Rockport’s Town Manager William Post issued his Jan. 13 report in advance of the Select Board meeting Jan. 13. In it, he updated the town on several projects, including the planning for a new West Rockport Fire Station, upgrading the Walker Park Seawall, and sending out foreclosure notices for nonpayment of 2017 property taxes. The full report follows:

EMT Training
Five current Rockport firefighters have volunteered to attend the EMT training beginning in February. The cost for this training is $4,975 ($995.00 each) and will be paid by the Town from the Fire Department operating accounts. In addition, two Rockport Police Officers have volunteered to attend the training. Their training will be paid from the Police Department reserve and operating accounts. However, we are applying for a workforce grant that may cover some of the costs for this training. I am very pleased that these seven individuals have stepped up for this training.

MMTCTA Certification
Finance Director Megan Brackett was approved by the Maine Municipal Tax Collectors and Treasurers’ Association as a certified Treasurer. This certification process required many hours of training in a number of courses related to her duties. She will be recognized at the MMTCTA Annual Conference. This certification may also entitle the Town to a discount of its public official’s liability insurance.

Mainely Lobster Lease
The lease agreement with Mainely Lobster at the harbor expired December 31, 2019. In preparation for the renewal negotiations, the Harbor Committee provided some thoughts on the lease and Harbormaster Abbie Leonard and I negotiated a new five-year lease agreement with Mainely Lobster. The new lease has Mainely Lobster paying for the dumpster rental which saves the Town approximately $2,200 per year and the lease payment increases $2,100 in the first year and then $200 each year thereafter.

Officer Poole
Officer Jonathan Poole was on the waiting list for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for next summer or fall. On December 31st, he was notified of an open spot and reported to the Academy for his 18 weeks of training.

Walker Park Seawall
After meeting with the abutting landowner, we decided to direct Gartley & Dorsky to submit this project out to bid. The bid documents will include directions for bidders to provide a cost to complete the project for both properties (Town’s and private abutter) at the same time, and an alternate to provide costs if the Town completes the section of seawall along Walker Park at a later date. This will allow us to see what the costs are for the project and what savings there may be if the project is constructed together with the abutter. Once we have bids, I will update the Board.

West Rockport Fire Station
At the Board’s February 10 meeting, Architect Amanda Roberson Austin of 2A Architects will present a proposal for schematic design for the West Rockport Fire Station. At that meeting we will lay out the process and timeline as well as expected tasks associated with the design.

Payment in Lieu of Taxes
The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship provided a payment in lieu of taxes in the amount of $6,000 on December 30, 2020.

LED Streetlight Project
I have received the Investment Grade Audit (IGA) from Realterm Energy and am in the process of reviewing it. I signed the purchase and sale agreement with Central Maine Power for acquiring the streetlights in December. I am awaiting CMP’s action on that agreement. Once they have signed it, the Town will own the streetlights. I intend on using the savings from no longer leasing the streetlights to make some repairs to streetlights that have been ignored by CMP.

Wastewater Inflow and Infiltration Analysis
Woodard & Curran provided a memorandum in regard to the Sewer Inflow Survey. I have included that in your materials for your information.

Dark Fiber Contract(s)
After several revisions, the contract between the Town and LCI for leasing the Town’s dark fiber is nearing completion. I expect this to be on the Board’s agenda for approval in the near future.

Tax Lien Foreclosure Notices
Notices of impending automatic foreclosure for unpaid 2017 property taxes were mailed on January 3. There are 24 properties and 5 timeshares that have outstanding taxes for 2017. The owners have until February 7 at 5:00 p.m. to pay their 2017 taxes. After the deadline, the property owners must pay their 2017, 2018 and first half of 2019 taxes in order to avoid foreclosure by the Town. For comparison, last year the were 21 properties and 4 time shares that were sent the notices.