BELFAST — Belfast City Council will meet Tuesday, Feb. 6, for their regularly scheduled meeting. Agenda items on Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s pre-meeting report include include a proposal for a taxicab business, flood and hazard mitigation funding, Hutchinson Center, and the upcoming Ice Festival, among others. 

The first item on Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s pre-meeting report is a request from Anthony Frank relating to a potential taxicab business serving Belfast. Frank is requesting the Council to approve his application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Frank would be doing business as Belfast Bay Taxi. It is noted in Herbig’s report that the request is an exciting one for Belfast, whose community members have often expressed a desire for the service.  

The certification process is a new one for the City, with Herbig writing that she thought it important to include the issue on the regular Council agenda as a way to explain what the City process is to operate a taxicab business, and as a way of introducing the owner to the Council and the public. 

The process guidelines for a taxicab business in Belfast are outlined in the City’s Ordinances under Chapter 14 Businesses, Article V Taxicabs. The first step in the process is Frank's request for the certificate of public convenience and necessity to be approved. 

The application itself will set forth a number of things, including:

1. The name and address of the applicant;
2. The number of taxicabs actually owned and the number of taxicabs actually operated in the City by such owner on the date of application, if any;
3. The number of taxicabs for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is desired;
4. A description of the color scheme, insignia, or other identifying design for the applicant’s proposed taxicabs, including a lighted roof sign identifying each vehicle as a taxicab;
5. Such other information as the City council may, in its discretion, require; and
6. A nonrefundable fee as established by the City Council. 

Following approval, the City council will then conduct a public hearing within 30 days of receipt by the City clerk of the completed application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity. The public hearing is scheduled to take place at the regular City council meeting Feb. 20. If approved the certificate issued would be effective for five years. 

Additional information about this agenda item is available to view in Herbig’s full pre-meeting report. 

The Council will also review a request to approve use of a City facility for the annual Ice Festival and Carving Championship, which is scheduled to take place Feb. 23-25. It is expected there will be between 12 to 20 ice sculptures on display from Post Office Square to the waterfront, and along High Street and Front Street. 

This year Our Town Belfast is requesting closure of Main Street from Washington to Front Street, on Saturday, Feb. 24, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., which requires Council authorization. The purpose of the closure is reportedly to allow for an expanded State of Maine Ice Carving Championship, with 10 additional sculptures, and to create a safe space for the public to enjoy the festivities. 

Elsewhere on the agenda is a request from Deputy Economic Development Director Joellyn Warren to allow the submission of a request for flood mitigation assistance grant funding to hire a consultant to support the City of Belfast Hazard Mitigation Plan. 

According to Herbig’s report, the City has applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant funding to hire a consultant to support the creation of a City specific Hazard Mitigation Plan. State Officials with the Maine Emergency Management Agency have reportedly encouraged the City to apply for grant funding from FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance fund in the unlikely event that BRIC funds are not awarded. Both support the creation of hazard mitigation plans, the first step to getting mitigation projects funded. 

“State MEMA staff is assisting City staff in the development of the FMA grant, which is due Feb. 29, 2024. Applying to both grant programs does not create a conflict with FEMA BRIC, but rather protects the City’s chances for receiving funding for this planning. If the City is awarded BRIC funds, the City Council can decide to decline FMA grant funds or vice versa. The timeline for awards is the same. Awards are anticipated to be announced late summer/early fall 2024. The amount of the FMA grant request is the same as the BRIC request, $30,000 with a City in-kind match of $10,000 of staff and committee time.” 

Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge is requesting the Council authorize the acceptance of a Community Development Block Grant Public Service Program Grant. 

The City was awarded a $50,000 CDBG Public Service Program Grant on behalf of the Penobscot Community Health Center. Before the funds can be utilized by PCHC, the City must complete the project development phase for this grant. One of the requirements for this phase is to secure approval from the relevant legislative body. In this case, the Belfast City Council through resolution. 

The last item on Herbig’s agenda is Council approval of a proclamation regarding the future of the Hutchinson Center. 

“The Hutchinson Center Steering Committee is expecting to submit a request for proposals to the University of Maine to secure the Hutchinson Center for the benefit of the Belfast and Midcoast Maine community at large. As part of their proposal the City Council has provided a Council Proclamation regarding their support for the transfer and ownership of the Hutchinson Center from the University of Maine to the City of Belfast, working in partnership with the future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee to develop a long term 501(c)3 ownership and management structure.” 

Additional information and Herbig’s entire pre-meeting report are available for review.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com