Tag: local politics

Where Politics Met Paint, Song, and Community in Bar Harbor "Let’s Do Something That Feels Right."
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Where Politics Met Paint, Song, and Community in Bar Harbor

“Let’s Do Something That Feels Right.” Carrie Jones Jan 13, 2026 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Window Panes Home and Garden. BAR HARBOR—On a dreary winter late afternoon beneath the high rafters of the Hidden Barn Bookstore, voices rose, hands moved, cameras clicked, and sea shanties shifted from lamentation to wry callings. Nearly 80 people gathered, not to debate politics, but to make something together: … Continue reading Where Politics Met Paint, Song, and Community in Bar Harbor

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Smokey Bear Coming to Trenton Soon Community Resilience Grants and Comprehensive Planning Moving Forward
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Smokey Bear Coming to Trenton Soon

Community Resilience Grants and Comprehensive Planning Moving Forward Shaun Farrar Dec 03, 2025 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Choco-Latté Café. TRENTON—At its November 25 meeting, Fire Chief Steve Heckman told the Trenton Select Board that the town’s new Smokey Bear sign is currently being made. Once finished, the sign will be delivered to Old Town and the fire department will bring it home … Continue reading Smokey Bear Coming to Trenton Soon

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Bar Harbor Council Doesn't Reappoint Appeals Board Vice Chair Council approves other appointments, housing licenses, and a sandwich board sign. Carrie Jones Jul 16, 2025 Bar Harbor Story file photo. The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The 1932 Criterion Theatre. BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Town Council’s nomination process had a bit of a hitch, July 15. Cara Ryan, who had been the appeals board vice chair, was nominated to the appeals board, but the motion failed 3-4. Mike Siklosi was reappointed as an associate member. There was no discussion on Ryan’s nomination. Council Chair Valerie Peacock, Vice Chair Maya Caines, Steven Boucher, and Joe Minutolo voted against. Councilors Earl Brechlin, David Kief, and Randell Sprague voted in favor. In Bar Harbor, applicants for boards, task forces, and committees submit their application and are then interviewed by a three-member nominating committee comprised of town councilors. The committee then brings its nominees before the council. Current nominating committee members are Boucher, Kief, and Sprague. Past town councils have not appointed nominees before. Ryan was first appointed after a split vote over the nomination committee’s nominee. In 2022 Nathan Young was up for the board of appeals and had been approved 2-0 by the nominations committee. However, Peacock nominated Ryan during that 2022 meeting. The council voted 4-3 in favor of Ryan. There was no discussion at that meeting either. Appeals Board members per town website. “I was surprised and a little disappointed, but also relieved,” Ryan said after the decision. “I've been feeling I've become a target on this board because I've spoken out in the past on various important town issues that have found their way into appeals. That was never my reason for volunteering to serve on this particular board, but since it's become a distraction, I hesitated to re-apply. I asked the town clerk just before the deadline if anyone else had applied. Hearing no, and knowing we still had another vacancy, I left my application in.” Ryan said that during the nominations committee interview she was asked about two things and neither felt appropriate. One was about the town’s current moratorium on lodging, she said. “I wasn't sure whether I should answer that at all: aren't appeals board members supposed to be neutral? Yet here I was in the interview being asked my opinion. The second was details about the ethics complaint filed against me by Eben Salvatore and council discussion of which was accidentally broadcast via a hot mic in an executive session. I was asked details about that whole history and though again shocked by the question (since I've been told it's supposed to be confidential), I was as transparent as I could be,” Ryan said. “I tried really hard to be impartial in my work on this board. Apparently, it wasn't enough for some councilors.” There has been an ethics complaint in the town against Ryan about her participation in an appeals board case relating to cruise ship disembarkations. The cruise ship changes, approved twice by voters, though more narrowly the second time, have created multiple lawsuits, costing the town more than a million dollars. One of those suits specifically involves the town’s ethics commission and its handling of the complaint against Ryan. In March, the Bar Harbor Town Council had accidentally broadcast an executive session (which is meant to be private per Maine law) where members discussed that alleged ethics violation by Ryan and the complaint related to it. Ryan was not at the session. Her name was not meant to be public record nor was the person who made the complaint. Ryan had previously recused herself from a December appeals board discussion about the Golden Anchor LC because of that ethics complaint. The Golden Anchor runs the Harborside Hotel. The Harborside Hotel has been disputing the town’s new requirements that it have a disembarkation permit for cruise ship tenders. Ryan had participated in a November meeting concerning the Golden Anchor’s permitting dispute when the Golden Anchor’s attorney had missed a submission deadline. The original conflict of interest worry was because Ryan had been asked to be a witness in the case against the town and received a $100 witness fee. She did not, however, get called to testify and gave that $100 to Charles Sidman’s GoFundMe campaign. That GoFundMe campaign by the lead petitioner of the cruise ship changes was to help him with legal fees. Since March, the issuer of that ethics complaint, Eben Salvatore, has filed in Hancock County Superior Court against the town. That filing occurred in April and is now public record. All other nominations passed unanimously. Peter Scott was appointed to the board of assessment review. Rob Jordan and Davis Taylor snagged seats on the conservation commission. Micala Delapierre and Kaitlyn Mullen were reappointed to the harbor committee. Chris Petersen and Joanna Fogg were reappointed to the marine resources committee. Lydia Styles joined them. Ann Tikkanen was reappointed as the YMCA representative for the parks & recreation committee. Because Boucher disclosed that he is on the YMCA board, he recused himself and the council unanimously voted that he had a conflict of interest. Clark Stivers and John Seavitt were reappointed to the planning board. The town’s task force on the climate emergency gained Annabel Curry. HOUSING LICENSES The councilors renewed the license for employee living quarters on 119 Eden Street and a shared accommodations license for 278 Main Street. The first is for Witham Family employees. The second is associated with Project Social. Brechlin asked about parking requirements for the licenses. “I have a question. I talked to some of the residents down there on the street and they talk about parking and I didn’t know how much parking was provided on the lot where these folks live,” Brechlin asked. Code Enforcement Officer Michael Gurtler said the licensee meets all the requirements for the license. “This certainly, actually, kind of points out some of things we’re looking at with the moratorium with employee living quarters and adequate parking. Residents tell me of cars that don’t move for a week or more at a time down there,” Brechlin said. “There’s just a lot of cars, not a lot of churn.” The moratorium is a pause on multiple types of lodging uses, but not shared accommodations and employee living quarters, which are considered housing. During the moratorium process, the town is collecting data on current building uses, town infrastructure and services use, and traffic congestion. The types of lodgings that fall under the moratorium Kief said he had a conflict of interest because he was an abutter with the property at 278 Main Street. “It’s a parking conflict.” The council unanimously agreed Kief had a conflict of interest. Once recused, his concerns, he said, were mentioned by Brechlin. BLACK FRIAR INN GETS A SANDWICH BOARD SIGN The Black Friar Inn, which is behind the Pathmaker Hotel and abuts the town’s municipal building, asked for a small sandwich board sign on Cottage Street, pointing people to its business at 10 Summer Street. Deborah Vickers, one of the Black Friar Inn and Pub, said, “We’d just like the opportunity to support our business since we’ve been completely blocked off.” She said the sign wouldn’t impede foot traffic, visual line of sight, and could be removed every night. “We would love to be able to do this. It has an impact on us—not being seen directly from the road,” Vickers said. Vickers said they’d pay the town for the use and the approved council order authorizes the town manager, or designee, “to negotiate and execute a one-year lease agreement with the tenant, including but not limited to setting lease terms, rates, and conditions.” Minutolo worried that the sign would be too low for people to see. Vickers said that they’ve had a trial period, approved by the town, and the results were immediate. “We definitely see an impact. We don’t want a big sign. We don’t want to be obnoxious,” she said. Peacock said there wasn’t any perimeters or policy about how town land can be used. While it feels okay on a request by request basis, she worries that there are currently no ways for the town to think about it more comprehensively. She wants the town to figure that out. TOWN ACCEPTS STATE GRANT AND ENGAGES AUDITOR The council accepted a Maine Department of Public Safety grant for medical screenings for MDI first responders. The town also engaged James W. Wadman, CPA firm to perform the annual audit for Fiscal Year 2025. COUNCIL COMMENTS During councilor comments at the end of the meeting, Minutolo said he never sees anyone get tickets for speeding and would like enforcement stepped up. “It’s nothing against the police force,” Minutolo said and thought that everyone was doing a good job but that there needs to be more traffic calming efforts. Other councilors thanked the town for its efforts for the Fourth of July. The Fourth of July events were supported by the town’s police, fire, and ambulance departments as well as public works, but hosted by the Bar Harbor Chamber Commerce and Bar Harbor (MDI) Rotary, the MDI YMCA, and sponsored by local businesses and Rotary. Many of the events use the town property. LINKS TO LEARN MORE To watch the meeting Council packet JOBS IN BAR HARBOR TOWN GOVERNMENT Highway Division-Equipment Operator Posted April 7, 2024 4:30 AM | Open Until Filled GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY The primary responsibility of an Equipment Operator position is the operation and routine maintenance of heavy equipment: backhoes, loaders, graders... Full Description Maintenance Worker Posted April 7, 2024 4:31 PM | Open Until Filled GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY The primary responsibility of the position is to support all manners of operation and maintenance of the highway and parks and recreation facilities... Full Description Mechanic Posted April 2, 2025 | Open Until Filled OVERVIEW The Mechanic positions primarily serve the Highway, Parks and Recreation, and Transfer Station work areas of the Public Works Department, but also maintain the... Full Description Patrol Officer Posted February 20, 2024 9:00 PM | Open Until Filled Nature of Work: A Police Officer is responsible for the prevention and repression of crime, ensuring the safety of inhabitants and visitors, and maintaining the security of... Full Description Solid Waste Foreman Posted November 21, 2023 9:04 PM | Open Until Filled Job Posting: Solid Waste Foreman - Transfer Station Organization: Town of Bar Harbor Department of Public Works Primary Work Area: Solid Waste/Transfer Station Job... Full Description Water Superintendent Posted April 15, 2025 | Open Until Filled GENERAL PURPOSE The Water Superintendent is responsible for the overall operation, maintenance and construction activities of the Water Division while ensuring compliance... Full Description Follow us on Facebook. And as a reminder, you can easily view all our past stories and press releases here. Bar Harbor Story is a mostly reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for being here with us and being part of our community, too! Thanks for reading Bar Harbor Story ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here (about how you can give) or here (a direct link), which is the same as the button below. To support The Story If you’d like to sponsor the Bar Harbor Story, you can! Learn more here. Leave a comment THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR COMMUNITY
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Bar Harbor Council Doesn’t Reappoint Appeals Board Vice Chair

Council approves other appointments, housing licenses, and a sandwich board sign. Carrie Jones Jul 16, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The 1932 Criterion Theatre. BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Town Council’s nomination process had a bit of a hitch, July 15. Cara Ryan, who had been the appeals board vice chair, was nominated to the appeals board, but the motion failed 3-4. … Continue reading Bar Harbor Council Doesn’t Reappoint Appeals Board Vice Chair

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Trenton Voters Say No To Commercial Solar Farms Perreault and Sproule Tie for Select Board
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Trenton Voters Say No To Commercial Solar Farms

Perreault and Sproule Tie for Select Board Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar May 21, 2025 Share TRENTON—On Monday voters in Trenton resoundingly voted (164-46) to have solar only be an accessory use in their town. That vote means that people can still have solar panels to offset the energy needs of their home or businesses, but that the town will not permit large-scale commercial solar farms … Continue reading Trenton Voters Say No To Commercial Solar Farms

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Trenton Voters Reject Large-Scale Solar For A Second Time Town Meeting Will Decide if Another Proposed Land Use Ordinance Change is Enacted
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Trenton Voters Reject Large-Scale Solar For A Second Time

Town Meeting Will Decide if Another Proposed Land Use Ordinance Change is Enacted Shaun Farrar Mar 11, 2025 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. TRENTON—During a special town meeting on Monday, March 10, voters eliminated one of two possible proposed changes to the town’s land use ordinance regarding the production of solar energy. Those changes were where a solar array can … Continue reading Trenton Voters Reject Large-Scale Solar For A Second Time

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Mount Desert Selectboard Says No To Proposed Fitness Classes on Tennis Courts Selectboard member urges drivers to slow down, budget reconfigured after losing shared deputy fire chief
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Mount Desert Selectboard Says No To Proposed Fitness Classes on Tennis Courts

Selectboard member urges drivers to slow down, budget reconfigured after losing shared deputy fire chief Carrie Jones Feb 06, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Shops. MOUNT DESERT—The Mount Desert Selectboard earlier this week turned down Henry Newhall’s proposal to use the marina parking lot and tennis courts in Northeast Harbor Village Green for fitness classes. “It’s something I’m really passionate … Continue reading Mount Desert Selectboard Says No To Proposed Fitness Classes on Tennis Courts

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Town Council Pauses All Lodging Construction for 180 Days Maya Caines Appointed Vice Chair, Comprehensive Plan Moves Ahead
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Town Council Pauses All Lodging Construction for 180 Days

Maya Caines Appointed Vice Chair, Comprehensive Plan Moves Ahead Carrie Jones Feb 05, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. BAR HARBOR—After enacting two 60-day emergency moratoriums, the Bar Harbor Town Council, on February 4, unanimously voted for a 180-day moratorium on lodging. Councilor Joe Minutolo was not present. “I really struggle with this one,” Councilor Randy Sprague said. The … Continue reading Town Council Pauses All Lodging Construction for 180 Days

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Sidman Sells Councilor Recall Petition at Cruise Ship Meeting
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Sidman Sells Councilor Recall Petition at Cruise Ship Meeting

Shaun Farrar Oct 02, 2024 BAR HARBOR—During a cruise ship discussion hosted and moderated by Charles Sidman, October 1, Sidman said that he planned to have a recall petition during the election in November. Sidman is the lead petitioner in the citizen’s initiative that resulted in the current Chapter 52 of the Town of Bar Harbor’s land use ordinance controlling cruise ship disembarkation of passengers and has … Continue reading Sidman Sells Councilor Recall Petition at Cruise Ship Meeting

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