ROCKLAND — There are a lot of details in keeping a small city like Rockland running, as evidenced in the weekly report ending Feb. 15, and issued by Rockland City Manager James Smith to the mayor and councilors. Of note, the city is moving forward with selecting consultants to produce designs of how the Camden Street corridor (Route 1 from Maverick Street to the Rockport town line) might look down the line, and of course, all the snow. Rockland's public works employees removed snow over the course of three nights, with the help of six hired triaxle dump trucks and three dump trucks, as well as the city-owned equipment of a loader with snow blower attachment, two sidewalk machines, another loader, a plow/sander truck, dump truck, and a grader.

And one more indicator of the sign of the times: The open position at the library drew a very grand total of 112 applicants.

The following is a work's worth of week, as reflected in reports submitted by department heads.

OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER

Continued discussions with property owners in the Pen Bay area regarding the storm drainage project.

Received construction cost estimates from Will Gartley for the Harbor Park redesign discussions and will be providing a copy of this report to the committee chair.

Received and reviewed proposals for an existing conditions survey for Main Street.

Met with the owners of 29 Broad Street regarding reconveyance.

received multiple emails and phone calls expressing thanks and appreciation toward the Public Works Department for a job well done keeping the roads opened and cleared of snow during the nasty weekend storm. The entire department stepped up and provided exceptional service. Please be sure to let them know it is noticed and appreciated by all.

OFFICE OF THE POLICE CHIEF
In addition to responding to 186 calls for services this past week and making six arrests; summons were made for various offenses, including Felony Domestic Violence Assault, OUI, probation violations and warrants. Officers handled 12 traffic crashes and covered four animal complaints. Along with other duties and shift assignments, members of the police department were involved in the following:

Detectives assisted MDEA with two felony drug trafficking arrests this week.

Officers have been working with local schools on emergency planning and conducting two lock down drills at Mid Coast School of Technology.

Deputy Chief Tower and Knox Center have finalized upcoming training concerning workplace violence for staff.

Traffic Officer Peasley and Special Olympics of Maine are working on the annual Unsung Hero and Hall of Fame nominations for Special Olympics' Law Enforcement Torch Run.

OFFICE OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Followed up and reached out to contacts made at recently attended community and economic development events.

Followed up with Recreation Department in coordination of Downtown CDBG funds and Ferry Park.

Met with transportation and economic development consultant to consider services.

Continued office set up.

Reviewed and continued to develop CD Strategic Work Plan.

Attended meetings with community and business leaders.

Followed up with local business interests (business expansion and retention).

OFFICE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

John met with Fred Griego, the new general contractor for the five story building project at 250 Main Street to discuss resuming work on the project. The previous general contractor was unable to finish the job due to illness. Fred just returned from another project for Lyman Morse in their Panama facility. Work toward completion of the project will begin again in the spring.

John attended the REDAC meeting on Feb. 13. This meeting was to discuss consultants for the designs to the Camden Street Corridor and other selected sites. License inspections were done with Fire Department personnel at Jess's Market, Dairy Queen, Hole in the Wall Bagels and Lil' Mart (Kaler's Korner).

David attended a MUBEC Technical Standards Board Meeting in Augusta. John participated in a conference call for the MBOIA Board of Directors Meeting. There was one complaint filed this week. The following permits were received by the Code Office this week:

Two Building permits

One Electrical permit

One Plumbing permit

One Sidewalk Display permit

One Sign permit

One Street Excavation permit

OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF
In addition to responding to the normal flow of fire and EMS calls, apparatus checks, cleaning, repairs and maintenance to the fleet and cleaning and maintenance of the quarters, the following occurred:

The Department held its annual ice rescue recertification training at Johnson Memorial Park on Saturday, Feb. 2. The ice was reported to be 13 inches thick, and the water and air were reported to be cold, but the training with the MARSARS sled went very well. We also used the occasion to review Maine EMS protocols for hypothermic patients.

The Fire Chief prepared and presented initial line item appropriation requests for the FY 2014 operating budget.

The Department prepared for the approach and eventual arrival of Winter Storm Nemo, and for once, the forecast for a heavy snow was spot on. The Department was staffed with additional personnel from Friday evening at 1900 hours though Saturday evening at 1900 hours, with some overtime logged on Monday for hydrant shoveling. We are pleased to report that by about 1,400 hours on Monday afternoon, all of the hydrants within the city were cleared of snow.

The Department performed eleven inspections for compliance with the Life Safety Code in support of business licenses.

The Department responded under mutual aid to Owls Head for the fire at Frankie's Garage.

OFFICE OF THE FISHERMAN'S PIER DIRECTOR

Attended Harbor Commission meeting.

One Permit was issued for a Lobster vessel.

Two more Bait Storage coolers 8' by 40', in the upper lot storage area, were emptied on Tuesday and hauled off on Thursday. Only one 20' box truck body left in upper lot to be moved.

OFFICE OF THE CITY ASSESSOR

Three additional abatement requests submitted. There are a total of six active requests at this time with one appeal to the BOAR.

Mailed out Personal Property declarations.

Processing real estate transfers.

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSISTANCE ADMINSTRATOR

20 different calls, walk-ins and e-mails.

Handled 15 different appointments.

Updated client files.

Filed January Reports with the State.

Requested 50% GA reimbursement.

Made referrals to the Social Security Disability advocate.

OFFICE OF THE FINANCE DIRECTOR

Approved Payroll Warrant.

Approved Acct Payable Warrant.

Audit Work.

Budget Work.

OFFICE OF THE HARBORMASTER

Continued to process more mooring permit renewals.

The Harbor Commission approved applications for the Lobster Festival at Harbor Park, a "Lobster Shack" vendor in Buoy Park; and "Two Toots", the harbor launch, at
the Middle Pier.

Rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the building carpet.

Observed serious damage to the Harbor Park waterfront fence that will need repair come the spring.

Permitted a new spot for a 55' scallop dragger that wants to homeport out of Rockland.

Hosted the executive board of the Maine Harbormaster's Association in the Harbor Building.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR

Worked all week on snow related issues.

We had three nights of snow removal which included seven public works employees, six hired triaxle dump trucks, and three wheeler dump trucks. Our Public Works crew consisted of a loader with snow blower attachment, two sidewalk machines, loader, plow/sander truck, dump truck, and grader.

In addition, we worked on vehicle/equipment repairs and attended to roadway flooding issues on Tuesday afternoon/evening.

Our day crew bucketed snow from sidewalks and roadways and other trouble spots.

Currently preparing for another potential storm Saturday into Sunday.

Total snow removal 40+ hours.

OFFICE OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR

Compliments of the severity of the recent blizzard, the Library took in snow through air intake and exhaust vents (the latter being a pretty rare occurrence), which of course was converted to water, and leaked into the storage room, and the area just beyond. Teresa Verrill, and Energy Chair Pritchett, who visited to check on the HVAC, did noble clean-up duty.

Attended the City's Personnel Board interviews of candidates for the open position at the Library. We had a very grand total of 112 applicants. Kudos to Samantha Mank for her amazing administrative work on this, and thanks to Sandy Billington, who scanned and emailed quite a number during Samantha's brief vacation.

Cayouette Flooring responded to my request for looking at replacing carpeting outside the Storage Room with tile, for ease of cleanup (future water infiltration). However, after meeting with David Cayouette, I was convinced that the keeping the carpet (and purchasing a wet-vac) is the better solution, as the carpet "breathes". I was amazed that after all the times that area took in (a lot!) of water, there is absolutely no sign of mold on the underside of the carpet.

AARP Tax Assistance is in full swing; preparers are here on Tuesdays and Saturdays; people wishing to take advantage of this free service must book an appointment in advance. Like every other venue, we are still awaiting the bulk of federal tax forms and booklets, much to the frustration of patrons (and staff, who want to satisfy our patrons).

My favorite therapy dog, Maggie the lovely lurcher, was here for Storytime this week, and her handler, Steve Seekins entertained with some music.

Kindle eBook workshops are being held this Thursday afternoon (and every Thursday in February).

This Thursday Evening's Arts & Cultural Events program is a presentation of the film Dr. Who: the Sun Makers, one of two movies celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who this month.

On Friday, I will be attending a lunch meeting with area library directors and Maine State Library District Consultant, Valerie Osborne.

A "marble crazy" afternoon will be held in the Children's Room on Saturday, with marble games and prizes.

OFFICE OF THE SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR

Continued work on annual reports.

Erected staging around the pump casing. Retrieved the pump from the bottom of the well. PM'ed pump and cleaned pump screen and ran test on pump to make
sure no electrical problems exist.

Nathaniel Boehmer, a mechanical engineer from Fisher Engineering, visited the facility to look at the D5M bulldozer final drive guarding idea. Nathaniel liked the guarding idea and is going to help us plasma cut the parts to fabricate the final drive guard. I contacted Mike Stevens, our Milton CAT service representative. Mike also agreed that the guard design was a great idea and will prevent any wire or cassette tape film from causing the final guard seal to fail. Mike has provided me with the D5M specifications needed to fabricate the guard which I will send to Nathaniel so the parts can be made.

I met with Lauren Swett from Woodard & Curran to review next year's cell development plan for the landfill, landfill capacity estimates, facility changes and improvements that need to be placed in the operations manual. The fore mentioned items need to be completed as part of the annual report to DEP.

Worked on Budget.

OFFICE OF THE RECREATION DIRECTOR

Punch list was created Tuesday with Eric Dube from Casco Bay Engineering and there are only a couple of issues to be addressed over the next week.

The Pee-Wee basketball championship games were held on Wednesday and there was a good crowd at the Recreation Building for this event.

The game room has been looked at by a builder and an insulation specialist with the goal of developing a plan next week.

The leaks seemed to have been stopped with the completion of the cap. We will keep a close eye on the building over the next few storms.