BELFAST — The Belfast City Council will hold its regularly scheduled public meeting Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. and address an agenda that includes a Belfast Police promotion and new hire, a new memorial bench,  and MDOT responses to City’s traffic safety concerns. 

The first item on Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s agenda is a request from Belfast Police Chief Robert Cormier to promote Officer Rick Smith to sergeant for BPD. The two open sergeant positions were posted both internally and externally in August, with Smith being the recommendation for one of the two available sergeant positions. 

Smith has been a full time officer with the department for over 16 years, serving the last four as a school resource officer for RSU 71. Cormier wrote of Smith:

“Officer Smith is well respected by his peers and community and brings many years of experience to this new role within the Department, Chief Cormier and I highly recommend his promotion and feel he will be an incredible asset to the City of Belfast and our team in this new role.”

A request to confirm the person selected as the second sergeant in the department is the next item on the agenda. That person, Jennifer Weaver, is currently a sergeant with the Waterville Police Department, and will bring 17 years of police experience to the new role. 

“Sergeant Weaver is well respected by her peers, has 10 years of supervisory experience, and is highly regarded in the Belfast community, which she calls home with her two children. If confirmed by the Council, both Chief Cormier and I believe she will be an incredible asset to the City of Belfast and our team.”

Chief Cormier, Officer Smith, and Sergeant Weaver will all be at Tuesday’s meeting to answer any questions. 

A request to approve an amendment to the current collective bargaining agreement between the City of Belfast and the Belfast Police Association/FOP Lodge 102 is listed third on the agenda. The City of Belfast and BPA/FOP Lodge 102 are proposing changes to the language used in the current bargaining agreement. 

Additional details about the exact changes in language are available to view in Herbig’s report. 

Parks and Recreation Director Norm Poirier is requesting the Council approve a request to install a memorial bench near the Belfast Boathouse. The bench would be in honor of Mary Weaver Dutch. Poirier received a request from friends of the late Weaver Dutch, who expressed an interest in having one of the benches currently near the Boathouse replaced with the proposed memorial bench. The new bench would be replaced by a similar bench, with the addition of a memorial plaque. 

Poirier, who will be present at the meeting, is asking approval to accept a check for $1,336.70 from the friends of Weaver Dutch, to pay for the purchase of a bench and plaque. 

Elsewhere on the agenda is a discussion about what priorities the Council should discuss with the Maine Department of Transportation. The MDOT will attend a future meeting, where the selected priority issues will be presented. 

The current priorities established by the City Council include:

1. Safety at the intersection of Route 52 and Back Belmont Road. 
2. Safety at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 52.
3. Safety at the intersection of Route 1, Congress Street, and Lower Congress Street. 
4. Safety at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 141. 
5. Painting of Route 1 and Route 3 overpass bridge.
6. Overnight stop lights on Route 3 and Route 1. 
7. Safety and stop sign inclusion on Congress Street (added on Sept. 6.)

The Council met with representatives of MDOT Aug. 11, where concerns were brought forward by the Council and Mayor Eric Sanders.

The responses of the MDOT to those concerns are documented in Herbig’s agenda, with each item receiving feedback. The response regarding safety concerns at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 52 is as follows:

“Regarding the safety at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 141 (d), MDOT representatives explained that based on traffic data from that intersection, it would not trigger full state or federal funding for a proposed project. However, the City of Belfast could partner with MDOT to complete a project with a 50 percent division of costs. If that is the interest of the Council, City staff would recommend inviting MDOT to an upcoming Council meeting to discuss this process and potential collaboration.”

The agenda concludes with a message from Herbig, which reads in part:

“As we begin the start of another school year and we enter the colder months, our community is seeing a rise in illnesses. Please be mindful of how this [is] impacting many people in our community, businesses, and organizations right now.

“COVID-19 strains are spreading around rapidly, as are strains of the flu, cold, and other illnesses. Many neighbors and family members are feeling a bit run-down and taking care of others [impacted], so I encourage all of us to be mindful and patient as we get through this “flu” season.

“We are all in this together, and we will continue to do everything that we can to support each other through these challenging times. While we aren’t totally out of the woods from the pandemic, we all can be there for each other and we can continue to invest time in taking care of ourselves, friends, and family. On behalf of the City of Belfast, please take good care and we wish you and your family a healthy fall.”

Belfast City Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Meetings are conducted online using Zoom and can be streamed on the City of Belfast website. They also air live on BEL TV and on Belfast Community Radio at WBFY 100.9. 

Comments can also be submitted by emailing the Council during the meeting. Comments will be presented to the Council.

An oral comment can also be submitted during the meeting via Zoom webinar. Information for this method can be found on the City website.

Information and documents related to this meeting are available on the City’s website. 

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com