Town officials say compliance with state requirements will be complex as discussions begin over density, housing opportunities, and short-term rentals.
Jun 03, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Coastal Kayaking Tours and Acadia Bike.
TREMONT — From housing policy and short-term rentals to failing culverts and parking regulations, Tremont officials spent the past two Select Board meetings tackling a range of issues that could shape the town’s future growth and infrastructure.
But first the board had to organize itself.
In Tremont, the terms of the town’s Select Board’s officers expire when the town’s election is held. This means that for the first meeting following the elections there is technically no chair or vice chair.
At the Select Board’s meeting on May 18, Town Manager Jesse Dunbar opened the meeting as the presiding official and ran the meeting through the election for the chair and vice chair positions.
Member Kevin Buck nominated Jamie Thurlow for the position of Select Board chair and that nomination was seconded by newly elected member Ben Harper. Thurlow was elected as chair 4-0.
Dunbar then called for a vice chair nomination and Thurlow nominated just expired Vice Chair McKenzie Jewett. That nomination was seconded by multiple people and Jewett was elected as vice chair 4-0. Dunbar then quickly turned the meeting over to Thurlow by giving him back the chair’s gavel.
Land Use Ordinance Changes
Code Enforcement Officer Angela Chamberlain explained at the May 18 meeting that with the successful passage of the land use ordinances on May 12, she would now be working with the Planning Board on the next round of land use ordinance amendments.
Some of those amendments will focus on LD1829 which is state legislation “which addresses Maine’s housing shortage requiring municipalities to amend ordinances to allow additional housing opportunities and reduce barriers to residential development,” according to Chamberlain.
These amendments are required by the state to be adopted by municipalities by July 1, 2027.
“This will be a complicated and expensive amendment that’s gonna require revisions to multiple ordinances,” said Chamberlain. “And further complicating the implementation is the recent direction of new legislation, LD2173.”
The newer legislation, LD2173, is providing revisions to LD1829 so changes are being made before the town has even had a chance to try and align its land use ordinances with LD1829.
The revisions of LD1829 will not affect the shoreland zoning ordinances Chamberlain said.
There was a note of caution from Chamberlain, who said that she did not want to take the position that the town should regulate short-term rentals, that without some method of preventative measures, some of the new increased density requirements of the state could open the door for more short-term rentals.
After quite a bit of conversation amongst the Select Board, it was recognized that the possible regulation of short-term rentals, in some form, was a necessary conversation to be had in the near future so that it can occur concurrently with the required land use ordinance changes.
Road Maintenance Plan
At the June 1 Select Board meeting, Dunbar said that he and Public Works Foreman Warren Young recently drove every town road in Tremont to inventory necessary road work to include road repairs, ditching, street sign replacements, potholes, paving, and culverts. From these journeys, Dunbar compiled a list of items to be done and created a possible priority list which he had given to the Select Board for review and discussion.
The roads that were discussed at the meeting follow.
- Marsh Road and Ann’s Point Road – Culvert replacements.
- Bernard Road – Patching the road and paving the island.
- Leffingwell Road – Unpaved dirt road that has a town access right of way to Back Beach. The town performs annual grading and shrub trimming but the right of way is so overgrown that it is not visible. Dunbar suggested that it would make more sense for the town to maintain the road if the right of way was maintained and useable.
- Cape Road – Some repairs that public works will work on. Also paving work to be done by outside contractor.
- Rumill Road – A very short stretch of the pavement ends prior to the end of the town road.
- Kelleytown Road – Culverts are failing and beavers are damming the culverts causing water to run between the culverts and wash out under the pavement. The Select Board wants to look into replacing the failing culverts with concrete box culverts.
- Dodge Point Road – Needs to be graded. Grading on the first section doesn’t last long and numerous potholes come back. Base of the road is not good and paving will require road base replacement.
- Clark Point Road – Needs paving on the south end.
The Select Board also briefly discussed two roads that may become discontinued as town roads in the future.
- Fanning Road – Off Leffingwell Road, it is a small dirt road. Dead end that is very hard to plow. The Select Board spoke about abandoning/discontinuing the road as a town road but agreed that the road should be graded by the town prior to any abandonment actions.
- Jaspers Way – Needs repaving. The Select Board has entertained the idea of abandoning or discontinuing the road as a town road in the past and may do so in the future. The Select Board also agreed that the road should be improved to the condition that it was in when it was given to the town by the state prior to any abandonment actions.
The Select Board directed Dunbar to get estimates for the work that the public works crew cannot do, box culverts, and paving.
Thurlow asked if the public works department can do something about the ridges of dirt/sand that line the road from winter plowing and the placing of sand on the road during snowstorms.
Traffic Control and Parking Ordinance.
At the May 18 meeting, Dunbar presented the Select Board with an amended traffic control and parking ordinance based upon issues brought up by Harbormaster Tyler Damon.
Damon said that the town used to have an ordinance that prohibited overnight truck parking in the Bernard Road parking lot but now the ordinance only prohibits trailer parking in the parking lot for more than 72 hours.
Damon was asking that the overnight prohibition be put back in place because there is at least one wharf marine product permit holder who consistently leaves a truck in the lot overnight. This truck often blocks in other lot users, prevents them from using the lot easily, or prevents Damon from performing his tasks.
Prohibiting any vehicle weighing over 20,000 pounds from parking in the parking lot overnight is the goal, Damon said.
Chair Thurlow has heard complaints of bait being left in the trucks overnight which causes the smell of rotten fish to permeate the area.
Part of the reason that the truck stays overnight is that because bait is left in the back so that fishermen can pick up the bait that they have ordered in the early morning hours when they are arriving for the beginning of their work day.
A representative of DC Air & Seafood, who according to Damon regularly leaves its truck overnight, said that he is aware that there is an issue and they want to figure out how to rectify it.
After reviewing the amended ordinance the Select Board decided to give a 30-day grace period from the date that the ordinance is approved, if it does get approved. the Select Board also set a public hearing date of June 1 for the ordinance amendment.
At the June 1 meeting, the public hearing was held and the ordinance was unanimously approved by the Select Board.
The amendment is a single line in the ordinance and the entire ordinance, as amended, is at the end of this article.
Policy Adoption
There were a number of general polices adopted and approved by the Select Board at the May 18 meeting.
General Policies and By-Laws of the Tremont Select Board
There were no changes from the current version of the general policies and by-laws of the Select Board.
Property Tax Payment Policy
The state requires this policy to be adopted every year and it requires “that property tax payments be credited against the oldest outstanding or delinquent taxes.”
Check Disbursement Policy
According to Dunbar’s meeting memo, “by state law, the town treasurer can sign checks only upon the approval of the Select Board at its twice monthly meetings. However, town employees are paid every week and the state doesn’t want to wait several weeks for its vehicle registration and other fees. Consequently, state law makes provision for this problem by allowing the treasurer to sign checks upon the approval of a single Select Board member, if the full Select Board adopts a policy to that effect.”
Conduct Policy
The Select Board adopts a conduct policy which governs the behavior of board and committee members who are appointed by the Select Board and the Select Board itself, every year even though it is not a state requirement.
Fee Schedule and Town Office Closure
Fee Schedule
The fee schedule provides a centralized list of all of the town’s fees. There were no changes to the fees this year and the fee schedule was approved by the Select Board.
Town Office Closure
The business lobby of the town office will be closed on June 9 so that the staff is available for election duties. The town manager, code enforcement officer, and bookkeeper will be in the office to answer the phones. CEO Chamberlain will also be available for inspections or appointments.
This request was approved by the Select Board.
June 1 Select Board Meeting
Before ending its meeting with an executive session on June 1, the Select Board held two public hearings and approved a number of agenda items.
Liquor License and Special Amusement Application for Island Take Out
Nobody spoke at this public hearing with the exception of the owner of Island Take Out who said that nothing has changed and they just want to “keep doing what they do.”
The liquor license and special amusement permit was unanimously approved.
The second public hearing was for the traffic control and parking ordinance covered above.
Other Items Approved
Thurston’s Liquor License Renewal
The Select Board unanimously approved Thurston’s liquor license renewal.
Town Office Cleaning Contract
The town recently advertised for bids for cleaning contracts for cleaning of the town office. The bids were due in by 10 a.m., on May 26 and only one bid was received and that was from the current cleaning company, Acadia Cleaning Service.
The bid was for an amount of $195 per week which is $5 more per week than the current price. However, according to Dunbar, there is currently no contract so having a contracted price and agreement will give him the ability to better address any performance issues that may arise.
The Select Board unanimously approved the contract.
Salary Ranges
The first article of the town’s personnel policy requires that a salary range for all town employees is set by the Select Board. Dunbar had compiled a list of all town positions and the corresponding salary or wage to be paid beginning the first payday in July.
Dunbar also noted that these are maximum wages/salaries and new employees or employees with performance problems will be paid at a lower rate.
Any adjustments in the wages or salaries were adjustments that were approved int he town’s recently approved FY 2027 budget.
The Select Board unanimously approved the list of salary ranges.
The Tremont Select Board’s next meeting is scheduled for June 15 at 5 p.m., in the Harvey Kelley Meeting Room at the town office.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Maine Ld1829
174KB ∙ PDF file
Maine Ld2173
173KB ∙ PDF file
Traffic Ordinance Draft
154KB ∙ PDF file
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