly” accepted the position she said with a chuckle, and King had volunteered.
The board accepted an unconditional $100 gift from Sam Walker to the Mount Desert Fire Department.
It also accepted Island Housing Trust’s donation of land to extend Sydneys Way and Farnhams Way as part of the Phase III Ripples Hill Development and authorize the public works director to finalize the quitclaim deed with covenants.
The board added Tibbetts Law to the approved list of firms for the town to work with and approved the office to close for Clerk’s Networking Day, September 10, 2025.
The town approved the $49,544 purchase of a 2025 Ram 2500 crew cab 4x4 from Quirk Ram of Bangor. That is the price after trade-in. It also approved the purchase of road salt from New England Salt through the State of Maine Bureau of Purchases at $73.50 per ton for 1,700 tons. And it purchased ultraviolet disinfection system upgrades for the Somesville and Seal Harbor wastewater treatment plants.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
YEAR-ROUND JOBS AVAILABLE VIA MOUNT DESERT 365
Director of Development for Camp Beech Cliff
Director of Finance for Camp Beech Cliff
Place-based Class Teacher: Grades 3-5 for The Community School
Chief Financial Officer for Land & Garden Preserve
Chief Operating Officer for Land & Garden Preserve
Greenhouse & Nursery Manager at McAlpin Farm for Land & Garden Preserve
Public Works Office Coordinator for the Town of Mount Desert
Registered Community Health Nurse for Mount Desert Nursing Association (Part Time)
Caretaker for Seaside United Church of Christ
VOLUNTEER WITH THE TOWN
The Town of Mount Desert seeks volunteers for its boards and committees: The Planning Board meets twice a month to review Conditional Use and Sub-Division Applications; the Zoning Board of Appeals and Board of Assessment Review meets as needed (rarely) to address appeals; and the Warrant Committee meets during budget preparation to review the articles of the Town Meeting warrant and publishes recommendations to the Town for action on them. These are just a few of the many opportunities that await your participation.
Click on “Boards & Committees” for more information and submit an application to the town clerk today.
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