Mon, 06/27/2016 - 4:30pm

During the week ending June 24, the Rockland city manager announced his resignation. A new process for leaving recyclables at the transfer station has been initiated. The fire department opened a fire truck for kids to climb inside during the Summer Solstice street party. Members of the police gave popsicles to some kids in the South End. The library free breakfast and lunch summer program for children and their adults has begun. The finance department held interviews for the position of finance clerk, and City preparations for the annual Lobster Festival are in the works.

Read the entire Rockland City Manager’s Report below.

OFFICE OF THE FINANCE DIRECTOR

 Another week has come and gone in the world of finance.

 Kara is working on all payroll related changes for the new fiscal year. With the new fiscal year, comes with it updates to all information related to the Union Contracts. This includes wages, retirement, and insurance deductions to name a few.

 The Personnel Board, Stuart, Audra, and myself held interviews for the Finance Clerk position this week. The individual will serve mostly in the Clerk’s office, with part of their duties being back-up to the Payroll Specialist and Payables Specialist. Second interviews will be held next week.

 Our Payables Specialist Laurie and I are working on ways to be more efficient in the process of payables. Invoices that are approved by department heads will be entered and posted daily. This will enable Department Heads to get real time numbers on their budgets throughout the year. The prior method included only entering invoices when batches were created for payment. With only running payables twice per month, the prior method was not working any longer.

 With the budget complete and waiting on the final vote on Monday evening; I have been catching up on all that has been pushed aside during that process.

This includes journal entries as well as monthly reconciliations. I am working on the City’s reserve accounts for end of year as well. This has consumed most of my time this week.

 I must say that I was saddened to see the resignation letter from our City Manager James Chaousis. Jim is a forward thinker and I feel has moved the City in a more positive direction. His management foresight was just what the City needed.

While I understand his position and need to move on; I am dismayed at why the City is unable to retain City Managers. This is something that I hope the Council will look at closely. In closing I want to thank the City Manager for his service to the City of Rockland.

 I hope everyone is able to enjoy the weekend’s sunshine.

OFFICE OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR

 The Library is pleased to be part of the Summer (Breakfast &) Lunch program again this year. Monday through Friday, we will be serving Breakfast from 9:00 to 10:00 & Lunch from 12:00 to 1:00. The meals are free to anyone 18 years old and under. Adult Family Members of children participating in the Free Summer Breakfast & Lunch Programs may also receive a breakfast and/or lunch for free.

Program sponsors are RSU 13 Nutrition, Lonza, and USDA Summer Food Service Program.

 We acquired a new volunteer, who will be shelving returned items, and shelf-reading and straightening shelves. Pat has been a long-time Book Stop volunteer for the friends, and we are very happy to have her services. Welcome Pat Niedzielski!

 Catinka Knoth’s Adult Drawing class featured Cedar Waxwings and cherries; the Children’s class created floral scenes and summer gardens.

 We held a staff meeting on Wednesday morning.

 Wednesday Storytime again featured Judith Andersen as reader. Among the stories she read—I Broke my Trunk by her perennial favorite, Mo Willems, Dinosaur Hunt, and Wee Little Bunny. Judith was challenged by the presence of two young ones, who speak only Polish, but rose to the task with lots of pictures.

 I also met with a young woman needed court-required community service, and we will be giving her some hours of work here.

 The Thursday evening Arts & Cultural Event was a film: The Lunchbox. Trying to add some spice to her marriage, Ila prepares a special lunchbox for her husband at work, mistakenly delivered to another worker, Saajan. Curious about the lack of reaction from her husband, Ila puts a note in the next day's lunchbox... We’d rather you were here, enjoying the film with your friends & neighbors, but if you missed the showing, it will be available for borrowing soon, as are almost all films we present.

 The kind individuals who offer the gently used adult-sized bikes as prizes for Adult Summer Reading dropped them off this week, and they’ve been safely stashed.

 Saturday was the Grand Opening of Summer Reading Program with puppeteers, registration materials available, and Sea Dogs tickets giveaways. We have great programs for early readers and independent readers; Ms. Jean can help you figure out the right program level. If you missed the opening, click the links to sign up on line.

 Teens and Adults! We have Summer Reading fun for you, too! Click the links to sign up online or come in and fill out a registration form. Set your goal, write reviews, share your progress, participate in weekly challenges and get entered for some nifty prizes! Teen program is for ages 13-17; sign up here. Adult program is for ages 18 and up; sign up here.

 The Friends’ Garden Tour was held on Saturday, as well.

 Upcoming: Wind over Wings Program featuring a Cockatoo, Macaw, Great-Horned Owl, and a Golden Eagle.

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE

D/C Young –

 Completed the final week of the International Association of Chiefs of Police training of Leadership in Police Organizations. This was a three week training broken up into 1 week per month over the last three months.

 Attended a meeting of the Knox County Recovery Coalition. I will be participating in the Criminal Justice Opportunities workgroup and the coalition moves forward. This coalition is addressing the opiate addiction epidemic in Knox County.

 Sgt. Finnegan and I met with the President of the Lobster Festival to start our annual planning and preparation for the upcoming festival.

 Oversaw the police departments’ responsibilities during the annual Summer Solstice event and the closure of Main St. for the event.

 Worked with the Department of Public Services to assist them in securing city property after hours to avoid the expenditure of overtime from their budget.

 Communicated with Command Staff from the USS Oak Hill regarding their visit to Rockland during the Lobster Festival.

Criminal Investigations Division –

 Assisted MDEA with ongoing drug investigations in Rockland.

 Performed resellers compliance checks to ensure compliance with City Ordinance.

 Met with Naval Criminal Investigations Service in preparation for the upcoming visit of the USS Oak Hill.

 Continued working on ongoing criminal investigations in Rockland.

Patrol Division –

 Off. Gaylor successfully completed the two week Firearms Instructor Course at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

 Off. Bagley successfully completed a week long Hostage Negotiations training instructed by the F.B.I.

 Off. Smith interacted with several young children on Fulton St. and provided them with popsicles. This was done as part of our continuing outreach directed at the youth in our community and the need for them to grow up seeing the Police Department as a resource for them.

 Off. Smith responded to Camden Hills Regional High School because the emergency lockdown alarm had been accidently activated. This response was in compliance with how all law enforcement agencies will respond to lockdown alarms throughout the county. Response to these incidents will include a multi-agency approach to get as many police officers on scene as quickly as possible in the event there is an actual threat to students and staff.

 Officers conducted traffic enforcement details on Waldo Ave. to ensure that vehicles using that road were in compliance with the posted weight restrictions.

 Officers conducted targeted traffic enforcement details at various locations throughout the City. These enforcement details included speed details, seatbelt details and distracted driving details.

 When weather and staffing allowed, Officers deployed on bicycles and conducted foot patrols on Main St.

 Officers responded to 214 calls for service, investigated 14 traffic crashes and conducted 16 traffic stops. As a result 11 people were either arrested or summonsed for various violations.

OFFICE OF THE CITY ASSESSOR

 Attended MidCoast Assessors meeting where our guest speaker was Max from MDEA. Very informative discussion/show and tell on Meth labs and what to look out for.

 Attended CMAAO meeting where our discussion was about assessing EMERA, CMP.

 Dennis Reed was in to prepare for the Berry Manor Inn BOAR hearing.

 Gathered evidence and exhibits for the BOAR hearing.

 Prepared reports for test billing and ran the test bill for accuracy.

 Processed Real Estate Transfers, updating parcel cards, sales book, and property splits.

 Processed Personal Property accounts, updating ownership, owned items, depreciation, State BETR’S 801 returns, BETE exemptions.

 Processed building permits, reviewing, updating property cards and assessments.

 Analyzing qualified sales of all properties and neighborhoods for a fair and equitable assessment.

OFFICE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

 John attended a Planning Board Meeting Tuesday evening.

 John attended MBOIA Board Meeting in Augusta on Thursday.

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

 John attended an Energy Committee Meeting Thursday evening.

 John performed two pre-conveyance inspections on multi-family dwellings as well as two Change of Use inspections in conjunction with the Fire Department.

 John met with a resident to discuss possible developments to a West Meadow Road property.

 John gave an interview to Down East Magazine regarding the new Short-Term Rental Ordinance.

 John met with an engineer, property owner, and builder on site to discuss potential structural issues with the front wall of a single-family dwelling being built on Crescent Street. A reasonable solution was developed by the engineer.

 John met with an owner of multiple Rockland properties to discuss the new Short- Term Rental Ordinance.

 John met with a large wholesale business to discuss opening a facility in an existing building in the Industrial Park.

 Roxy prepared the first quarter plumbing report for the State of Maine.

 We issued a commercial building permit for a concrete pad at 34 Park Street to place picnic tables on.

 We issued residential building permit for a new single-family modular home at 250 Bog Road.

 Bill performed a renewal victualer’s license inspection, and reminded businesses to renew expired licenses.

 There were 11 complaints filed this week. Five were regarding overgrown grass, two were regarding health and safety hazards, four were regarding compliance with permit requirements, and one was regarding tenant living conditions. We sent out five overgrown grass notifications and one notice of violation. We continue to follow up and work on complaint issues within the City, including follow up inspections at 26 Rockland Street and on Littlefield Street.

 We 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:

o 2 Building Permits

o 3 Electrical Permits

o 4 Plumbing Permits

o 1 Sewer Connection Permit

o 2 Sidewalk Tables & Chairs Permits

o 3 Sidewalk Display Permits

o 1 Sign Permit

o 1 Keeping Domesticated Chickens Permit

OFFICE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY DIRECTOR

 Cleared a blockage from the #1 pump at Park St. pump station and reset the pump.

 Interstate Septic assisted with cleaning and pumping the wet well at Glenwood Ave. pump station.

 Repaired the door closer in the Gravity Belt Thickener room.

 Changed the filters in the #1 aeration blower.

 Preventative maintenance on the mixer for the polymer blending system.

 Repaired the door hinges on the outside door to the lab.

 Changed the oil in the gear reducer for the screw conveyor.

 Inventoried the parts for the upcoming influent bar screen rebuild project.

 Dave Elwell and Nathan Borst attended a NASSCO re-certification course and testing to maintain their certification for pipeline inspection.

 Met with a representative from the Ted Berry Co. to discuss further repairs necessary to seal a sewer manhole in Harbor Park that is allowing sea water into the sewer. Their previous attempt at sealing this manhole was unsuccessful.

 Completed 700 ft. of CCTV sewer main inspection on Warren Street.

 Completed 800 ft. of CCTV sewer main inspection on Frederick Street.

 Entered pipeline inspection data into the G.I.S.

 Inspected and approved a sewer lateral replacement on Clarendon Street.

 Composite samples collected during the week: Municipal Influent, Aeration Basin Influent, Secondary Effluent, FMC Effluent.

 The following tests were performed on the above composite samples during the week: 27 TSS tests, 15 BOD tests, 10 Nitrate tests, 5 Nitrite tests, 5 Ammonia tests, 5 COD tests, 5 Settleable Solids tests

 Grab samples collected during the week: Aeration Basins, Municipal Influent, Primary Effluent, Secondary Effluent, Chlorine Contact Chamber, Hypo Pump

 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, 30 Cl2 tests, 5 fecal coliform tests

 Performed E coli testing for Georges River Land Trust.

 Filed lab results with ERA testing agency for yearly DMR-QA testing.

 Performed E coli testing on a water sample from Chickawaukie Pond for public works.

 Average flows through secondary treatment were 2.1MGD

 .8 Inches of rainfall was recorded at the PCF on June 22 with no CSO occurring.

OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF

Over the preceding week, in addition to the response to 44 Fire and EMS calls, shift training, conducting apparatus checks, daily cleaning, routine repairs and maintenance to the fleet and of the quarters, the following occurred:

 The duty crew joined the crowds for the annual Summer Solstice Celebration on Saturday evening. Trucks were staged on the end of Main Street for visitors to see and get a chance to ask questions. A large number of children got to see the inside of a truck first hand.

 Shift training for the crews this week focused on reading and reviewing two Line of Duty Deaths (LODD) reports that were issued after the deaths of two firefighters.

NIOSH does an in depth investigation after every LODD to try and learn from past mistakes in order to save lives in the future.

 Shifts also trained on our air monitoring devices under the leadership of Lt. Dennis Camber. Because these air monitors have such a wide range of use, keeping up to date and refreshing on their abilities is needed from time to time. These monitors can be used on Carbon Monoxide calls to something as dangerous as reading the levels of explosive gasses within a working area.

 Our fire station generator needed some repairs made over the weekend. Workers repaired the damaged pieces and it is now back up and running without issue.

The generator was installed and is maintained by Verizon who owns the cell tower attached to the station. Verizon installed a large enough generator to run both their cell tower and the firehouse in the event of a power outage.

 Preparations are being made for the upcoming Maine Lobster Festival. A meeting was held between the fire chief and the Knox County EMA director. A tabletop exercise is being created for all involved parties in order to maintain interdepartmental cohesiveness in the event of an emergency. This exercise occurs every year and will once again be a successful practice of our skills.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR

 Cleaned parks,

 Worked on Hazardous Waste Collection day coordination, outreach consisted of:

handing out pamphlets, reaching out to the local papers, placing information about the event on the City web page calendar as well as Facebook in several locations and VS TV news.

 Attended GIS Training.

 Collected stormwater basin elevation data on North Main Street to develop stormwater separation plan prior to North Main Street Paving next year.

 Chickawaukie Lake had some ponding in parking lot. Samples were taken to rule out and septic problems. Further investigation found that an old water line under the parking lot was leaking. The water leak was repaired. Water samples also came back validating it was not a problem with the septic system.

 Cleaning of Chickawaukie lake boathouse is being done until the part time beach steward is hired.

 Sidewalk to CMCA was painted along with continuing city wide street painting.

 Compost area has been reorganized, windrows have been turned and finished compost in in the process of being screened.

 The recycle building is being reorganized to make it easier for the public to use and more efficient to process recyclable materials. Access holes will be cut in the building in which to place recyclable items. This will cut down on paper blowing out of the blue bins. Recyclables that are placed in access holes will already be in the inside stalls where they belong prior to baling eliminating the transfer of blue bins. Shadow boxes are going to be made showing examples of the correct items that go in each access hole. Shadow boxes will be made with the help of Renew Rockland as part of a recycling workshop.

 Landfill mowing and litter pickup was completed.

 Performed basin repair work.

 Watered downtown flowers and newly seeded lawn repair.

 Completed trash pickup city wide.

 Continued street sweeping city wide.

 Worked on cold patching potholes throughout the city.

 Road side mowing and brush was completed to assist with driver visibility.

 Picked up waste oil.

 Cleaned sidewalks and parks.

 Worked on landfill bulldozer.

 Changed light bulbs at Police Station.

 Put mower on tractor.