BELFAST — The Belfast City Council will hold its regularly scheduled public meeting Feb. 7, 7 p.m., to address an agenda that includes a new EMT and fire equipment, cost increases in ambulance contracts, ordinance amendments, and Keeping Belfast Beautiful, among others. 

The first item on City Manager Erin Herbig’s agenda is a request from Belfast Fire Chief Patrick Richards to confirm Jackson Winslow as a full-time firefighter and EMT for for the City. 

Winslow is currently an on-call member of the fire department in addition to working part-time as an EMT. He recently received his basic EMT certification and anticipates attending basic fire academy in the spring. Following completion of that training, Winslow will receive his Maine Firefighter one certification. 

Chief Richards is also requesting that the City accept a $3,000 Ed MacDonald Safety Grant for the Belfast FD. The primary purpose of the grant is to fund equipment or other items that reduce the risk of injuries to workers, in addition to promoting safe and healthy conditions in the workplace. Richards said that BFD will use the funds to purchase safety gear. 

Another request from Fire Chief Richards is for the Council to approve two-year ambulance contracts with neighboring communities, which would assess fees based on a per capita cost, according to the release. 

The contracts were suggested by Richards at the March 1, 2022 City Council meeting, reportedly due to cost increases across the board for fire and EMS supplies and equipment. The cost to each town would be based on, “the dollar amount per person in that community,” the report reads in part. 

The Council approved the charge during that meeting, which charged neighboring towns $9 per capita for the first year (fiscal year 22-23), and $10.50 for the second year (fiscal year 23-24). This year Richards has recommended that the contracts be approved as outlined.

Richards is recommending that for FY23-24, fire and EMS services are provided only to the town of Morrill, while EMS services are provided to the towns of Northport, Belmont, Morrill, and Waldo, according to the report.

If approved, Richards is recommending raising the fire suppression contract with Swanville by eight percent, or $2,754. It is noted that the increase in cost is based upon increases in costs throughout the industry. The contract price for the fire truck rate would also increase by $25 per hour, from $125 to $150 per hour. 

Also on the agenda, Keeping Belfast Maine Beautiful, a group that tasks itself with cleaning the streets of Belfast every spring, is requesting $1,000 in seed money for this year’s event. According to the report, the City of Belfast provided support for the event in 2018 and 2019. 

According to the report, organizers of the event, which is going into its sixth year, thought they could sustain the event through sponsorship, but the turnout for the event was higher than expected and additional supplies were needed. This reportedly left the group’s funds in the negative going into this year’s event. 

A discussion will be held at the Council meeting, with members of the Pedestrian, Biking, and Hiking Committee regarding its 2023 priorities. Every year the group compiles a list of “their top areas of concern that they feel would aid in making the City of Belfast a safer, easier place for citizens and visitors to walk and bike.”

Currently the group has seven areas of concern, including building a Belfast Area High School sidewalk and/or walkway and separate bike lane from Waldo Ave to the building entrance to improve accessibility and safety. 

The Council will hear a request by the Economic Development Director to approve the conversion of a Community Development Block Grant Housing Assistance Grant into a loan for Developers Collaborative, in support of their affordable housing development for 115 Congress Street. 

The City of Belfast received a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant Housing Assistance Grant in 2021. The funds from those grants would be used by Developers Collaborative to “help pay for a portion of the soft costs they would be incurring associated with their affordable housing development at 115 Congress Street.

This grant also increased Developers Collaborative’s amount of below market capital for this project, which provided the double benefit of improving the project’s overall financials and increasing their score on their housing tax credit application to MaineHousing,” the request reads in part. 

Additional information regarding how the grant would be converted and used is available in City Manager Herbig’s full report. 

A presentation of proposed amendments to the City Code of Ordinances will be given by Project Planner Wayne Marshall.

Marshall will give a brief overview of the proposed amendments to the City Code of Ordinances which has been considered by the Planning Board. It is noted that no Council action is required at this time as this will be a presentation only. Following the presentation, the Council will conduct a public hearing followed by a second reading of the proposed amendments. 

The exact ordinance changes being proposed are available to view in Herbig’s report. 

Toward the end of the Council meeting, there will be an update on discussions with the Maine Department of Transportation regarding making improvements to the intersections of Route 1 and Route 52, and Route 1 and Route 141.

Herbig ends the report by thanking Belfast’s “exceptional public works crew.” The statement reads in part:

“Due to the inclement weather from this winter season, it is worth mentioning that our Public Works crew has worked nearly every weekend since the start of December. Just Christmas weekend alone, due to the storm, the crew worked an incredible amount of overtime. Since December 1, our Public Works employees have put in over 732 hours of overtime.

“The City of Belfast is very fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated group of employees in our Public Works Department and we have been blessed to have Bob Richards as the Director for over thirty-seven years. 

“Thank you to Bob and our team at Public Works for providing such essential and excellent service to the City of Belfast. Thank you for all that you do, through every season and every weather condition!”

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com