During the week ending April 16, members of the City met with Maine Senator Angus King regarding the growth the Rockland. The finance department finalized a budget document to be presented to council April 20. A sewer odor was reported along the boardwalk, which is privately owned. Emergency repairs were made to the sludge bay auger at the wastewater treatment facility. Officers did four targeted traffic enforcement details on Main St. to address the ongoing concern of speeding vehicles, and cleanup of City-acquired property has begun.

Read the entire Rockland City Manager’s Report below.

OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER

 Monday is Patriot's Day. City Hall offices will be closed for the holiday.

 Met with Senator Angus King, Chris Rector, Rob Snyder, Island Institute, and Audra Caler-Bell. We discussed issues relating to the city. The Senator was very interested in how several of the Rockland based businesses were doing. He was engaged in the discussion regarding tax shift costs that the city has experienced over the last ten years. The discussion revolved around how the city has had to recognize more infrastructure costs with less state and federal support. It's clear that the burden of these infrastructure costs and less state support has strained the local tax payer. It's great to have the attention of the Senator. Chris Rector is great at making these connections for us.

 I met with representatives from the Municipal Review Committee this week. There is obvious concern from the MRC on the direction that the city will take with MSW

 I participated in the Renew Rockland forum for solid waste and recycling issues. This event was very well prepared and conducted. Renew Rockland deserves a lot of credit for not only recognizing the importance of this topic but seizing the conversation. I feel that that the forum provided great context and contrast on the issues that the city has been analyzing over the last few months.

 Included with this report is my recommendation regarding the direction the city should pursue regarding solid waste and recycling. It is a very complex recommendation because the city should continue to explore more of these issues. Policies, procedures, and analyzing options are needed in more depth but I am suggesting that the City Council decline the agreements presented regarding MRC/Fiberright and pursue contracts with ecomaine

 Through the efforts of Ginny Lindsey and Wanda Harvey the city completed the banking services RFP. The best bid was from First National Bank. They submitted a proposal that offered a 1.25% interest earnings on our account with no fees. This is the type of banking arrangement that the city projected possible through the bidding process. We will make the final arrangements to contract this banking arrangement soon. This contract will increase the earnings on our account by six times and provide a lot of flexibility in liquidity. Thank you Ginny and Wanda for your work on this project.

 The complaints of sewer smell continue to come from the people that use the boardwalk. I met with staff on how the city will continue to work on this issue. The boardwalk and the property adjacent to it are private property. The city may be forced to use enforcement action to rectify the issues here.

 Dave St. Laurent, Public Services Director, and I continued to meet and exchange information with Larry Pritchett, Energy Committee Chairman. We are transitioning the information regarding the Main Street streetlight project to staff for implementation of the project. Things seem to be going well. There are still areas of information that need to be transmitted but the project is projected for implementation in this construction season.

 I worked on the Assistant Harbormaster/Fish Pier Director position. We received six applicants and submitted three to the Personnel Board. Matt Ripley, Harbormaster, and I look forward to filling this position. Matt is working diligently on getting the waterfront ready for the season. He could use the help. He is also taking applications for Dock Stewards right now.

 I finalized the promotion board process for the position of Fire Chief. The promotion board will meet on April 26th, 2016 to consider the candidates.

 I worked with staff to frantically put together the last pieces of the operating budget. Like any dynamic document, a lot comes together at the latest moment. The budget will be presented to the City Council on Wednesday April 20th, 2016 at 5:30. I expect the meeting to take 15-30 minutes.

 I made arrangements to have a special meeting of the City Council on April 25th, 2016 to workshop Ordinance Amendment #10 and #11, grid scale power generation. There is a lot of interest in this subject. My office has answered many calls regarding this impending legislation.

 The Finance Department has received the final audit for FY 2015. We have arranged for the auditors to present the findings on June 6th, 2016. I will make sure the City Council gets their copies promptly for review

OFFICE OF THE FINANCE DIRECTOR

 The week in Finance was busy – as usual.

 The final touches were put on the audited financial statements for the city for the year ended June 30, 2015. In short, the auditors reported several findings where funds were expended before funding was either budgeted or obtained through a grant. The auditor's recommendations are to make sure that funding is in place prior to beginning any project or expending money for equipment or infrastructure improvements.

 In addition, the unassigned fund balance increased somewhat; while expenses exceeded the budget slightly and some UFB funds were used as revenue toward budgeted expenses, revenues came in greater than anticipated. The UFB grew from $1,213,665 as of July 1, 2014 to $1,248,010 at year end June 30, 2015. As a note, the city's policy for the UFB is to maintain 8% of the city's annual budget. For FY 2015 that would have been approximately $1.3 million.

 We've also been working on putting the final touches on the budget document that will be presented to the city council on April 20th. The budget group has been diligently working on preparing a budget that is responsible for the current needs of the city, yet takes a look at infrastructure and capital asset requirements of the future. This year's budget document will look different than what Rockland has seen in the past. The document created is based largely on recommended best practices of the Government Finance Officers Association – GFOA. In preparing the budget document an effort was made to create a document that could be easily read and understood by the general public and persons not normally accustomed to reading financial documents. It is the group's hope that this will be the beginning of a new era in which the public is better informed, the budget process is conducted in a more positive manner; and that current and future needs of city government are considered and carefully contemplated in the best interest of the residents and those who serve the city.

 In earlier reports I indicated that we would be going out to bid for banking services. I'm pleased to report that the city received six proposals for consideration. After review and careful consideration of the proposals received the city manager opted to go with the proposal presented by The First National Bank. The city was able to get a very favorable rate of interest on ALL funds secured by the bank, and on ALL accounts and there will be no fees for any of the services provided by The First National Bank. The increased earnings rate will have a positive effect on the interest earned on city accounts on a monthly basis, and further savings will be enjoyed in not having to pay banking fees. The transition from Camden National Bank to The First National Bank will take place over the next several weeks. Interim finance director Wanda Harvey and the city manager will meet with bank officials next week to begin the transition.

OFFICE OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR

 Public Services staff responded with lightning speed, when I asked if they would be able to remove the last part of the debris from a pruning workshop held here last weekend.

 Keith Drago hosted his last Monday evening Drop-in Tech Help. With Keith's last day on April 15, the drop-in program will be on hiatus for a bit, but we're encouraging patrons to make an appointment for assistance.

 I met with Keith for some "last words" feedback on the Library, his work here, and areas which might be improved.

 Michael Komenecky, Chief Curator for the Farnsworth stopped by, wanting to see the reproduction sculpture of Joan of Arc (in storage). Many of you may know the perhaps apocryphal tale that this statue inspired Louise Nevelson to become a sculptor. Michael offered to suggest someone who might give an estimate to repair this work.

 Catinka Knoth's Children's Art Class drew Japanese cherry blossoms. This was also the theme for the Adult class, though the Cherry Blossom Festival was deed to their project.

 The pinhole photography class began this week with the first two of five sessions; participants were asked to register in advance.

 On Tuesday, the Library welcomed a performance of Quasimodal Chorus & January Men and Then Some, a concert in honor of Poetry Month Rockland. Selections set to music included poetry by Wendell Berry, Magaera Vittum Fitch, Ursula Le Guin, and an Inuit poem.

 Seacoast Security contacted me about the annual smoke test; happily, they will coordinate with the Otis service technician, so the elevator portion of the test can be done simultaneously.

 Library staff had a small surprise breakfast celebration/congratulations/send-off for Keith.

 In keeping with the monthly poetry theme, guest Storytime presenter Judith Andersen sang, read, and chanted many, many poems from the books: Poetry Speaks to Children, by various poets, My Honey Bear Book of Rhymes, compiled by Dorothy Taylor, Treat, by Mary Sullivan, as well as the familiar Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, by Camden's Chris Van Dusen. The craft with Jean Young included rhyming games and a flower to put together using rhyming petals.

 I completed the 360 performance evaluations

 I attended the bi-monthly meeting of the Rockland Public Library Endowment Association Board of Directors.

 As my annual contribution to the Poetry Contest, I coded all the entries so the judging will be blind.

 The annual AARP Tax Aide, free income tax filing assistance, completed their service for the tax year; we are so happy to host this popular and much-needed program.

 The Budget Working Group met to continue discussion on the nearly completed proposed FY17 Budget.

 Jessie Blanchard volunteered to participate in the South School's Literacy Night, representing the Library, and its role, as well as information about the various and many services and resources available from the Library.

 Alexis Iammarino spent some time putting some finishing touches on the background of the mural, in preparation for the mounting of the panels.

 The Thursday evening Arts & Cultural Event was a talk about passive solar houses; Matthew O'Malia, Architect and Principal of GO Logic, a design-build firm located in Belfast explained the benefits and beauty of highly energy-efficient buildings. He discussed their benefit as a sustainable solution for Maine's future. This is one of a series of programs co-sponsored by Maine Boats Homes, & Harbors.

 Ongoing throughout April-- Do You Geocache? Find the Poem! Now until the end of April- Find the geocached poem using these coordinates: Latitude N 44° 6.324, Longitude W 69° 6.727 When you find it, add your name to the notebook, add a line to the poem and leave your thoughts on the poetry within. The completed poem will be displayed in the library. On your mark, get set, go!Ø On Saturday, Jessie hosted the monthly Adult Coloring group.

Upcoming: The "unveiling" and celebration of the RASA/Arts in Action mural at the Rockland Public Library—and Destination Wellness Talk: Slow Down Aging at the Cellular Level

OFFICE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY DIRECTOR

 Completed a Preventive Maintenance (PM) service on the #1 primary clarifier.

 Checked and reset a pump fault alarm at Glenwood Ave. pump station.

Waste oil from servicing equipment was transported to the Public Services garage.

 Crew began PM servicing of the chlorination and de-chlorination mixers. This equipment is set-up each spring to perform chemical treatment that is required between May 15th and October 1st of each year.

 A sewer odor complaint was investigated in the basement of a Pleasant Street property. Found No sign of a sewer back-up into the basement and no blockage in the city sewer in the area was observed. The property owner was advised to contact a plumbing contractor.

 Smoke testing was performed on the city sewer system in the area of Ocean & Water streets. This was done to ensure that all properties in this area are connected to the sewer system. The city is making every effort to assist the owner of 12 Water St. in locating the source of sewage being detected in the ground and in the drainage system on the property.

 Ted Berry Co. was called back to re-seal 2 manholes in Harbor Park that they had repaired in 2015. It was recently discovered that the repairs had failed and seawater infiltration was occurring during high tides.

 Samples were from the storm drain outfall pipe at 12 Water St. and delivered it to the WWTP lab for testing. The results continue to show signs of sewer in the water flowing from this pipe. This Code Enforcement office was informed of the results.

 After hydrocarbons were detected in the plant influent an investigation revealed that Fuel oil had been accidentally released from a building being demolished on Tillson Avenue. The spill was minimal and appeared to be from the removal of the old boiler and empty fuel tanks. The contractor was instructed to disconnect the building from the city sewer before proceeding with demolition.

 Environmental Technicians completed 500 ft. of CCTV inspection of the sewer main on Brewster Street and also completed 1100 ft. of cleaning and inspection of the sewer main in Oliver Woods and on Oliver Street.

 Staff worked with employees from the Dept. of Public Services to excavate and locate the city sewer main at 66 Talbot Ave. and install a manhole. This is a cross property sewer main servicing at least six users that has begun to collapse. The new manhole will allow continued inspection of this pipe so that the necessary repairs can be planned and completed before a complete failure of the main occurs.

 Composite water samples monitored during this week included: Municipal Influent, Aeration Basin Influent, Secondary Effluent, FMC Effluent, CSO Influent, and CSO Effluent.

 The following tests were performed on the above composite samples throughout the week: 36 TSS tests, 26 BOD tests, 10 Nitrate tests, 5 Nitrite tests, 5 Ammonia tests, 5 COD tests and 5 Settleable Solids tests

 Grab samples monitored during this week included: Aeration Basins, Municipal Influent, Primary Effluent, Secondary Effluent

 The following tests were performed on the above grab samples throughout the week: 26 TSS tests, 25 VSS tests, 5 Phosphorous tests, 5 Microscopic evaluations, 18 Settleable Solids tests, 18 pH tests, 17 conductivity tests

 BOD and TSS testing was performed for the community of North Haven.

 Monthly DMR and DEP49 forms filed with the state DEP.

 A CSO event occurred from 4/7 to 4/9 and again on 4/12.

 Average flows through secondary treatment were 3.3MGD

 Maximum flow through CSO structure was 11.8MGD.

 Emergency repairs were made to the sludge bay auger this week by plant staff. Repair parts were manufactured locally both on and off-site. Because the sludge auger lacks redundancy it is a critical piece of operating equipment. Repairs were completed in a short enough time that no upset to plant operation or microbes occurred.

 Two automatic foreclosures will occur today for sewer liens filed on 10/15/14. They are as follows:

 Monize 56 Talbot Avenue

 Rockland Plaza LLC 59 Camden Street

OFFICE OF THE MUNICIPAL FISH PIER DIRECTOR

 No permits were issued this week.

 Commenced working on fresh water supply lines from office building down Journeys End side of fish pier.

 Completed all required performance evaluations.

 Met with the Harbormaster to review administrative operations and the permitted areas that are used for the permits issued.

 Contacted Prock Marine to update proposed pile work, ladders, etc. by completing a new site visit to add to work already proposed with new cost estimate. Prock Marine also will come up with a cost estimate for 10,000 cubic yard of dredged material from around the pier for dumping at sea. All proposed work is to be accomplished winter/fall FY 2017.

 Wright Pierce to update construction cost estimates for the pier resurfacing project.

 The price for lobster is just over $7.00 per pound.

OFFICE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

 We would like to remind businesses that placing anything on the sidewalk, such as a sandwich board sign or tables, requires an annual permit with the Code Office. These applications can be obtained on the City's website, at our office, or by emailing: rocklandcode@ci.rockland.me.us

 We performed three annual license inspections this week for Victualers.Ø Bill attended a 2-day conference on Indoor Air Quality and Energy in Portland this week.

 I attended the regular City Council meeting on Monday evening.

 I assisted the Harbormaster with a database and Arc GIS; programs that are used to run his office for much of Tuesday.

 Inspections at The Navigator are beginning to wrap up and a Certificate of Occupancy will likely be issued in May.

 A Certificate of Occupancy was issued to Salty Waves Hair Salon which will be opening at 394 Old County Road.

 Bill and Roxy attended the Comprehensive Planning Commission meeting on Thursday evening.

 There were two complaints filed this week: one regarding junk and one regarding an unoccupied building with broken windows. Both Bill and I continue to follow up and work on complaint issues within the City.

A building permit was issued for a change of use at 150 Union Street from business to a two-family dwelling.

 A building permit was issued for a mobile home to be placed at 8 Second Street.

 A building permit was issued for a residential 6 foot by 10 foot greenhouse.

 Two Demo permits were issued for one large building that spans two lots on 6 Tea Street and 10 Leland Street, owner Ari Hecht is working on plans for the development of this site.

 Bill and I continue to be busy with various other permits, inspections, and assisting the public with questions.

 The following permits were issued by the Code Office this week:

 5 Building Permits

 5 Plumbing Permits

 1 Electrical Permit

 2 Street Excavation Permits

 1 Driveway Permit

 1 Sidewalk Display Permit

 1 Sign Permit

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE

Officers responded to 217 calls for service. Rockland Police Officers responded to 6 motor vehicle crashes and one animal complaint. Thirty- six (36) traffic stops and traffic violations were conducted. Officers charged or made arrests of 13 individuals for various offenses, to include Burglary, Traffic offenses, Bail violations, Warrants of Arrest, OUI and Probation violations.

Administration 

 Chief Boucher attended the Opiate Addiction forum at City hall this past week.

 Chief Boucher assisted in the coordination of the Next Drug Takeback event to be held on April 30, 2016 from 10 am to 2 pm here at the Police department.Ø Chief Boucher met with representatives from Tideview investigations.

 D/C Young attended the Executive Board Meeting for the Knox County Regional Communications Center. Discussion focused on the switch to digital radio technology, the time frame to switch and the costs associated with switching to digital.

 D/C Young attended the county wide Knox County Regional Communications user group meeting. Topics discussed were digital technology, infrastructure upgrades and frequency usage.

D/C Young conducted the monthly safety audit of the police department. The building is in good repair and no hazards were observed.

D/C Young worked to complete pre-class training in preparation for the International Association of Chiefs of Police training, Leading Police Organizations. This is a three week training program spread out over three months. Participants in the class include command staff from police departments throughout the state.

 D/C Young is working with the Harbormaster to better share resources in order to reduce financial costs of both departments and to work collaboratively when dealing with issues on the water that may involve both departments.

 D/C Young oversaw the drafting and implementation of two policy re-writes. This is part of the ongoing process of updating our policy manual with best practice and/or state mandatory policies.

 Arrested the subject responsible for breaking into the high school.

Continues to work joint investigations with the State Fire Marshall's Office and the Maine Marine Patrol.

 Collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services regarding a possible child abandonment investigation. This situation was resolved by the child being reunified with the parent. No criminal charges are pending.

 Assisted property managers with resources for screening potential tenants.

 Det. Neal met with state representatives of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to discuss changes in the hunter safety curriculum.

 Officer Bagley has been working closely with high school administrators to address concerns of speeding vehicles in the parking lot. Targeted traffic enforcement details are being conducted along with an educational component to address these concerns.

 Sgt. Finnegan taught cadets at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in standardized field sobriety testing.

 Sgt. Finnegan has been appointed to Maine's Drug Recognition Expert Certification Board by the Director of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 Officers responded to mutual aid requests from Thomaston P.D. to assist with shoplifting investigations at Walmart.

 Officers assisted Rockport P.D. regarding an ongoing investigation and the issuance of a summons to a subject that lives in Rockland.

 In response to an email request, Officers did four targeted traffic enforcement details on Main St. to address the ongoing concern of speeding vehicles. As a result of the details, the fastest vehicle observed was going 5 miles an hour over the posted speed limit.

Officers conducted several traffic enforcement details at various locations throughout the city to include school zones. The focuses of these details were speed, seatbelt usage and distracted driving.

 Officers conducted visits at all schools in Rockland to interact with students and address any concerns by staff.

C.I.D.

Patrol Division

 Officer Bagley assisted parents with the installation of child safety seats. Officer Bagley is certified by the state to perform this task.

OFFICE OF THE HARBORMASTER

 Attended Port safety forum in Belfast, great information on Coast Guard initiatives and the cruise line schedules.

 Float maintenance and boat maintenance is almost complete.

 Met with Belfast Harbormaster, always great information.

 Porta Potties are in at Snow Marine Park and the Public landing.

 Ongoing meetings with the engineering firm for the future public landing.

 Reviewed all applications for Assistant Harbormaster.

OFFICE OF THE CITY ASSESSOR

 We have received about 350 business personal property declaration forms. Dawn has processed about 170. If you have not filed, the deadline was April 15 but please reach out to us for an extension. Many have BETE applications which while exempting them from paying business personal property tax due from their declaration; it helps the city as we get reimbursed from the State for a portion of the exempted tax. To see if your business type qualifies for BETE, go to: maine.gov/revenue/propertytax/propertytaxbenefits/bete.htm

Great for businesses and great for the city!

 I went out to several properties this week to take photos and speak with tax payers about why they thought their property was over assessed. I also met some of the most wonderful four legged fur babies we have in the city. Hi to Dolce and this lovely retriever, whose name escapes me right this second.

 Exemptions, Exemptions: Answered several homestead and veterans exemption questions from tax payers.

 I have received many calls and drop ins about property assessments. I am happy to speak to taxpayers. Please call ahead and make an appointment--as I may be out in Rockland. I don't want to miss you.

Dennis came in this week. We worked on the last of the abatement requests. All abatements have now been addressed and responses sent.

We processed Deed Transfers from December.

 CMAAO TAX SCHOOL I am a presenter at this tax school and have been working on my presentation showing assessors how much mortgage application and approval is affected by what is on our assessments and how vital that our records are accurate.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR

 Continued repair of roadside lawn damage.

 We have begun cleanup of the city acquired property located on Rockland Street.

 The sub floor in the men's bathroom at the Community/Recreation building in front of the showers has deteriorated to the point where replacement is needed. The subfloor has been replaced in preparation for new flooring.

 Continued sweeping city streets.

 Weekly trash pick-up and roadside litter was completed.

Washed City sand trucks.

 Installed new basin and investigated sewer line break on Talbot Ave, in conjunction with the wastewater treatment plant.

 Continued work on the dewatering grit pad that will be used in conjunction with storm water basin cleaning.

 Continued assisting Harbormaster with the repair of waterfront floats.

 Continued ongoing park raking and cleanup.

Removed window glass on MV and replaced gasket seal.

Replaced rocker switch for MV broom rotation.

 Worked on rear brakes on truck 21.

Changed brooms on street sweeper 29.

 Replaced four hydraulic hoses that were chafing on the sidewalk broom.

 Replaced hydraulic hose on recycle building skid steer.

Repaired sidewalk sweeper antifreeze leak.

 Fabricated parts for Harbormaster to be used on waterfront floats.

 Replaced wheel bearings on truck 21.

 Worked with the recycling attendant to develop a more efficient work process.

 Employees completed all 360 evaluations.

Work on Solid Waste Annual Report continues.

 Submitted Wastewater pretreatment report.

With the assistance of John Root we are developing a spring cleanup work schedule that divides the City into 4 work zones so that we can more efficiently communicate when we will be in a specific area for collection. Each zone will have a dedicated week in which pick up will occur.

 Landfill activity has been quite heavy with some in-town demolition projects occurring as well as the OCR waste material being used to fill the extreme north end of the landfill.

 Attended budget working group meeting.

 Ordered new landfill Q2S pump.The second weekly construction meeting was held Thursday 4/14/16. Currently we are on target for all tasks outlined with the master schedule and the aggressive August 8th completion date. Currently we have excavated 6,219 cubic yards of material, installed 634 linear feet of underdrain, 3 basins and removed 110 cubic yards of ledge.

Crooker Construction continues with underdrain installation between Limerock and Talbot Street. An additional basin will be added outside the northwest corner of the quarry landfill to provide closed landfill stormwater outfall options.

Old County Road Reconstruction

A continued public awareness notice for the Old County Road job:

We ask that Rockland residents refrain from using the Pleasant Street entrance to the Transfer Station. A lot of material, trucks and equipment are active and there is no room for thru traffic. Please enter and exit from Limerock Street when you visit the Transfer Station.

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

I'm continuing to write the narrative for the budget. I'm focusing on communicating all significant changes in a manner that is clear and easy to follow.

I participated on the Midcoast Economic Development District's committee to review community & economic development projects and prioritize them according to their significance to the region. The panel is very supportive of Rockland's project to upgrade our Fish Pier – this was easily one of the highest priorities for the Midcoast Region. The committee was also very interested in any potential project to increase the availability of high speed fiber to the premise.

I worked with our Brownfields environmental consultant on eligibility requests for including the Rockland Street properties in the Brownfields Program. We should have a decision from DEP and EPA next week.

I have advertised a request for proposals for an environmental consultant for our FY16 Brownfields Grant.

I am working with Ransom consulting and MRLD Landscape Architecture & Urbanism (who completed the 2011 Waterfront Redevelopment Plan) to conduct an economic analysis on 65 Tillson Ave (Redlon & Johnson site) to determine the market potential of that property being divided as per the redevelopment plan and to do the necessary civil engineering to determine the road alignment along 65 Tillson Ave. MRLD will also provide suggested changes to the Tillson Ave Overlay Zone to ensure the design intent is reflected in the language of the ordinance.

The Harbor Trail Committee had a meeting this week where we discussed kicking off a capital campaign to raise funds for construction, signage and beautification of the trail.

I am working to finalize a CDBG Economic Development Grant for Rock City Roasters.

I joined the City Manager, Rob Snyder from the Island Institute and Chris Rector for lunch with Senator King. The Senator was very excited about Rockland's development potential and understanding of many of the challenges the City is facing. He is very keen to support our application to the EDA to upgrade the Fish Pier. I have also been invited to discuss economic development in Rockland with Senator King's economic policy advisor.