ROCKPORT — A list of proposed fee increases for the use of Marine Park in Rockport Harbor was approved by members of the Rockport Select Board on July 12. The rate proposal had been submitted by Harbor Master Abbie Leonard, and included hiking the price of a daily rental of the park from $600 to $3,000 for Rockport residents, an increase of 400 percent.

The fee for non-residents has increased from $900 to $4,800 per day.

The Rockport Select Board considered the new rates at its regularly scheduled Monday evening meeting, which also included a presentation by architect Amanda Austin and Fire Chief Jason Peasley of design and cost estimates for a new West Rockport Fire Station.

At the same meeting the Select Board granted a peddler’s license to Must Be Nice, a food truck which will operate from Marine Park from mid-July until October.

Marine Park rental fees

Marine Park is home to the Rockport Harbor Master’s building, as well as the sculpture of Andre the Seal, and has over the years the venue has been the site of public events such as Holiday on the Harbor as well as private functions ranging from concerts to weddings.

The docks there are busy throughout the summer with boat owners coming and going, and visitors picnicking at the outdoor tables and benches.

The increased rental fees for the property were submitted for Select Board approval in the meeting’s packet of material, although written explanation for the increases were not provided by Leonard.

“These rates were reviewed with staff and the Harbor Master over the past month,” said Town Manager Jon Duke. “These rates better reflect the market for large venues in the Midcoast, the time required of staff to manage each event, and the disruption to harbor operations by residents and other users of the harbor.”

The Select Board approved the following list of fee increases for Marine Park:

*Full day event: Resident fees increased from $600 to $3,000; non-resident fees increased from $900 to $4,800

*Additional set-up/tear-down 1/2 days: resident fee increased from $350 to $1,500; non-resident increased from $450 to $2,400.

*3-hour rental of park: increased from $150 to $400 for residents; from $200 to $640 for non-residents.

Selectman Mark Kelley said the increases were steep, and suggested the daily rental rate for residents be lowered from $3,000 to $2,000.

He asked how the proposed rates were generated.

Finance Director Meghan Brackett said they were the compiled after reviewing costs charged by similar facilities in neighboring towns, such as Camden.

“I support this,” said board member Denise Kennedy-Munger. “Not that I’m trying to price-out Rockport residents, but I do think we have a stunning facility down there and we should get the residents’ moneys worth.”

“And honestly, if you only schedule one event down there for the summer at these rates, you’re going to have a higher income than if you had 10 events down there at the [previous] rate,” said Brackett.

West Rockport Fire Station

Amanda Austin, of 2A Architects, Chief Peasley and Bill Lane of Gartley and Dorsky Engineering, presented the Select Board with an updated design and cost estimate for a proposed West Rockport Fire Station to be built at the site of the existing station at the corner of routes 17 and 90.

The new station would cost approximately $1.9 million and could house up to four fire engines or emergency response vehicles – twice the capacity of the existing building, which was built in 1973.

The fire station would be approximately 5,000 square feet in size and would be set back from the busy intersection, behind where the existing fire station stands; additional parking spaces would be added to Route 17 side of the structure.

The interior floorplan includes a meeting room, two sleeping rooms, a kitchen, an office and two shower rooms. The station could potentially house four fire or EMS vehicles.

“We don’t have adequate, safe sleeping quarters for anyone [at the current building], whether it’s police or fire...and the [plan] gives you ‘male’ and ‘female,’ that’s why there are two bathrooms and two sleeping rooms, it gives you the opportunity to house somewhere there if it gets to that point,” said Peasley. “It’s not a question of ‘if,’ it’s a question of ‘when.’ We will have to change the fire service within the next 10 years, easily.”

One portion of the budget for the project is allocated to audio/visual equipment for the building. Approximately $29,000 is earmarked for “A/V” with an additional $9,000 for network costs. Austin explained that this technology would be used in the fire station’s meeting room, which is a space which could also be used by members of the public.

“If were were in a situation where we didn’t have a room to broadcast, it would be worth the investment but I’m not sure if from the ‘nice to have’ perspective it’s worth the additional investment for that at this point....my perspective is let’s get what we need now with the hopes we can expand it. Because we do have a great facility here [at the Opera House] and additional meeting space, so I want to be mindful of expenses,” said Board Chair Michelle Hannan.

Austin said the next steps for the project would be to finalize the design and cost estimate and put it out to bid to potential contractors; she said the fire station would likely take between 10 and 12 months to build.

Ultimately the project would need to be approved by Rockport voters at the polls.

Duke said the board could order the Town Clerk to draft a warrant question at an August meeting for it to potentially be approved in September to appear before voters on the November ballot.

“We’re getting to the point where decisions are going to have to start being made...as far as what we’re going to do from a fire and EMS standpoint,” said Peasley. “We want this to be a long-term building. I don’t want to build a building just to build it and get us in there, and then three years down the road find we need more space an ambulance, another truck or sleeping. So we’re looking at a 50 or 100-year building that will adequately hold what we would need in this town and other towns as well.”

Peasley went before the Select Board for the past few years in an attempt to gain support for upgrades or a rebuild of the West Rockport Fire Station. One of the two fire engines housed at the existing building was built specifically to fit within the engine bays in the structure.

Peasley said that the engines, each of which are 28 feet in length, have approximately two inches of space at their front and rear when they are parked within the bays. He said that the basement in the building floods on a regular basis, a water main at the front of the building is broken and the window sills have rotted.

No decisions on the proposal were made by the board July 12, but the Select Board is expected to revisit the topic next month or in early September.

Rockport Harbor food truck

The Select Board unanimously approved a permit for Must Be Nice Lobster to operate a food truck from Marine Park from July 17 to mid-October, provided the business receives its state food service licensing prior to that time. 

According to the application, the Belfast-based company would serve “lobster and crab rolls, grilled cheeses, salads, drinks and chips.” Hours of business would be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The next meeting of the Rockport Select Board will be held Monday, August 9, at 6 p.m. at the Rockport Opera House.