Rockport Town Manager William Post issued a Dec. 5 monthly report, which included discussions about emergency medical services and a fireworks petitions.

Officer Jonathan Poole will be present at the Board meeting for a badge pinning ceremony. He will have members of his family present. Chief Gagne will introduce the ceremony.

SHAPE Award

Michael LaPlante from the Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Standards will be present to formally present the Town with its SHAPE Award. Safety Coordinator Diane Hamilton will be present to accept the award along with me.

Happenings on the Harbor

As a result of the success of the Summer Concert Series the Holiday on the Harbor committee combined the concert series and Holiday on the Harbor into Rockport’s “Happenings on the Harbor”. This new program consists of four series of concerts and outdoor activities over the course of the year, culminating each December with Holiday on the Harbor, our celebration of the season, now in its seventh year.

The upcoming Holiday on the Harbor event is on Saturday, December 14. The schedule for the day follows:

2-5 p.m. Wine Tasting at RAYR - the wine shop
3-4 p.m. Visits with Santa at Union Hall
4-5 p.m. Bay Chamber Music School Ensembles Performance at Union Hall - Free! 4-7 p.m. Free horse-drawn carriage rides
5:30 p.m. Tree Lighting and Fireworks on Rockport Harbor
6-7 p.m. Free Christmas movie and popcorn at Union Hall
7 p.m. Bay Chamber presents a jazzy Christmas at the Rockport Opera House

There will be 2,000 Luminaria throughout the heart of Rockport village, refreshments and special event pricing at Ralston Gallery, holiday specials at Maine Media Gallery, 18 Central Oyster Bar & Grill, Nina June and Seafolk Coffee.

Flatbread Pizza and other refreshments will be available at Rockport Marine Park.

There will be Parking at the former Rockport Elementary School Site (free shuttle service to Town and/or carriage ride), behind Union Hall and on West Street.

There will be more details to follow on the summer concert series next year.

EMS Update

NEMHS
The Fire Chief and I continue to meet monthly with representatives of Northeast Mobile Health Services to review the previous month’s EMS calls and discuss any issues that may have come up.

The contract with NEMHS expires on June 30, 2020. As you know, the Board will need to discuss the potential extension of the contract at one of the Board meetings in January. I expect that it will be scheduled for the first meeting. I will be working on developing a one-year extension with NEMHS that will include some minor changes to the current contract.

Ambulance Advisory Board
PenBay Medical Center (PBMC) has convened an Ambulance Advisory Board consisting of the fire chiefs and managers of Rockland, Rockport, Camden, Hope and Lincolnville as well as staff at PBMC. The task of this advisory board is to meet monthly to review current EMS services in the region, explore other service models of EMS that may be available, and to keep communications open between all involved. The Board has met twice to date.

EMS Education
As I have said to the Board previously, as Rockport works towards deciding how to deliver ambulance and EMS services to its residents, the Town should educate its citizens on exactly what emergency medical services are and how they operate.

Camden and Rockport officials met with Tom Judge the current Executive Director of Lifeflight of Maine (and a national expert on EMS) to discuss how the two towns can provide education to residents about emergency medical services.

The Town of St. George went through the process a few years ago when they were reviewing their options for emergency medical services.

St. George contracted with a consultant to provide information to residents on what emergency medical services consist of including the different levels of care delivered by emergency medical technicians and paramedics, the different types of responses to emergency calls, and equipment. The consultant then provided information to residents on different models of delivering emergency medical services, including costs.

After the discussion, I asked Mr. Judge to submit a proposal to provide this type of education and review service to Rockport. I expect to have that proposal by January 1st so that the Board can review it.

Coastal Opportunities - Payment in Lieu of Taxes $400

Coastal Opportunities provided a payment in the amount of $400 to the Town in lieu of taxes in November.

Brown Tail Moth Information Session

The Coastal Mountains Land Trust is presenting an informational session on brown tail moths at the Camden Library on Thursday, December 12th beginning at 7:00 p.m. The presenter is Tom Schmeelk, an entomologist with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The session includes an overview of the moth’s biology, history in Maine and updates on current brown tail moth range and areas at risk.

Fireworks Petition

Resident Susan Sinclair submitted a petition to the Town Clerk to ban the sale and use of consumer fireworks in Rockport on November 8th. Town Clerk Linda Greenlaw certified 124 signatures of registered voters on the petition but noted to Ms. Sinclair that the petition is not a legally binding petition that the Select Board must act on as it does not meet the requirements in the Town Charter or state statute. However, I am making the Board aware of this petition. We are still gathering comments regarding fireworks and researching other municipalities fireworks rules and regulations. I expect to have a packet of information for the Board in January so that the Board can determine next steps.

Midcoast Solid Waste Corporation

As part of my role as Town Manager, I serve on the Strategic and Capital Planning Committee for MCSWC. This committee had not met in months, and a current formal written strategic and capital plan does not exist. The Committee met for the first time in November and will be meeting monthly as we develop a plan for MCSW.

Aldemere Farm

I toured the Aldemere Farm with its manager Heidi White in November.

Camden and Rockport Interlocal Sewer Agreement

This agreement expires in February 2020 and I am working with Camden Town Manager on a new agreement. More details as we work through this.

Harbor Committee

The Harbor Committee met on December 5 to discuss whether or not to recommend to the Select Board that the area along the Goose River at the Harbor Park be designated as working waterfront. I will provide an update on that discussion at the Select Board meeting.