Selectboard backs high school energy audit grant, bond financing, and event permits in quick meeting

Carrie Jones

Sep 04, 2025

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Choco-Latté Café.

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MOUNT DESERT—The Mount Desert Selectboard appointed Alex Kimball as Mount Desert’s new town manager during its September 2 meeting.

“It is a great honor of my life to be accepted for this,” Kimball said. “I know that’s a thing people just sort of say, but in this case, boy, from the bottom of my heart, I’m really excited about this, really excited to get back.”

Kimball attended Mount Desert Elementary School and has a home in Northeast Harbor though he is currently employed as the deputy administrator of Cumberland County, Maine, where he’d previously served as finance director. He attended Wesleyan College, graduating in 1991.

Town Manager Durlin Lunt retired at the end of this month and was appointed as interim manager while the town searched for his successor. Kimball has no set start date and Lunt will fill in until he begins.

The appointment came less than one minute into the meeting.

“As a consequence of our search, we voted unanimously to offer the position to Alex Kimble,” Chair John Macauley said.

“I’ll move it with enthusiasm,” board member Martha Dudman said.

The motion was also enthusiastically seconded by Vice Chair Wendy Littlefield.

At the end of the 14-minute meeting Lunt thanked everyone for their support.

“Before you adjourn,” Lunt said to the board. “This will be my last meeting I think, obviously at this point the way it looks, so I just want to thank all of you for a wonderful run as the town manager to the town, (you’re) a great board of selectman. I’m looking forward to helping Alex settle in. I don’t think he’s going to need much help, but I’ll do whatever I can. And just thank you to the community. It’s been a pleasure.”

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GRANT APPLICATION FOR ENERGY AUDIT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL

The board also reviewed and approved a Community Resilience Partnership grant application for an ASHRAE Level 2 analysis of the Mount Desert Island High School.

According to a letter from Public Works Director Brian Henkel, Ruth Poland, a science teacher at Mount Desert Island High School, approached the town in hopes that it would be the applicant for a Community Resilience Partnership (CRP) grant application.

“Initially, the applicant was to be Bar Harbor, but they have opted to submit a different CRP grant application related to water quality in the Northeast Creek watershed,” Henkel wrote. “A given town is only able to submit a single application per application period. Any of the four island towns which comprise the MDIHS can be the applicant for a CRP grant for the high school. Both Tremont and Southwest Harbor are already submitting CRP grant applications while Mount Desert is not this application period.”

The grant would fund an American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHREA) level-two analysis of the school, which, Henkel explained is a form of commercial building energy audit.

“The audit will establish a baseline energy use for the high school and an energy roadmap which will include a prioritized list of renovations to reduce energy consumption and emissions. Ms. Poland will be the lead point of contact for the grant. The town will be responsible for financial administration of the grant,” Henkel wrote.

The project, if approved, would begin January 2026 with a final audit report in April 2026. Implementation of potential actions and recommendations would occur after those initial phases. The total project budget is $46,940.

“It’s a pretty straightforward thing for the high schools and getting that information about energy usage in the high school is going to help,” Henkel told the selectboard.

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OTHER BUSINESS

The board authorized a general obligation bond in a principal amount not to exceed $7,645,000 at a fixed interest rate of 5.47% for a term of 20 years to Katahdin Trust Company. Two possibilities were presented to the board. The other came from Bar Harbor Bank & Trust.

“Bar Harbor … they gave us the 5.63 and Katahdin was 5.47, which, over the course of 20 years, will give about a budget savings of $152,580 based on those interest interest rates that we received,” Finance Director Mae Wyler said.

The board also accepted Officer Shelby O’Neil’s resignation, which was effective August 25. Littlefield thanked Officer O’Neil for her service.

Acadia Disposal District’s Household Hazardous Waste collection will be Saturday, September 20, 2025.

The board approved a public space permit for the Arturo Barrett Picnic Potluck in Suminsby Park on September 6, 2025.

Dudman thanked Wyler for all the work she put in on Lunt’s retirement party at the Neighborhood House.

“I want to thank Mae for all she did to make the party for Durlan such a success and extend special thanks to Mae, her husband, and Dan and John for helping clean up, which was a long arduous process. So, thank you,” Dudman said.

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LINKS TO LEARN MORE

To read the packet

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