The following report was submitted to the Rockport Select Board in advance of its March 21 regularly scheduled meeting. Town Manager Jon Duke commented on a variety of municipal developments and issues.

The report follows:

Due to changes with U.S. CDC guidance concerning mask requirements, all town buildings are now mask optional. This change is an adjustment after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, but our staff and residents have adjusted quite well to this change. We will continue to follow the directives and guidance as conditions warrant, but at least for the moment, it appears the health of our community is such that we can support such a change.

Additionally, group settings such as committee meetings or programming at the library are once again able to occur. We have made a series of strides technologically to allow for “hybrid” meetings in the Parker Room at the Opera House where meeting participants can be in person or remotely via technology such as Zoom. While the preference is for meetings to occur in-person, the flexibility this provides committees to involve members or participants who are out of the area to stay engaged regardless of their location. In 2022, balancing the needs of open meeting laws and how residents of community work is critical.

Our committees have been tasked with establishing work plans for the coming year which outline the focus for their efforts. The Select Board will review each work plan, adjust where needed to ensure the committee’s work encompasses the needs of the Select Board, and finally adopt the plan to provide a road map for the committee’s work over the next year.

FEMA

Following President Biden approving of a federal disaster declaration, the Town of Rockport will be eligible to receive reimbursement for damages inflicted to our roads due to the October 31st storm event. Town officials will be working with FEMA to supply the necessary documentation to receive full reimbursement to cover damages such as the Robinson Drive entrance and a series of issues on Mount Pleasant Road.

Assessing

Revised valuation letters should be circulated soon to Rockport residents. Assessor Kerry Leichtman has been out of the office due to knee surgery, but thankfully his recovery has been incredibly quick, and he will be working with our contractor, KRT Associates, to assist residents with questions concerning these new values.

In addition, Kerry has accepted a position with the Town of Camden to serve as their full-time assessor starting July 1. Presently Camden and Rockport have an agreement to share the position 50/50, which is funded accordingly. Camden has pledged they wish to see the agreement continue with Rockport contracting with Camden to attain assessing services. Obviously, we are in the midst of the annual budget process where many of these details will be worked out.

For those concerned with pressures related to increasing values impacting their ability to remain in their homes, the state has a new tax deferral program which may be of some benefit. This program allows residents to apply to the state to enter into the program, and if included, the state will pay the local property taxes until such time as the property is sold or transferred, at which time the state would seek payment from the estate. For more details contact the Town’s assessing office, who can assist our residents in applying for this program.

Town Clerk

Elections

Nominations papers available on March 7 and due back April 15.

Openings

3-year term Select Board – Denise Munger
3-year term Budget Committee – Jeffrey Charland, Geoffrey Parker, and Mark Kelley 3-year term for Library Committee – William Chapman, and Stephanie Kumble 3-year term for Director of SAD #28 – Brieanna Gutierrez

Foreclosure notices were sent out last month for those with unpaid taxes from 2020. Effectively, state law provides a property owner 18 months to pay in full from the time a lien is placed on a property for unpaid property taxes. Thankfully, the vast majority of these notice concern time share units at the Samoset, but we are working with homeowners to try to avoid foreclosure from affecting them.

Fire Department

Despite a slower time of year for car accidents, our fire department has been quite involved with accidents over the past month.

Chief Peasley is working on maintenance needs around the public safety building, including the installation of 32 4’ LED lights and replacing an exterior door.

Harbor

Harbormaster Abbie Leonard is beginning her preparations for the boating season by working with contractors to complete a replacement of the roof on the Harbormaster’s building and investigating options for float replacement.

A new webcam will be installed soon onto the Harbormaster’s building which will provide anyone on the internet a live view of Rockport Harbor. The more that we can open our doors to avenues like this, the more we can share our harbor with the world.

In Lieu of Taxes

With much gratitude, we received a payment in lieu of taxes from Coastal Mountains Land Trust in the amount of $750 to account for the services we provide their programs despite the tax- exempt nature of their efforts.

Library

Library Director Ben Blackmon has been working with the Library Committee to review policies to ensure our current policies work within the setting the new library provides.

In programming news, with the changes in COVID rules, we are able to restart kids programing and story walks to the harbor. Also, the library is establishing a community cookbook and they are looking for recipes. Residents who would like to take part in the cookbook should contact library staff for more information.

Opera House

Opera House Booking Agents Nancy Albertson and Kari Luehman are working to book events and acts in the Opera House. Kari is working with Harbormaster Abbie Leonard and the Parks and Beautification Committee to support a summer concert series with Happenings on the Harbor that utilizes the Marine Park, Mary Lea Park, and the Opera House.

We are hoping to book more events at the Opera House this summer like the wedding booked last week. Revising the fee schedule last month following action by the Select Board should be helpful in ensuring we are accessible for all those who wish to book their event.

Planning

The RES Survey has completed, and we will hold a pair of public meetings to share the results of the survey and provide feedback on those results. This initial meeting will be followed by meetings with stakeholder groups with specific expertise to provide in shaping the future of property.

Lastly, the second public meeting will be the opportunity for residents to provide feedback on proposals generated from the public process. At last count we have received almost four hundred responses to the survey and the thoughtful manner so many residents have tackled this concept should help greatly in finding a path forward.

The Planning and Codes Department recently circulated an advertisement for a new full time administrative assistant who will assist the planner/development director and the code officer. With some of the changes forthcoming in this department, this position is in an excellent vantage point to reset the structure and processes in place and assist our residents as they improve and develop their properties. For more information, please contact Planner Orion Thomas.

Police Department

Our Police Department has been actively engaged in a missing persons search over the last few weeks. Jared Paradee was last seen at Rockport Suites on February 19. Those with any information concerning his whereabouts should contact the Rockport Police Department.

Our officers have been conducting a speed detail on Pascal Avenue over the last couple of weeks. Motorists should take particular attention to their speed as judging by the number of tickets written in this neighborhood, many are unaware of the speed they are traveling.

Public Works

Plowing and sanding has been a frequent activity for our public works department with a busy February/early March, but as the calendar turns into mid-March, pothole season begins so the crew will be filling those holes. All of the town’s roads are posted at the moment, but those with vehicles over the weight limit should reach out to the Public Works garage for assistance. We try to limit damage to roads in this incredibly tenuous time for roads, but we also want to accommodate where we can avoid weight limits being an unbearable burden for any property owner.

With assistance from Planner Orion Thomas, the Town was awarded by Maine DEP two grants totaling a combined $250,000 to replace a pair of culverts in West Rockport. One, gained great notoriety, as the culvert which was washed out at the intersection of Robinson Drive and Route 90.

The other, Rockport residents are somewhat familiar with, sits in the midst of the swamp that is West Street Extension.

In early February, Aaron Annis was hired to fill a vacancy in public works as a full-time employee. Aaron is a long time Rockport resident, and we are so glad to have him join the team.

Recreation Committee

With spring around the corner, Five Town Little League softball and baseball fields are filling up fast for the spring. If you want to schedule the use of a field, email rockportrec@rockportmaine.gov.

Safety

Representatives from the Bureau of Labor Standards’ Safety Works division visited two weeks ago to inspect town records and buildings as part of our effort to remain in the SHAPE program. SHAPE is the highest level of workplace safety in the state of Maine for public entities like town and city government. Proudly, I can state we passed our inspection with flying colors with only a handful of items suggested to improve our ability to keep our employees safe.

Our involvement in the SHAPE program provides the Town with preferential insurance and workers compensation rates, which in turn saves our taxpayers. Many thanks to Diane Hamilton, the chair of our safety committee, who works incredibly hard to assist our department heads and staff to keep every safe.

The Town received $4,713.27 from three Maine Municipal Safety Enhancement Grants, toward security cameras and fire department safety gear.