BELFAST — The Belfast City Council will hold its regularly scheduled public meeting Tuesday evening, May 16, at 7 p.m., to address topics that include Wight Street infrastructure, a new dental clinic in Belfast, adding canopies to downtown, and a waterfront display all about sturgeon, among others. 

The Council will hear a request to accept and award bids for the Wight Street Infrastructure Improvement Project, with Nitram Excavation, of Benton, placing the lowest bid for base work at $2,062,000.

Nitram Excavation’s alternate bid for extension of the sanitary sewer on Congress Street was $64,280. According to Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s pre-meeting report, both are fair market value for the project and what had been estimated for its expected cost. 

References from those who have used Nitram Excavation for road-related projects and all provided a positive recommendation. Olver Associates Inc. has also worked Nitram Excavation before on projects and are reportedly, “confident in their ability to successfully complete this project and have no concerns with their performance,” according to Herbig’s pre-meeting report. 

Once the contract has been awarded, Olver Associates Inc. will work with Nitram to solidify a schedule, which will be shared with residents, City staff, and the City Council once the schedule is finalized. The group are hopeful that they will be able to start work on drainage this season, with road work to occur in 2024. Herbig notes that the schedule will be dependent on the availability of materials and weather conditions. 

Mandy Holway, the vice president and construction service manager at Olver Associates Inc. will attend the meeting to answer any questions. 

A presentation from Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge is another item on the Council agenda. The presentation will be regarding the submission of an application to the Community Development Block Grant Public Service Grant Program on behalf of Penobscot Community Health Center.

PCHC is the largest federally qualified health center in Maine and northern New England, and the recent purchaser of the Stag Campus in Belfast, formerly home to MBNA, request funding through the Community Development Block Grant Services Grant Program, according to Herbig’s report. 

The CDBGP can award grants of up to $50,000. The funds can be used for activities “including but not limited to, operating and programming material expenses for the purpose of providing workforce training and skills development, childcare, health care, recreation programs, education programs, public safety services, fair housing activities, senior citizen services, homeless services, or drug abuse/mental health counseling and treatment,” according to Herbig’s report. 

Though the grant has no requirement to match funds, it is stipulated that at least 51 percent of the people receiving benefits are those with low to moderate income. 

The deadline for submission is May 26. 

A public hearing regarding the submission of an application to the Community Development Block Grant Public Service Grant Program on behalf of the Penobscot Community Health Center will also take place at Tuesday’s meeting. 

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and will include discussion regarding the application being submitted. According to Herbig’s report, the purpose of the application is to provide financial assistance to PCHC to allow them to purchase furniture, fixtures, and/or equipment for a new dental clinic in Belfast. 

All persons wishing to make comments or ask questions about the grant application are invited to attend the public hearing. Comments can also be submitted in writing to Thomas Kittreder, Economic Development Director for the City of Belfast, Belfast City Hall, at 131 Church Street, Belfast. Comments can also be emailed to Kittredge at economicdevelopment@cityofbelfast.org at any time prior to the hearing. Those requiring TDD/TTY users can call 711. Anyone who is physically unable to access any of the City’s programs and services can contact Kittredege at 338-3379, ext. 116, to allow for accommodations to be made. 

All interested parties are invited to participate in the public hearing and will be given and opportunity to be heard, and any written or emailed comments or questions will be read aloud at the meeting by Kettridge. 

A discussion and possible vote regarding the submission of an application to the Commity Health Development Block Grant Public Service Grant Program on behalf of PCHC will also take place at Tuesday’s meeting. 

If approved by the Council, City staff is requesting that a motion be made to authorize the submission of an application to the Community Development Block Grant Public Service Program on behalf of PCH; and authorize City Manager Erin Herbig to sign any documents related and necessary to the submission of the application. 

The Council is also being asked to accept the 2023 Project Canopy Assistance Grant. According to Herbig’s report, In March City Councilor Mike Hurley, along with assistance from City staff, applied for a Project Canopy Planting and Maintenance Grant for $10,000 with a 50/50 match from the City with the plan. If awarded, the grant would be used to plant new tree canopies along the City of Belfast Rail Trail and in downtown Belfast. 

The Council authorized an expenditure of $5,000 at the Nov. 1 Council meeting, for the purchase of new trees along outer High Street, where the Belfast Rail Trail is adjacent and exposed to the road.

“By implementing this new canopy, the City hopes to add protection to pedestrians who are utilizing the Trail, as well as to help insulate the trail from vehicles, noise, salt and plowing, making the Trail safer and more user friendly. Although the trees were purchased outside of the grant contract window, the project was placed on hold until Spring 2023 due to the need for additional resources and planning that would be required for a successful project,” Herbig’s report reads. 

The City has additionally identified seven downtown locations where trees reportedly need to be replaced, or the addition of a canopy would be beneficial. It is noted in Herbig’s report that the addition of the trees will make a direct positive impact on both the community and visitors. The project is “an integral component in the City’s decades-long program of community forestry that has encouraged Belfast to plant and protect as many trees as possible street side, in parks, at schools, along major roads, and throughout the downtown area. 

The City of Belfast was awarded $10,000 last week, under the Project Canopy Assistance Program through the U.S.D.A. Forest Service Urban Community Forestry Program for a street tree inventory and Care Project. If approved by the Council, the City will be required to match the award. City staff are asking the Council to accept the grant and required 50/50 match, and to authorize City Manager Herbig to sign the agreement and general assurances with the Maine Forest Services. 

Local artist David Hurley has submitted a request to the Council for funding of up to $1,000 to create and install a display panel next to the Harbor Walk, on the left-hand corner of Heritage Park, according to Herbig’s report. If approved, the panel would correlate with the 32-foot mural of a sturgeon that Hurley is currently painting along on the front of the former Consumer Fuel building, which is now owned by Paul Narron. The wall faces the waterfront and walking trail. 

The panel would reportedly include scientific information about sturgeon, the common name for the 28 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae, as well as cultural information about the name Passagassawakeag; the name is a Maliseet word meaning “place for spearing sturgeon by torchlight,” according to David Hurley’s request. The panel would also feature a link for more information and history about the Penobscot nation. 

The funds requested would cover the panel cost, including graphic design, materials, and installation. It is noted in the request that the request was not budgeted in this year’s budget, and therefore if approved, would need to come from funding from the Undesignated Fund Balance. 

A complete agenda and supporting materials are available to view in full on the City website.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com