ROCKLAND —Rockland City Council honored two city employees for their service and dedication to the city April 8 at City Hall. Retiring Rockland City Police Officer James Jillson was commended and congratulated for 33 years of service (1980 to 2013) to the city with a plaque and certificate. Numerous fellow officers were at the ceremony to congratulate Jillson.

Councilor Eric Hebert bestowed a gracious thank you to Jillson.

“I can’t ever remember a time when he wasn’t a police officer," he said. "I hold him in the highest regard as a police officer, a neighbor and a friend.”

Laurie Smith, of the city’s finance department, was also commended for 20 years of service to the city with a plaque and commendation. Smith is not retiring and was recognized for her dedicated service to the city. 

“What’s so nice about the city of Rockland is that people work here a long time and you get to know them," said Councilor Elizabeth Dickerson. "It’s like a family and anybody who puts in that kind of time is special.”

The issue of the restoration of two Civil War siege howitzers was settled with a unanimous vote, allowing O’Hara Corporation of Rockland to restore two Civil War cannons currently sitting in the city’s impound lot. O’Hara is donating 100 percent of time and materials toward the restoration.

The original resolve was to allow the city to spend up to $19,000 on the restoration project. An original bid for $18,500 and would have drained the fund for preservation of Civil War Artifacts. Ann Morris, of the city’s Historical Society, urged the council to find an alternate way to restore the cannons and went so far as to contact local corporations about donating their time, which led to O’Hara.

The city approved $6,400 to be used to construct steel bases with shields for the cannons to sit on. Originally designated to be granite, Councilor Larry Pritchett was against the idea, stating the stone bases would be detrimental to the lasting preservation of the cannons. The council agreed and the resolve was further amended to allow Lyman-Morse of Thomaston to build the bases and shields. Total cost to the city is $6,400. (The photo of the cannon is not of the ones owned by the city of Rockland. It is shown only to exemplify what the bases and shields would look like on the restored howitzers).

Mayor Will Clayton asked for the public’s help with two items. The first was for the public to attend an open format meeting for all the city’s boards and commissions on April 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Recreation Hall. The purpose is to fill vacancies on the boards, “of which there are numerous,” said Clayton.

“There are no speakers,” said Clayton, “just a table discussion with the different boards about what they do. It’s a great way for anyone who has thought about serving on a board to get an idea of what they’re all about.”

The second plea to the public came as a request for volunteers to help clean up the beach. Clayton said the goal was to get 100 volunteers for the May 25 date. There is no rain date scheduled and it will happen come rain or shine from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

“The city will organize dump trucks, whatever we need to haul away debris," he said. "We’re also looking for a sponsor so the volunteers can have T-shirts. The sponsor would need to put up $400 to $500, but their logo will be on the shirts. You can email me, williamclayton79@gmail.com, to sign up a group or just yourself.”

 As part of the City Manager’s report, James Smith updated counselors on the proposed paving of Main Street in downtown Rockland by the Maine Department of Transportation. Councilor Dickerson raised concerns regarding the new curbs and crosswalks the city had just installed and questioned how the DOT would be dealing with them.

“The curbs and crosswalks will not be removed,” said Smith. “A protective layer is to be placed over them and the DOT will grind away the old surface up to their edge. It’s a much better deal for us because we get a new road instead of just patchwork.”

Councilor Pritchett said the work will go from Sunday evening through Thursdays and is not scheduled to begin until 8:30 at night for minimal impact on downtown traffic.