BELFAST — Belfast City Council will meet Tuesday, Feb. 20, for their regularly scheduled meeting. Agenda items on Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s pre-meeting report include include committee restructuring, 

The first agenda item is a discussion and possible action regarding restructuring the Parks and Recreation Commission on the Harbor Walk and Rail Trail Committee. City staff presented a reorganization recommendation in 2023, in an effort to increase efficiency and produce better outcomes. According to Herbig’s report, the goal of the restructuring is to better align committee work with the Council’s policy priorities, which include addressing housing issues, standardizing the committee process and its respective interactions with the City Council and City staff, and standardizing membership terms for committee members. 

City staff reportedly proposed a two-stage restructuring process, with phase one of the process seeing the creation of four new committees, to be called City Policy Committees, including the Housing and Property Development Committee; Climate, Energy, and Utilities Committee; Pedestrian, Transportation, and Accessibility Committee; and the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee. 

The first phase of the process was approved by the Council June 20, with the exception of the creation of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee, which would have reportedly combined the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Harbor Walk and Rail Trail Committee. According to Herbig’s report, a merging of the two committees would require an ordinance amendment, as the Parks and Recreation Commission is outlined within the City ordinance under chapter 38, article two. 

The Council will also hear a request to authorize funding to repair any City infrastructure damaged during the Jan. 10, storm, which saw the boardwalk portion of the Harbor Walk destroyed. City staff reportedly started gathering quotes from contractors immediately after the storm. The quotes allowed City staff to submit to the City’s insurance company regarding the storm; this information must be declined by the insurance provider prior to a willingness from FEMA to begin discussions regarding reimbursement, according to Herbig’s report. 

The information has been shared with Waldo County, Maine Emergency Management Agency, and the Small Business Association for the purposes of determining whether a disaster declaration will be issued by the federal government. If a disaster declaration is made, it triggers available funding for damage reimbursement through FEMA. Though this hasn’t occurred for the Jan. 10 storm, the City anticipates it will. 

The currently projected total damages are $574,789, with $256,455 of this total to be used to repair the planked, boardwalk section of the Harbor Walk, with the remaining $318,325 to be used for all other repairs. These totals will be broken down at the Jan. 20, meeting, to allow for more detail.

If approved, the Council and City staff request that a motion be made to authorize funding of up to $400,000 from the Undesignated Fund Balance for the purpose of addressing the storm damage repairs prior to the anticipated reimbursement. According to Herbig’s report, the current balance of the Undesignated Fund Balance is $3,233,830. 

Additional information is available to view in Herbig’s full pre-meeting report. Harbor Master Kathy Given, Director of Code and Planning Bub Fournier, Deputy Economic Development Director Joellyn Warren, and Public Works Director Bob Richards will be at the Feb. 20 meeting to answer questions. 

Another funding request is being brought before the Council to repair the retaining wall at Steamboat Landing Park, which has been deteriorating over the last year, and suffered extensive damage following the Jan. 10 storm. According to Herbig’s report, the scope of the work would include mobilization, layout, erosion control, and project supervision, with the hope being to salvage the existing fence, light poles, pole bases and trees. The project would include removing the existing sidewalk and curbing in order to excavate the rear of existing upper row T-wall, remove and reset T-wall blocks, assuming there is an existing leveling pad and sterns are in usable condition. The total proposal cost comes to $187,966. 

Elsewhere on the agenda is a presentation from Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge, regarding an application to the Community Development Block Grant Public Infrastructure Grant Program. The City has reportedly identified a need to improve the infrastructure in and on Congress Street, with a focus on the section of Congress Street located between Grove Street and Booth Drive. The City has developed a conceptual plan for this infrastructure improvement project, which would include the following key additions/improvements with the project area:

• Installing approximately 1,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer line in Congress Street, to eliminate the remaining existing gap in this portion of the systems, where the homes are using septic systems;
• Installing in-ground storm drains (approx. 3,000 linear feet) and catch basins (approx. 24,) to replace the current drainage swale system;
• Installing approx. 2,400 linear feet of sidewalk or multi use pathway, on either the west or east side of Congress Street, which would connect the existing sidewalk on Congress Street ending at Grove Street with the multi use path that is being constructed for Wight Street in 2025;
• Installing approx. 4,000 linear feet of curbing, on both the west and east sides of Congress Street, to support the additions of the sidewalk/multi use pathway and catch basins;
• Installing approx. two pedestrian crossings (pedestrian activated signals and crosswalks, possible with speed tables); to improve pedestrian safety and calm vehicular traffic (locations to be determined). 

The estimated costs of these updates is $3,020,000, assuming construction begins in 2025. According to Herbig’s response, the City has already secured some of the funding needed for the project in the form of a $1,000,000 Northern Border Regional Commission Catalyst Program Award, and the City will being receiving 40 percent of the property tax revenue that will be generated by 115 Congress Street Affordable Housing and Development and Tax Increment Financing District, which it can allocate towards this project. The total of the two funding sources is not enough to fully cover the estimated cost, with an additional source of funding being sought. 

Director Kittredge will be available at the meeting to answer questions, and additional details are available to review in Herbig’s full report. 

Following Kittredge’s presentation there will be a public hearing for an application to the Community Development Block Grant Public Infrastructure Grant Program. 

Herbig’s full pre-meeting report is available to view on the City’s website.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com