In advance of the regularly scheduled Rockport Select Board Feb. 13 meeting, Town Manager Jon Duke submitted the following newsletter:

Toboggan Races
National Toboggan races were postponed due to frigid temperatures to Sunday February 4 and we held our annual competition with the Town of Camden. I am pleased to announce that we brought home the trophy second year in a row! The margin was quite a bit closer than last year, so we have work to do in the offseason but many thanks to my teammates Megan Brackett, Abbie Leonard and Kevin Grierson; our chief engineer: Jeff Hamilton, our sled donor: Patrick Annis; and our coach, Diane Hamilton. We look forward to attempting to Threepeat next year!

Library
Water Damage. The cold temperatures were an issue for our town buildings as well as one of our sprinkler heads at the library had issues with the cold and sprung a leak. Thankfully, our fire department was on scene quickly and removed the vast majority of the water from the building.

As the firefighters departed, our Buildings and Grounds crew went to work by moving items off the ground and using the Wet/Dry vacuum. Their efforts were supported over the first part of this week by ServPro and we were quite successful in removing moisture from the building and avoiding further damage. Our sprinkler contractor and elevator maintenance team have completed their repairs, and the insurance adjuster will be onsite next week to take stock of the
damage.

The hardwood floor near the front desk took a bit of the impact but we seem to have avoided larger issues impacting the Opera House and with only two books being destroyed. If all goes accordingly, we may be able to reopen the library next week. Patrons should be checking the Rockport Public Library’s Facebook page and website for up-to-date information.

Events
Many events are still happenings but may move to the Town Office due to water damage. Please keep an eye on the Rockport Public Library website and Facebook page for updates.

Town Clerk
Town Clerk Liz Lowe is pleased to announce that our clerk’s office is now able to issue license
plates! Our staff completed training from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles two weeks ago and
began a “soft opening” of this service immediately. What the availability of plates means to
residents is that for newly purchased vehicles (new or used), residents should be able to complete
their registration of their new vehicle completely at the Town Office. Previously, a new car
owner would come to the Town Office to pay their excise tax and then would need to travel to
the BMV office in Rockland to complete their registration. While there are some occasions that
may be necessary, the vast majority of new registrations can be completed with a single stop at our Town Office. None of this will change re-registration opportunities, but this is also a good time to remind all of our residents that the Rapid Renewal service allows you to re-register your vehicle online at any time. All that is required is your current registration, a valid insurance card, and a method of payment. It is so easy! Dog Licensing. Dog licenses were due by February 1st for this year. Dog owners who have not yet paid will be subject to a $25 late fee. Please get those dogs registered!

Police Department
The Select Board approved a new union contract with the police union two weeks ago. This new contract will go into effect on July 1, 2023 and takes into consideration the salary survey conducted this past fall and the wages and benefits we currently pay to our officers. Many thanks to Officer Tony Del Vecchio for his efforts in representing his fellow officers and working with myself and the Board to meet the needs of our staff in an active labor market.

In turn, Chief Gagne has worked hard to limit his budget request for the coming year, as all department heads are asked to do, to account for the new contract and its accompanying increases in wages and benefits. The department will not be asking for a new cruiser, Body Worn Cameras, updating our radars as scheduled in the Capital Improvement plan.

The priority for this budget, as it is for all department budgets, is in keeping the excellent employees working for the Town of Rockport today.

Training.
Annual BLS training has been completed by all officers for 2023. Mandatory trainings for 2022, training audit, and year-end paperwork has been filed with the Department with Maine Criminal Justice Academy. All officers were in full compliance with 2022 training requirements. The annual departmental policy review is under way. We are currently working with Volunteers of America on a project to bring a Community Response Officer to assist officers with Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol issues, and other support services with the goal to eventually share these services with Camden-Rockport-Rockland.

Unfortunately, it is not fiscally possible for Rockport to enter into an agreement due to other planned financial impacts of this year’s proposed budget. In the meantime, VOA has existing grants with Knox and Waldo County Sheriffs’ Offices and the Sheriffs in each county have offered to share VOA services with all 3 municipalities for the time being. This will allow our agencies to start doing ride along with VOA staff members to get familiar with each other’s roles.

VOA is also seeking grant funding to include in their coverage area Camden-Rockport-Rockland. We are in hopes to receive grant funding to get this project moving sooner than later.

While Rockport is a small town, the presence of Pen Bay Medical Center and the growing need for mental health support in our culture forces even a town with 3,600 residents to have answers to these concerns.

Chief Gagne and Director of Planning and Community Development, Orion Thomas, have been working on updates to the Parking Ordinance and hope to have changes placed before the Select Board at their March meeting.

Officer Jacob Powers was not injured in an early morning car deer accident which did extensive front end damage to our Dodge Charger cruiser. The deer got up and ran away. A True Hit N Run.

Finance
The budget process stands in the spotlight over the next several weeks. The Town Manager’s draft budget will be available next week and initial budget meetings will begin shortly thereafter.

Audit
The auditor completed the bulk of his testing for the FYE 2022 audit but will return shortly to finalize his in-person work. I would expect we will have an audit in hand by the end of March.

Opera House
December damage update. The December storm damage and accompanying demolition are continuing into this month. The Town has been assigned a new insurance adjuster as the damage estimates are growing as more is removed from the building.

The Town circulated bids to complete repairs of the building to include new flooring, sheetrock, insulation, and other areas which were soaked from the burst pipe.

Additionally, through that bid process concerns were raised on the condition of the existing sprinkler system and potential need for full replacement.

The Town will be sending a camera system through the sprinkler system to gauge its condition and suitability for continued use. We maintain our expectations the damaged sections of the building will be covered by insurance, but the sprinkler issues may extend beyond the bounds of insurance funding.

However the events we planned to hold in the building this spring, which would provide financial benefit to the Town should be covered by insurance.

Events
Due to the continued repairs and demolition, all events at the Opera House are cancelled for the foreseeable future. We have hopes of moving the live streaming of meetings to the library, but the damage to the cameras from the sprinkler failures will delay the initiation of that plan. Stay tuned to the Opera House’s Facebook/Instagram accounts for more updates or the Opera House calendar on the Town’s website

Emergency Management
October 2021 Reimbursement.
Three out of 17 projects with FEMA have been approved, some 15 months after the storm. Finance Director Megan Brackett is meeting weekly with FEMA to discuss these projects but the guidance remains “one step forward, one step backward.”

At present one of the major stumbling blocks is that FEMA is seeking proof the damage to the box culvert on Chris’s Road and the culvert on West Street extension were due to the storm. This obviously causes a challenge because it isn’t common to take pictures of items that are operating, but that’s where we are.

Public Works
Goose River Bridge Maine DOT released their latest Three Year Work Plan for the coming term and included on that plan is $3.85 million for repairs or outright replacement to the Goose River Bridge. This is fantastic news as the nearly 80 year old bridge has seen better days and we certainly don’t wish to see this bridge suffer the same fate as the bridge which preceded it!

The Town’s VPI Committee is already hard at work to support these efforts and ensure the Town has a plan to incorporate any changes in the new bridge into the village and existing infrastructure.

Our public works crews are out, in between the steady stream of recent storms, attempting to get ahead of brush-cutting along roadsides.

Planning and Community Development:
Maine Department of Transportation – Planning Partnership Initiative.
The Town was awarded a grant for a transportation infrastructure study through MDOT. This study is to look at our transportation infrastructure from the school to downtown. The outcome will be recommendations for how we can better connect the two. This includes all of Pascal Ave, going over the bridge and up to Graffam Bros. Seafood on Union Street.

Permits
Permits are steadily flowing in as winter plans take shape for spring and summer construction. We are working with the local contractors on using our paperless system which is surely an adjustment as they move away from the paper permit application forms of years past.

The Town’s new online building permit application is live and available 24/7. Applications can be submitted online. https://main.govpilot.com/web/public/5b377b7d-c64_Multi-Purpose- Permit-Application-rockporttownme?uid=25963&ust=ME&pu=1&id=0

Comprehensive Plan
The comprehensive plan process is going smoothly now. We are in edit-mode and working our way through the entire document. The estimated timeline is still to be
finished for the November 2023 ballot.

Hotel Appeals
Unfortunately, we remain in litigation with at least one resident over the matter of
the new hotel at 20 Central Street.

Ordinances to be amended
The Ordinance Review Committee will have a few amendments to our ordinances ready to go for the June Ballot. The questions for the ballot will be structured differently this go around for ease of reading.

Buildings and Grounds
Our Buildings and Grounds staff have been quite busy attempting to oversee the damage and demolition at the library and Opera House. However, they also tackled a project to build shelving and cabinetry for to store license plates.

Harbor
Mooring Bills. Harbormaster Abbie Leonard will be mailing bills next week to mooring owners. This will likely be the last year of mailing bills so please make sure your information is correct and we have accurate contact information.
The Harbor Committee and Rockport Parks and Beautification Committee are working together regarding incoming Peddlers Permits.

Fire Department
The department totaled 19 calls through January but had another 10 calls this past weekend
dealing with the incredible cold. While many of us are not aware of the changes we see in terms
of emergency services until we need them, the requests our residents have for fire services are
increasing dramatically. With the state of volunteerism in our society and the ever-increasing
regulation for those within the fire service, we have to remain thankful we have so many
residents willing to step forward and serve as volunteer fire fighters. Thank to our entire crew for
keeping us safe!

For those interested in learning more about joining the fire department, please contact Chief
Peasley at jpeasley@rockportmaine.gov
Employment Opportunities:
We have several job openings with the Town of Rockport, stop by the Town Office for an
application or call and we can email you an application. Also, job applications are available on
our town website, along with a detailed job description. https://rockportmaine.gov/jobs
All applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. The Town of Rockport is an
Equal Opportunity Employer.
• Public Works Heavy Equipment Operator/Laborer - This position involves manual
work in road construction, repair, and maintenance, snow and ice removal, and other
seasonal public works projects. A Class A or Class B CDL is preferred. This is a full-
time year-round position for a pair of anticipated openings in the spring.
• Video Technician – This position primary responsibilities are to operate the video and
audio equipment at the Rockport Opera House for recording and Livestreaming meetings
and events. This is a part-time year-round position with a lot of flexibility (most hours are
evenings with some occasional weekends needed).
Wastewater:
Maine Water Assistance Program. Is a federally funded program to help support eligible
households in having access to drinking water and wastewater utility services. Households will
be required to have a water liability in order to be eligible for the drinking water/wastewater
program. To receive an application, you can call 888-623-6762 or email
water@mainehousing.org.
Recreation Committee:
If you want to schedule the use of a field for this year, email rockportrec@rockportmaine.gov.
Rockport Resource Newsletter:
If you would like to receive the Rockport Resource Newsletter via email you can sign up through
our website.
Donut Festival:
We are still looking for entries for the poster design contest for the festival. Please look at the
Town website for more information, under the Events tab at the top.
Civic Ready:
We encourage all residents to sign up for this, if you are interested in knowing what is happening
in the Town of Rockport. What is great about this system is that you decide which types of
information you receive whether it is a reminder when property taxes are due to information on
an upcoming event at the Opera House or when a public works project is happening in your
neighborhood; Civic Alert can keep you informed. Those interested can also sign up for alerts on
our website at https://rockportmaine.gov/civicready