BELFAST — The Belfast City Council will hold its regularly scheduled public meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. and address an agenda that includes increasing accessibility in downtown Belfast, new ambulance personnel, new police equipment, and utility pole removal, according to Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s report. 

The first agenda item is a discussion about Belfast’s accessibility for those with mobility challenges, a topic that was first raised at the Nov. 1, Council meeting.

The issue was brought forth by Belfast residents Neva Allen and Ayne Ames, who have proposed that they work with the City to form a volunteer Committee of Accessibility.

The committee would be consulted each time new construction projects come up for review, or wherever accessibility is an issue. Some of the issues named are placing curb cuts locations, repairing the Harbor Walk or City sidewalks, as well as access to new buildings or those undergoing remodeling.

The committee would also meet with a City liaison to the Council regularly, according to Herbig’s report.

The confirmation of a new part-time ambulance driver, Brandon Waterman, has been requested by Belfast Fire Chief Richards. Waterman is currently employed by the City’s Public Works Department and the Belfast Fire Department, and recently expressed an interest in becoming an ambulance driver. 

Belfast Police Chief Bobby Cormier is requesting the Council purchase a new police cruiser due to a 2017 cruiser being near the 100,000 mile mark, which will no longer be covered under warranty next month.

That vehicle is to be traded in for $5,800 and the total cost of the new cruiser will be $43.123.59. The funds will be drawn from the department's purchase of equipment account, which currently has a balance of $49,588.36, according to the report. 

Several requests from Belfast’s Harbor Master Kathy Given will be heard at the meeting, including a request to authorize matching funds for the Harbor Management Access grant. The grant, which was approved Aug. 17, will fund the building of this year’s floats. The grant was approved in the amount of $12,600, and Givens is requesting the Council approve $3,000 be used as a cash match, taken from the Harbor ENK fund. The balance of that account is $160,980. 

Harbor Master Givens is also requesting authorization for her to apply for Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection Pump-Out Grant and to authorize matching funds. The Harbor Department reportedly began having mechanical issues with the current pump-out machine used to pump holding tanks on vessels, according to the report. The machine is used frequently, with it being used 225 times summer 2022. 

The report states that pump-out facilities are required by the Maine DEP for virtually any marine facility in Maine with over 25 slips, to help discourage overboard discharge within State waters. 

The total cost associated with a new pumping system is estimated to be $24,923.34, including plumbing and electrical. A 10 percent match of funds is reportedly required.

The funds for this expense will be taken from the same Harbor ENK Fund. 

Harbor Master Givens makes several other requests regarding the upkeep and running of the Belfast waterfront, and more complete information is available to review. 

A revamp of the City of Belfast website is featured later in the agenda, in addition to the appointment of members of a temporary website redesign working group. 

The manager of Belfast Municipal Airport is requesting the city adopt the proposed BMA minimum standards, which is a condition to “qualify for FAA funding through the Airport Improvement Program. The City will be required to sign documents to ensure the Airport will be used for the public good. These documents are known as grant assurances, and of the grant assurances, two are of particular importance.”

Those two are grant assurances 22 and 23; economic non-discrimination, and exclusive rights, respectively. 

“Airport minimum standards establish the minimum requirements that an individual or entity wishing to provide aeronautical services to the public on a public-use airport must meet in order to provide those services. This can include elements such as minimum leasehold size, required equipment, hours of operation, and fees,” the report reads in part. 

It is noted that the proposal is before the City Council now due to the Airport’s fuel farm, which will be coming online soon. The fuel farm has reportedly generated “inquiries and considerable interest from individuals and entities exploring the possibility of providing aeronautical services at the [BMA]. In turn, it is important to have this document in place before we receive formal, and potentially competing, requests to operate businesses at the airport.”

If approved, the proposed BMA Minimum Standards document will become effective Jan. 1, 2023.

A discussion about the removal of old transmission poles will take place later in the meeting. According to the report, the Council received a total of 60 locations in need of deinstallation services, and the Council narrowed down that field to the top 25 priority removals. 

Some of these locations include Swan Lake Ave., Footbridge Road, Searsport Ave., High Street, Crocker Road, Perkins Road, Waldo Ave, and Front Street. 

For more information and a complete agenda, the official agenda is available to view here.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com