BELFAST — The Belfast City Council will hold its regularly scheduled public meeting Tuesday evening, June 6, at 7 p.m., to address topics that include possible restructuring of City Committees, new city clerk, facility use requests, Church Street and Northport Ave intersection improvements, among other items on Belfast City Manager Erin Herbig’s pre-meeting report. 

The first agenda item is a request to appoint Angie Crosby as City Clerk for the City of Belfast. The position became available after former clerk, Amy Bradford, became the City’s new finance director/treasurer. The position was listed April 6, and Crosby was ultimately selected to fill the vacant role. 

Crosby has worked for the City of Belfast for the last seven years, achieving her City Clerk Certification Sept. 11, 2018. Crosby took on the role of interim city clerk in March and has been in the position since. 

Herbig described it as “extra special,” to acknowledge when local “kids” like herself decide “to make roots in our community that they were raised in and choose the City as a place for their career.” Herbig wrote that Crosby was raised in Belfast, and attended local schools, and has grown and raised her own family here, with a daughter graduating highschool this week. 

Nancy Driscoll is expected to begin an employment contact with the City to serve as human resources administrator. This will be a new position within City government, according to Herbig’s report, which states:

“It is never easy to add a new position within an organization, especially when the City Council must remain cognitive [sic] of financial impacts on the City taxpayer, but I am thankful to the City Council for their leadership, acknowledgement, and commitment to their employees by creating this new position.

There is a request for the Council to accept and award #2 field bids for fiscal year 2023-2023 for the City of Belfast facilities. In most previous years the City has been able to lock in a fixed rate, something that changed in 2022, when “no fuel supplier was able to provide the City with a fixed rate bid,” according to Herbig’s report. This year a fixed rate bid of $2.635 per gallon was made, and the Council is being asked to formally award the bid to Maritime Energy at that rate. The price would be guaranteed through July 31, 2024.

Municipal Airport Manager Kenn Ortmann is requesting to accept donations that have been made to pay for an airport mural project. According to Ortmann’s request, local artist David Hurley expressed an interest in creating murals to decorate the sides of the electronic equipment building several months ago. It is noted that while the building is efficient at housing much of the necessary equipment used to light the runway and taxiways, its appearance to visitors approaching the airport from the parking lot is “not ideal.”

Following review from the Belfast Airport Advisory Committee, it was determined that having one side of the building showing an iconic yellow Piper Cub representing the recreational use of the Airport, while having the other side showing a Pilatus 24, which would represent the corporate and charter uses of the Airport would best reflect the multiple uses of the Airport, according to Herbig’s report. 

Hurley has reportedly quoted the price of $1,750 to create the murals on two walls of the building. The local EAA Chapter and local pilots have combined to donate the entire amount necessary, and if approved, the funds will be placed in the Airport’s maintenance account, which has a current balance of $4,820.

Airport Manager Ortmann is also requesting the Council to authorize City Manager Herbig’s signature on a “Consent and Acknowledgement Re: Easement,” by and between the City of Belfast and Shasta Terra, LLC.”

According to Ortmann’s request, Shasta Terra, LLC is in the final stages of acquiring property for development of a solar project. The project includes the installation and construction of solar panels, cables, transformers, substations, and other future improvements as approved by the City Planning Board. 

It is noted that Shasta Terra originally asked the City to waive the easements it had purchased and recorded in 2016, though the City refused. According to Herbig’s report, the development of the solar farm is compatible with neighboring land use and sees a parallel interest in limiting the growth of tall trees. 

City Attorney Kristin Collins has redrafted the document to replace the easement waiver language with the following:

• Consent to the Project. The City consents to the development, construction, maintenance, use, and removal of the Project within the Easement.
• Conformance with Easement Rights. The City hereby agrees that the Project as approved by the City’s Planning Board does not violate or conflict with the City’s rights under the Easement.

Airport Manager Ortmann will be at the meeting to answer any questions. 

Director of Code and Planning Bub Fournier is requesting the Council review, discuss, and authorized improvements at the intersection of Church Street and Northport Ave., which were designed by the City engineer.

The City Council authorized the creation of a design that improves the intersection using a“tactical urbanism” approach. City Engineer Mandy Holway, of Olver Assoc., Inc., has generated a final design for consideration. 

For decades pedestrians were allowed to traverse the intersection by using a cut-through the far end of the yard of the James P. White House, which had been allowed by previous owners. The home’s current owners stopped allowing use of this cut-through in 2022, erecting a large fence to keep the entirety of the property enclosed. 

According to Herbig’s report, the pedestrian crosswalk across Northport Ave would be reconnected to the sidewalks on Church Street. The design would also incorporate new striping and bollards that would identify and protect the “bulbs” for pedestrians and other users to collect at. Additionally, the new design would improve the angle at which drivers can enter or exit Church Street, “providing an angle that is closer to 90 degrees for visibility and traffic calming.” 

The estimated cost of 80 bollards, the only specific items that would need to be purchased for the project, is $6,620, which may be a high estimate based on a retail price. The City may be eligible for a municipal or bulk discount, according to Herbig’s request. 

If approved the funds would be taken from the City’s Sidewalk Improvements and Maintenance, which has a current balance of $67,813.25.

The discussion regarding the consideration of restructuring City Committees will also be revisited at this week’s Council meeting. At the March 21 Council meeting, City Staff recommended reorganization to the existing citizen committee structure to increase efficiency and produce better outcomes. 

“The goal of this restructuring would also include the benefits of enhancing communication between the City Council, City Committees, and City Staff; to better align committee work with the Council’s policy priorities, which includes addressing housing issues identified in the 2021 Community Revitalization Plan by creating a new committee; providing better City staff support to City Policy Committees; standardizing membership terms for committee members; and encouraging citizen participation and harnessing their enthusiasm and passion for committee work.” according to Herbig’s report. 

For additional details on any of the items mentioned, or to view City Manager Erin Herbig’s full agenda, visit the City’s website. 

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com