Town manager says design changes made the project more affordable and buildable while preserving its core vision.

Shaun Farrar

2 minutes ago

BAR HARBOR—This past week, at least two members of the currently four-member Bar Harbor Parks and Recreation Committee expressed discontent with the fact that the Committee did not get a chance to look at the newest iteration of plans for the Glen Mary Pool prior to the Town Council moving it forward.

On October 20, 2026, the Town Council gave a nod to the current plans and also authorized contributing an additional $350,000 on top of the previously approved $750,000 for a total of $1.1 million.

At the end of the Committee’s meeting, during the member comments period, on Monday, November 2, member John Kelly said, “We all know that the Glen Mary Pool has moved through Town Council. A couple of things, I am disappointed—the best word that I can come up with—that that discussion, that decision, didn’t come back to this committee.”

That’s because it is the committee’s role to make recommendations on the use of town parks, Kelly said.

Chapter 31 Article VIII of the Town Code, Section 31-106, which is the mission statement of the Parks and Recreation Committee reads, “The Parks and Recreation Committee shall act in an advisory capacity to the Town Council and town manager in all matters relating to the development and management of the town’s parks and recreation facilities.”

“That has been a big one that we have been involved in for a long time,” Kelly continued.

Kelly also said that a while back, when he was still the committee’s chair, he had asked Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt to give an update on the pool to the committee but then it ended up being in the town manager’s hands. Kelly said that he exchanged emails with Town Manager James Smith with Smith replying that the committee had done its job and the issue was now in the Town Council’s hands.

In a November 4 email to the Bar Harbor Story, Town Manager James Smith wrote, ”The Glen Mary Wading Pool had been closed since 2022, before I began serving as town manager. When I arrived, the replacement effort had not advanced to a fundable, construction-ready project. Therefore, my primary objective was to restart the public discussion, ensure the Parks and Recreation Committee had a meaningful role in shaping community priorities, and bring the Town Council a plan it could responsibly approve.”

Kelly said that the design had changed since they made their recommendation and the committee should have had the chance to revisit the plan. Kelly said that it is a big deal not to have a winter use at the pool and by the updated plans not coming back to the committee it eliminated another opportunity for public input and discussion.

There will be ice skating on a portion of the fields by the MDI YMCA and Park Street Playground again this year, it was previously indicated at an October Town Council meeting.

“At this point I am not sure, what role are we playing if we don’t have a role in talking about the use of Glen Mary,” said Kelly.

“The Committee’s role remains important. It advises the Council and town manager on parks and recreation priorities, as it has done on this project. The Town Council makes the final public decisions on policy and funding, and staff are responsible for carrying those decisions through to completion. That division of responsibility ensures public input shapes the project while allowing the town to move from planning to construction,” Smith wrote.

Kelly acknowledged that the role of the committee is up to the town manager and the Council but he was “disappointed that we didn’t have a chance to vet that and have a chance for public comment to us.”

Smith also wrote, “The Parks and Recreation Committee played a key role in all of that. It considered the project over multiple years and numerous public meetings, received substantial public input, held a public review of the VIA and LARK Studio’s conceptual plan, and ultimately voted to recommend that concept plan to the Town Council.

“The Town Council then considered the committee’s recommendation publicly. As engineering and cost estimating continued, it became clear that the earlier iterations were not financially attainable. In May 2026, the Council established a preliminary funding framework. That framework allowed town staff and VIA to work through the project details and develop a buildable, affordable plan that preserved the core purpose of the committee’s concept. The Town Council approved that final plan and funding package in October.

“The work between those decisions did not change the community’s fundamental vision for Glen Mary. It made that vision buildable and affordable. Had the Town Council chosen a fundamentally different facility, or policy direction, the matter should have returned to the committee for a new recommendation and additional public input. However, that was not the case here.”

During the committee’s discussion, Chair Jeff Dobbs, who is also a member of the Village Improvement Association (VIA), said that while he could not remember all of the changes that had been made to the design, many of them were due to state rules and regulations that had changed since the current pool was built.

The VIA has committed $750,000 to the Glen Mary Pool project but approximately $100,000 of that money has been spent on the planning process to date.

When Kelly was done speaking and Chair Dobbs asked Vice Chair Greg Veilleux if he wanted to make any comments, Veilleux said, “I have nothing. You stole my thunder John. And rightfully so. I would hope that Bethany would, you know, react and respond to that comment.”

Leavitt was not at the November 2 meeting.

---

OTHER COMMITTEE BUSINESS

With one seat open on the five-member committee and member Ann Tikkanen not being a voting member due to not being a resident of the Town of Bar Harbor, all unanimous votes are 3-0 for the committee currently.

The committee unanimously approved three park use applications.

• Request from the YWCA MDI to hold the Annual Carol Dyer Memorial Luminaria, to be held on the Village Green on August 14, 2027, from 6-10 p.m.
• Request from the MDI YMCA to hold the Annual Acadia Half-Marathon and 10k Race, to be held on the town’s athletic fields on Sunday, June 6, 2027, from 6:30-10:30 a.m.
• Request from the MDI YMCA to hold the Annual Bar Harbor Bank and Trust Half-Marathon and 5k Race, to be held on the town’s athletic fields on Saturday, September 11, 2027, from 7-11 a.m.

There was a fourth application from the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce to display its buoy tree at Harborview Park from November 2026 to February 2027.

According to Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce Director Everal Eaton, the Chamber does not come before the committee for this project accept on years when the buoys need refurbishing and the Chamber uses that opportunity as a fundraiser for a local nonprofit. Otherwise, the buoy tree is just considered part of the Chamber’s normal job of decorating for the Village Holidays.

Fundraising activities and the amount of time that the tree is erected at Harborview Park take the application out of the decision making purview of the committee, but the committee did unanimously recommend that the buoy tree decision be moved to the Council for consideration.

---

HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY

When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other.

We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going.

If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship.

It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light.

Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now.

Thank you so much for being here.

Founding member information can be found here.

Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you.