ROCKLAND — In a special meeting of the Rockland City Council March 5, councilors anticipated to hear from the public on a proposed grant application due March 28. That application is on the council’s March 10 agenda. Trouble was, no one from the public showed up to speak save for newly-elected director of Rockland Main Street Inc. Gordon Page, Sr.

In a brief statement, Page said Rockland Main Street, Inc., wholly supports the efforts the city in its grant application to repair side-street sidewalks in the downtown.

The $400,000 community development block grant is part of the downtown revitalization program to support improvements to the sidewalks on the side streets in downtown Rockland. In his presentation, Community Development Director John Holden said he hoped to access downtown tax increment financing funds to help leverage and match that grant. The city would like to apply the funds for work on Elm, Museum, School and Winter streets.

The Rockland Council also covered the Capital Improvement Program for 2015 presented by Interim City Manager Tom Luttrell. In trying to maintain the city’s portion of the mil rate at zero percent, the capital budget reflected a scaled-back set of investments. Luttrell said it was the goal of the city to maintain the debt service budget at the 2014 level.

Key equipment replacements that made it into the FY 2015 budget include three thermal cameras for the fire department, two new cruisers for the police department, a new plow for the Public Works Department, along with a new road painting machine, replacement of a seven-yard dump truck with a 14-yard truck and a new compactor. Replacing pilings at Snow Marine Park, Middle Pier and the Public Landing are listed for the harbor.

Other projects include sidewalk improvements to the downtown, new lighting poles on Main Street and Harbor Trail improvements.   

Councilor Frank Isganitis pointed out that there are many projects already funded by the city that are not on this list.

“These projects are leveraged in order to finance them,” he said. “This doesn’t include every capital improvement done annually in the city. There’s general road maintenance that’s done; there’s general sidewalk improvements that is done every year. I don’t want the people to think that we have lost priority in other areas just because the project is not named on the sheet. That’s because it’s being financed out of the general fund.”

The city’s capital plan calls for spending a total of $513,500 in new equipment and infrastructure projects. Equipment financing totals $320,800 and will be financed with a new five-year lease that adds an estimated yearly payment of $71,881 in debt payments. The remaining projects will be funded using the Downtown TIF and Fisher TIF. The plan calls for no new tax dollars due in part to the permanent retirement of an equipment lease of over $100,000.