The following is Rockport Town Manager Jon Duke’s report to the Select Board in advance if its June 27 regularly scheduled meeting.

Annual Town Meeting/Election Day:

The annual rite of passage that is the Annual Town Meeting finally returned in its traditional, in- person setting last week. We had 75 residents show up and participate to pass the annual budget and approve a number of articles which provide the basis for how the town government will operate for the next year. A number of communities in Maine have altered how their municipalities handle the annual town meeting and instead move more of their decisions to be made through the ballot box. 75 people are not a great sum, but it was wonderful to see so many corners of our community together for the first time since the pandemic began.

In the election on June 14, 17.6% of Rockport’s registered voters (552 voters) turned out to cast a ballot for local and state candidates for office and a series of amendments to town ordinances.

The voters elected Jim Annis to the Select Board, Bre Gutierrez to the School Board, Zachary Herrick to the Budget Committee, and a series of write-in candidates to the Library Committee and Budget Committee. We welcome all of these new officials and thank those whose terms are ending for their public service.

Also, the Town received the resignation of John Strand from the Select Board on June 14. John had hoped to remain in office but a new position out of the area made it difficult in fulfilling his duties. The Select Board will vote at their meeting on June 27th to set a date for a special election to fill this now vacant seat. A period for prospective candidates to circulate nomination papers will be followed by the ballot being set and absentee ballots being made available in advance of election day.

Public Works:

While the passage of the new municipal budget will kick off a long list of projects this summer and fall, our public works department will begin moving in overdrive this week. The department has largely moved to four 10-hour days but ensuring coverage Monday through Friday. This not only helps our employees because many of them live a fair distance away, but it allows them to take advantage of longer daylight hours in each workday.

Among the projects underway in the next few weeks include:
Russell Avenue: We are milling and paving a section of road between Beauchamp Street and Mechanic Street which has been trouble spot for many years.

Route 1: The collaboration between Maine DOT, the Town of Camden, and the Town of Rockport will construct a new sidewalk along Route 1 around the Camden/Rockport town line. In addition to the new sidewalk, there will be improvements to the intersection at Hannaford and the intersection near Subway. This project will be completed by Nitram, who is the same contractor we hired to complete the Route 1 sewer extension.

Alexander Drive/Ledgewood Drive: Over the last few weeks, our public works crew has been ditching in this neighborhood and improving drainage in preparation for paving this year. Without ditching these roads, water would further damage the roadbed so while this can be an inconvenience it is a necessary part of maintaining a town road. Unfortunately, a 400-foot section of pavement has failed and will require removal prior to repaving. If we can get ahead of these issues in future years, we can avoid situations such as this.

The Town will meet next week with FEMA to seek their assistance to speeding the permitting process for the replacement of the damaged large culverts on Robinson Drive, West Street Extension, and Chris’s Road.

Harbor:

The Harbor is very busy and busier than usual for June. As a result, parking is an issue earlier than ever and the Town will increase enforcement of 2-hour parking limits on the park side of the harbor. Longer term parking is available near the river and in Cramer Park.

We had an outstanding turnout at the first event in the Summer Concert Series collaboration with the Opera House. We had approximately 350 attendees see David Mallett on a picture-perfect Sunday where we were also able to unveil the renewed Vulcan locomotive. Our next event will be held on July 31st with the Right Track.

Our new deputy harbormasters, Rob and Drew, have been incredibly busy, and their skills have been a tremendous help to tackle a series of projects such as engine repair or carpentry work.

The largest of the Town’s lime kilns will see an upgrade this week with a new roof and re-staining of the framing of the roof.

Lastly, in a further indication of how busy the harbor already is, the new dinghy docks are already sold out and our dockage income grows daily. These revenues, as you can tell this spring, are being put back into these facilities and ensuring Rockport Harbor remains a welcome port for visitors and a jewel our whole community can enjoy.

Assessing:

All real estate inspections have been completed for this year and most of the town’s personal property tax preparation has been completed. Assessor Kerry Leichtman has set a goal to complete his earliest tax commitment yet in mid-July. Once the commitment has been completed, tax bills will be circulated shortly thereafter.

I have signed an agreement with the Town of Camden to provide assessing services to the Town Rockport for FY 2023.

With the departure of Assessor Kerry Leichtman to Camden, beginning July 1, Rockport was in need of finding a new agreement. The new contract is largely the mirror image of the prior agreement with Rockport contracting with the Town of Camden to provide their assessors to our community. The contract calls for the assessor and deputy assessor to be physically available in Rockport two and a half days a week, though they are available remotely via phone or email, full time.

Committees:

Though we have a number of applications for the Village Improvement Planning Task Force, which will be acted upon by the Board on the 27th, it is expected there are still spots available for other residents. If interested, please reach out to Diane Hamilton or myself for a committee application.

Finance:

Our finance department is hard at work at implementing the new budget and closing out the last few weeks of the current fiscal year.

Fire Department:

The Fire Chief oversaw some floor maintenance and completion of the project to change over to LED lights in the public safety building.

After a period of 10 days without a call, last week the fire department had four calls in a matter of a few hours.

Planning and Community Development:

The Town will have a new Planning and Community Development Director as of July 1, but it is a name that is not new to the Town of Rockport.

Orion Thomas, who has served in that role thanks to the Town’s contract with the Midcoast Council of Governments, was hired after a search begun earlier this spring.

Orion has been working on a number of projects within the town over the last year ranging from seeking grant funding for public works and wastewater projects to assisting our boards through challenging waters to staffing committees charged with improving our ordinances and economic future. While this is a wide-ranging area of responsibility, Rockport has been a town in need of someone in this role on a full-time basis for many years and hopefully this is the beginning of Rockport being able to be more active in receiving grant funding and creating a positive environment for all of us who live and work here.

Library:

A pair of projects are underway around the library, both due to generous donations. The boulder slope on the library’s eastern side will soon be transformed into a stepped garden space that transitions into the stream bed. This project should last several months as the meticulous work must take place without dramatically disturbing the stream and working through significant elevation differences with the library first floor.

In Memorial Park, a new irrigation system is being planned and should be installed simultaneously as the stream buffer improvements. Both projects are being constructed and installed by Farley Inc. and are Town projects funded by donors.

Opera House:

We have some personnel upheaval in the Opera House department with the departure of video technician Bruce Hilsmeyer last week. We wish Bruce well as he moves closer to family in New Hampshire.

Technical Services technician Jake Hickey has moved on to a new position and we are in need of a new individual to handle lighting and sound for events at the Opera House.

Lastly, custodian and event attendant Richard Dinsmore will be retired on June 30th. Richard will be missed in his care for the Opera House building over many years. Richard’s position will be combined into a new full-time position which will be posted for hire next week.

Many thanks to Kari Luehman for her efforts in organizing the first edition of the Summer Concert Series at the harbor.

Recreation Committee:

Five Town Little League softball and baseball fields are filling up fast for the summer. If you want to schedule the use of a field, email rockportrec@rockportmaine.gov.

Donations:

Many thanks to Maine Media Workshops and Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporations for making payments in lieu of taxes to cover the cost of town services they require despite their non-profit status. Rockport has a long list of non-profit organizations who call our town their home and their presence makes our community a better place. It is incredibly helpful for our taxpayers that we have organizations in Rockport who respect the value of the services the town government provides and wish to pay their fair share.

Safety:

We had another successful SHAPE renewal from the Department of Labor. Due to our efforts the Town of Rockport have again received the highest honors for promoting and consistently improving conditions for safety and health of Employees. We received a tag to attach to our existing SHAPE plaque and have been extended to August of 2024. If the Department of Labor does not find any violations at our next inspection, they will extend our next renewal to 3 years instead of 2.

Town Clerk:

Next week the Town will welcome Wendy Charland as the new Assistant Town Clerk, replacing Wyatt Summers who left us in April. Wendy grew up in Rockport and attended Camden Rockport High School before returning home to raise her family. We look forward to having Wendy join our team and feel free to say “hello!” when you stop by to re-register your car or cast your absentee ballot.

Town Office:

We have completed the installation of heat pumps inside the Town Office building to replace the old, failing air conditioning system. Many thanks to David Leighton for his hard work in installing and planning the best possible system for this building. Our expectation is that these heat pumps will solely be able to heat and cool the Town Office building at least nine months of the year and only require the oil furnace when temperatures dip in the depths of winter. With the use of our solar panels, the Town should realize significant savings in our heat costs this winter.

As a reminder, masks are optional in all town buildings, so while the impacts of COVID have changed dramatically over the last two years, we should all do our part to help keep each other healthy and safe.