ROCKPORT — Members of the Rockport Select Board voted unanimously to elect Ken McKinley as their acting chairman during a Jan. 14 meeting at the Rockport Opera House. McKinley now holds the role which Doug Cole resigned from on Jan. 6, who has said that he wishes to stay on as a regular member of the board. McKinley was chairman of the board until June, when Cole had assumed that role.

The meeting also saw Debra Hall elected as acting vice chairwoman.

Other new business included the board approving a beer and wine liquor license for the new Commercial St. location of Maine Street Meats and a discussion of forming a Rockport Public Library Building Committee to allow Rockport residents an opportunity to participate in the decision making process of the new Limerock Street structure.

New roles for Select Board Members

In a Jan. 6 email to town officials informing them of his decision to step down from his role as Chairman, Doug Cole said that he hoped that the Select Board would reassign a chairman and a vice chairman prior to the June elections to ensure a smooth transition in the event that then-Vice Chairman Ken McKinley decided not to seek reelection. McKinley’s current term on the Select Board expires in June; Cole’s expires in June of 2020.

“Six months ago this board elected me chairman, but over the past several months I feel that I do not have the confidence or the support of the board that I need for me to perform the job effectively,” wrote Cole, in his resignation letter on Jan. 6. “Because of that, I think it would be best for the town if I stepped aside

]In the week following Cole’s resignation, McKinley served as the board’s acting leader in the absence of a chairman.

At the Jan. 14 meeting, McKinley said that governing bylaws of the Select Board were silent with regard to reelecting a chairman midway through a session and prior to an election; the board could decide to keep him as vice chairman to lead the group without a chairman, if they desired to do so.

Board member Jeff Hamiltion made a motion that McKinley be elected as chairman for the remainder of his term, which was immediately seconded by members Debra Hall and Mark Kelley.

“As I said early on, if the board wants me to do that and thinks that it is in the best interest of the board and the town, I am willing to do that,” said McKinley, who was then unanimously voted as chairman for the remainder of his term.

The Select Board next discussed who they wanted to represent them in a vice chairman capacity.

“I think that due to [Cole’s] great learning curve and his capacity to work with the Town Manager [Rick Bates] and within the town’s system, I’d like to propose that Doug take the vice chairman until [the June 2019 election],” said Kelley.

“I appreciate that sentiment but I think it would be better if we got someone in to take these next six months to get up to speed, so when we have our organizational meeting in June, this session planning may be a little more obvious,” said Cole.

When later encouraged by Hamilton to assume the role, Cole said he couldn’t serve as vice chairman at this time.

Cole nominated Hall for the position, and the motion was seconded by Hamilton. Hall initially expressed reluctance to serve as vice chairwoman, and reminded the board that she would be absent for a couple of meetings in March during scheduled budget review meetings.

“The nature of this board is that we’re a bunch of active people – not everybody is going to make every meeting. If there happens to be a meeting where both the chair and the vice chair are absent, the remaining three can appoint an acting chair for that meeting and move forward,” said McKinley. 

Hall accepted the nomination. She abstained from voting and the remaining four members voted in favor of her serving as vice chairwoman of the Rockport Select Board.

Maine Street Meats

Since Spring 2018, construction has been taking place at 310 Commercial Street in Rockport to create a new location for Maine Street Meats, which has operated previously from a location further down Route 1 (Commercial St.) The red clapboard building at 310 Commercial Street was previously the location of Hoboken Gardens, before which it was the Hoboken Schoolhouse.

Maine Street Meats owner operator Sarah Greer said Jan. 14 that the liquor license put before the Select Board would allow her to serve beer and wine at the new location, which is expected to open in early February.

She said that the business would continue to serve specialty foods, baked goods and meat products, but unlike its former location would now feature a cafe, allowing customers to enjoys prepared foods inside the shop as well as on a new outdoor deck.

Greer said that the inside cafe space is designed to accommodate approximately eight people, but that in the summer season the outdoor area could seat as many as 25. Beginning Memorial Day, she said the business would be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Select Board granted the beer and wine license to Greer by a unanimous vote.

Library Building Committee

McKinley suggested the Select Board consider creating a new committee of Rockport residents and Select Board Members to oversee various elements of decision making over the coming months as the construction of the new Rockport Public Library at 1 Limerock Street takes shape.

Many of the design decisions made to date have been conceived by the project’s Design Team which includes the architect, Steve Smith, as well as the library’s director, Ben Blackmon. McKinley and Cole serve as Select Board representatives on the Design Team. Also on the design team is Charlie Frattini of Phi Builders, who serves as the owner’s representative for the project.

McKinley pointed out that a new Building Committee would allow members of the public a chance to have their voices heard, and report finding directly to the Select Board.

He said he anticipated the committee could include one or two Select Board members and three or four Rockport residents.

Unlike the Design Team, which is convened by the Town Manager and is considered private, meetings of the proposed committee would be held publicly and open to all.

“This would be more transparent, a more public phase of the project,” said McKinley.

The architect and owner’s representative would not be on the proposed Building Committee; instead members of the public would act as representatives of the Select Board and could review construction bids, make recommendations to the board, and be privy to decisions such as window treatments and wall color options, said McKinley.

“There are going to be some tough decisions that need to be made as we move forward with the project and the budget gets tighter and tighter....Right now the Design Team has people that are paid employees and paid consultants. The goal is to have a group of people who can actually raise their hand and vote, and say ‘we’ve heard from you – this is the direction we want to go,’” said Bates of the goals for the new committee.

The Select Board voted unanimously to establish the Library Building Committee.

The next meeting of the Rockport Select Board will be held Monday, Jan 28 at 7 p.m. in the Rockport Opera House.

Reach Louis Bettcher at news@penbaypilot.com