ROCKLAND — Rockland City Council members during their regular meeting October 12, at City Hall, commended Public Services Director David St. Laurent and Assistant Director Christopher Donlin for their role in the now completed Old County Road Repair Project. The two were presented with a plaque in appreciation of their services to the city.

In addition, council expressed its thanks to Gartley and Dorsky Engineering and Crooker Construction Company for the expertise and performance of their respective duties to bring the project to a successful conclusion.

"I just want to say what a great job you did; on time and on budget," said Councilor Valli Geiger. "I haven't seen a major road project like that go so smoothly in a long time and I think that says a lot about the public works department and its leadership."

Councilor Adam Akor added his thanks from the perspective of a resident of Old County Road.

"As a resident of Old County Road I lived through that project," he said. "I felt like everybody just went about their business in such a professional, proficient manner."

Councilor Will Clayton said: "I agree wholeheartedly. Councilor Prichett used the word capabilities and that's the best word I can think of because it goes to show what this city and mainly within the department can do when given the ability to do it and we did. It's a fantastic job and I haven't heard one bad peep about it and that's a pretty good thing in this town."

Councilors not happy with renovation permit request

In other business, Bob Liberty of the Trade Winds Inn, 2 Park Drive in Rockland, came before council and asked for a 30 day extension on his lodging license application. He was representing his son and daughter who are undergoing an extensive renovation project on the property.

The application is set to expire on October 15, and is already a 30 day extension from the September 12, council meeting. If extended the license application will expire on November 15, one day after the next scheduled meeting.

Despite statements from Assistant Fire Chief Adam Miceli and Code Enforcement Officer John Root, Councilor Valli Geiger saw it a different way.

"I have trouble with this request," she said. "Mr. Liberty for reasons of your own you chose to go on a television program where you showed that you had a big disregard for safety and Rockland code. You laughed on TV about how you were able to thwart those codes. Frankly, I have trouble extending a 30-day extension for you to meet basic safety rules. You embarrassed the city nationally. I heard from more constituents then I can count. I'm not inclined to do anything extra for you."

Councilor Larry Pritchett said he would not have proposed a postponement unless it could be determined if they were compliant or not compliant.

"I certainly expect the license to be compliant by November 14, or I simply will not be proposing to extend it," he said.

Four councilors voted in favor of extending the license extension request, with Geiger opposing it.

City contracts with Portland law firm

The council voted 5-0 to contract with the Portland law firm of Bernstein Shur for legal services to the city. Services were sought because of the departure of then city attorney Kevin Beal at the end of September.

Four law firms presented themselves to the council September 12, all pitching their services for the job.

Councilor Clayton summed up the presentations: “Personally I thought Bernstein Shur was the strongest. You look for not just at the conversation, but the outlying things. Anytime someone comes with a force of people, which they did, it makes you feel relieved. It wasn't just four people coming to the table. Earlier we saw two people come to the table and just one person spoke pretty much the whole time."

Clayton said Bernstein Shur brought four people for four reasons.

"Every single one of them came and mentioned the field they were in and their expertise," he said. When somebody says that's not my area of expertise, I'm going to defer to someone else, that's fantastic. I like that. We have worked with them before. I liked the direction they provided us."

The council voted 5-0 in favor of Bernstein Shur and set aside an amount not to exceed $50,000 through June 30, 2017 for their services.