Clarifying the League of Towns Mission Across MDI Region

League of Towns May Look to Clarify Mission Across MDI Region

Feb 27, 2026

A man with short hair and a serious expression, wearing a black vest over a white shirt. He appears to be listening or contemplating, with a stage backdrop. — Noel Musson. File photo/BHS.

TRENTON—In a quick meeting, February 24, administrators from multiple Mount Desert Island region towns and Ellsworth and Acadia National Park met at the Trenton Town Office building. It’s typically a monthly meeting.

The group, known as the League of Towns, has been looking to creating and maintaining regional collaborative efforts, holding twice yearly elected officials meeting, and sharing information

This meeting, however, the group began to delve a bit into its own purpose as Noel Musson, of the Musson Group, a consulting firm, asked if they would be fine with pushing the date of its spring elected officials meeting to June.

The group also directed Musson to create two or three action items under each goal that was brought up during past elected officials meetings.

Musson suggested the group take a step back and say, “Here is what we are as an organization.” Once that’s done it could put something in the process to formalize how the LOT will operate.

Bar Harbor Town Manager James Smith said it’s difficult for administrators to speak on behalf of the town before the elected bodies have spoken on things. He said the elected officials workshop is useful.

“I’m always hesitant to get out in front of an issue if my council hasn’t spoken clearly on it,” Smith said.

They aren’t elected officials and it’s not necessarily meant to be public meetings, Smith said. At this meeting, the only members of the public attending were reporters.

Transportation is an easier issue to work collaboratively on because of state money coming in, Smith said. Housing is a bit harder. He worried about potential competing priorities for municipalities who are led by elected officials vs the pressure of regional needs.

“We always have to be cognizant,” of that, Mount Desert Town Manager Alex Kimball said, and also cognizant of where the elected boards of each town are looking to go.

Southwest Harbor Town Manager Karen Reddersen said a strength that stems from the meetings of the League is that it creates an understanding of what other towns are going through. That information share is a big strength, she said, more so than a sense of competing authorities.

“It’s an interesting thing to wrestle with,” Musson said.

There are things that are cross-town issues—issues that impact an entire region—which, when worked on together, lead to better solutions for the micro-region.

“That’s really the struggle,” Musson said.

Black and white newspaper article titled 'New Coastal Resources Directors', featuring a photograph of three men sitting together in an office setting, reviewing paperwork. — Via 1975 Ellsworth American

The League of Towns first begins showing up in newspapers in the mid 1970s, characterized as an informal organization of the town managers of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, and Tremont. It is often referenced as a group that collaborated with the Coastal Resources Center to work on issues such as the fishing industry, housing, health and human service needs, and even traveling to Washington, D.C. to talk about how the local communities and federal agencies could work together.

On Tuesday, Trenton Select Board Chair Fred Ehrlenbach asked Musson what he thought the League of Town’s role was.

Musson said that the elected officials had already found three major topics of things that are occurring throughout MDI and into Ellsworth and Trenton and Lamoine. Those things interact with each other. The League gives a way to talk about how to work through unified regulatory things and if they can work through it together.

Big picture agreement is easier, Musson said. The hard part is figuring out how to work together to make it happen.

One of those things that might be happening collaboratively is the towns—with Ellsworth leading—is finding cheaper salt prices for the towns.

With salt, different towns get different prices, Tremont Town Manager Jesse Dunbar said, even in a combined state bid.

The purpose is to do a joint purchase outside of the state bid and a condition of the bid would be that each town paid the same.

Ellsworth has just updated its procurement systems, Deputy City Manager Sara Devlin said. They’d also want strong quality control for the salt, but are open to being the lead.

Kimball said the towns’ various public works directors’ should be involved as soon as possible.

Smith moved that public works directors reach out to Devlin to communicate and coordinate. Others agreed. Issues could include that some towns might not have big enough salt sheds to only have one delivery to enable them to store all the salt they need for the season.

Tremont has still been working through its draft deer management plan, Dunbar said. The final plan has been forwarded to Inland Fisheries for informal review.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Brochures of Maine.