Town Offices to be Closed on July 5 & June 19
JUN 19, 2024
TREMONT—At the June 17 Tremont Select Board meeting, the members, minus Howard Goodwin who had an excused absence, voted to sign the contract with the Southwest Harbor Police Department for police coverage for the Town of Tremont.
The contract had previously been signed by the Southwest Harbor Select Board on June 11 and provides for “law enforcement coverage by authorized police officers 24 hours per day for 365 days a year.”
The contract also states, “Police officers shall enforce all laws of the State of Maine and ordinances of Tremont, excluding the Animal Control Ordinance.” Later in the contract it states that “the Town of Tremont shall be responsible for all animal control and will hire a separate animal control officer for these duties.”
Police Service Contract
273KB ∙ PDF file
The cost of these services will not exceed $336,393, which is the amount that was approved by Tremont voters at the annual Town Meeting on May 14.
Prior to the vote, Select Board Chair Jaime Thurlow asked Southwest Harbor Police Chief John Hall if the police department was fully staffed. Hall replied, “We are getting there.”
According to Hall, a fully staffed Southwest Harbor Police Department would consist of himself, Lt. Franklin Burke, and four patrol officers. The department currently has three patrol officers and one open position.
Hall said, “While there has been talk of potential new hires, I have not received any applications.”
Filling that fourth position, he said, would allow an officer to “be assigned to the schools as a resource officer or D.A.R.E officer if the communities want that and then (be available to work) community events throughout the year. On the weekends that position would provide for two officers during the busy times.”
COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
The Select Board appointed three new members and reappointed 10 members to town boards and committees.
Harbor Committee
There were two expiring commercial fisherman seats with terms next expiring June 30, 2027. Outgoing members Josh Lawson and Steve Carter were unanimously reappointed to their seats. After the vote, Select Board member Kevin Buck recommended changing the terms of the two commercial fisherman seats, since there are only two, so that they don’t both expire in the same year all of the time.
Library Trustees
There were three expiring seats with terms next expiring June 30, 2027. Outgoing trustees Martha Donovan, Katharine Pratt, and Rick Smith were all unanimously reappointed to their seats. There are also three vacancies which the Select Board seemed prepared to address but postponed that process at the request of the library’s board which asked if they could review the possible candidates first and perhaps make recommendations to the Select Board for appointments.
Planning Board
There were two expiring seats with terms next expiring June 30, 2027. Outgoing member Brett Witham was unanimously reappointed to his seat and Renee Hodgdon was unanimously appointed as a new member.
Board of Appeals
There were two expiring seats with terms next expiring at the 2027 town meeting and one expiring alternate seat with a term that expires at the 2025 town meeting. Outgoing member Marcia Madeira was unanimously reappointed to her seat. Alternate member Patricia Pinkham was unanimously appointed to the second regular seat. The Select Board postponed filling the alternate seat because members wanted to see if outgoing member Richard Cohen was willing to be appointed to the alternate seat.
Sustainability Committee
There were four expiring regular seats and one expiring Select Board representative seat, all with terms next expiring June 30, 2027. Outgoing members Lawson Wulsin, Elaine Eaton, and Rick Smith were unanimously reappointed to their seats. Buck was unanimously reappointed as the Select Board representative. The fourth seat was filled by new member Joseph Paolino who was unanimously appointed to the committee.
REGULAR BUSINESS
The Select Board heard estimates for ditching and repairs to the Cape Road. There were three bids and none of the bids included the extra costs of “hammer hours,” which is the time to destroy encountered ledge. The bids were from Doug Gott and Sons for $18,000, John Goodwin for $63,000, and Iron Coast Construction for $52,000. After a few clarifying questions to Town Manager Jesse Dunbar, the Select Board unanimously voted to go with Doug Gott and Sons.
There was some discussion on needed repairs to Steamboat Wharf Road where some of the roadside banking has collapsed from the January storms. These repairs will hopefully be covered by FEMA funds and the Select Board unanimously authorized Dunbar to move forward with research and planning for the repairs within his authorized spending authority using funds from the road improvement reserve.
The salt bid for fiscal year 2025 was awarded to New England Salt at a rate of $76 per ton. There was a second bid from Morton Salt at a rate of $76.65 per ton but discussion concerning Morton having delivery issues in past years and having to call New England Salt to make up for untimely deliveries by Morton gave New England Salt an advantage that was more than just a cheaper price. Both rates are less than last year’s rate of $77.95 per ton.
July 5 is a Friday this year and the trend around the state, including the State of Maine itself, has been to decide to close government offices on the fifth to allow employees to have a long weekend rather than making them come in for a day. The Select Board unanimously voted to close the town offices on Friday, July 5, but not as a paid holiday. This is only for this year because the fifth does fall on a Friday.
Town of Tremont employees will have the option to take the time off or not. They can come in and work if they have work to catch up on or use some alternate method of payment to take the day off and get paid for it. According to Town Clerk Sarah Abbott, town employees have the option to use vacation time, comp time, or personal time to get paid if they choose to take the day off and want to get paid for it.
The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., July 1, in the Harvey Kelley Meeting Room at the town office.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Tremont Second MDI Town to Reject Vacation Rental Ordinance
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MAY 14
Tremont Voters Go With Southwest Harbor Police Proposal
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MAY 15
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