I am pleased to announce that Rockport was selected as the “superior” second place winner of the 2022 Annual Report Competition in the 2,500 to 4,999 population categories.

The criteria used by MMA’s three-person review panel focused on the attractiveness of the cover and layout, as well as reader appeal; the presentation of the materials, including financial statements, statistics, and trends; and the use of tables of contents, photos, and graphics to succinctly inform readers of your community’s achievements.

Our report was on display during MMA’s Annual Convention held on October 5 and 6 in Bangor, Maine. Additionally, a framed certificate of your accomplishment will be sent to us to hang on the wall at the Town Office.

Community and municipal officials are to be commended for their work in gathering the information that goes into these annual reports, and special thanks to Diane Hamilton, whose tireless efforts resulted in this award-winning report.

Fuel Bid:

The Town opened bids for fuel for the coming year on September 29. We received two bids from Dead River and Maritime Energy. We requested bids on #2 heating fuel, propane and diesel fuel and the bid was awarded to Dead River, which were the lowest bidder in each category with. The low bid prices were #2 heating fuel: $3.65/gallon, propane: $1.65/gallon and diesel at $3.73/gallon.

Town Clerk:

Elections. In preparation for the Tuesday, November 8, 2022, election, absentee ballots will be available next week. Residents may come into the office and vote in person, or they can call or use the Secretary of State’s online service to request receiving a ballot via mail. Of course, voters can always vote on election day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Richardson Room at the Town office.

Tax Collection: As a reminder, the first payment for property taxes is due October 17. In September, we collected $69,046.12 in excise taxes and $1,902,027.51 in real estate. Anyone interested in joining the tax club or more information, please stop by the Town Office.

Maine Municipal Workers Compensation Audit

We recently met with MMA Loss Control Consultant Kyle Sheridan for our audit and have completed and advanced to the tier 3 verification for the Workers Compensation Safety Incentive Program.

Maine Municipal Association developed this Workers’ Compensation Safety Incentive Program to help reduce the incidents and impact of workplace injuries by implementing workers compensation best practices. MMA provides necessary written program information and assistance to participants in this program. There are three tiers of compliance in the program, and each includes a percentage reduction in workers’ compensation insurance rates.

Because of the Town’s current safety plans and SHAPE compliance status, the Town is qualified for tier 3, which provides the Town with a 10 % reduction in workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Assessing:

Thus far this fall we have received 5 property tax abatements, and 200 stabilization applications, which is a relatively small number of applications, considering across the state it is much higher. Residents who have questions about the new property tax stabilization program should call the Town Office for more information.

Training. Our assessing department attended a pair of conferences over the past month. First, International Association Assessing Officers Conference in Boston which was the first such event since the pandemic began in 2020. Then Kerry and Caitlin attended the Maine Association of Assessing Officers Conference in Phippsburg last week. With the rapid changes in state laws and coupled with still robust real estate market, these opportunities to collaborate with colleagues across the state, and around the world, are important.

Buildings and Grounds:

Over the past few weeks, our staff have compiled a list of maintenance and repair needs for each building. Overall, these needs will be inputted into our budget, capital improvement plan, and our forthcoming work order system However some needs could not wait, so Matthew and Glen went to work at the Opera House with some painting and significant cleaning of the bottom level and basement. With this department finally fully staffed, our Buildings and Grounds department will be assuming cleaning services for all town buildings next week.

In lieu of Taxes:

Many thanks to Maine Media College which donated $3,000 in lieu of taxes.

Public Works:

Though this is not a Town project, the impact of the milling and repairs along Route 90 have been a significant disruption for so many residents. Wait times when the Maine DOT’s contractor has held one way traffic have improved, but the contractor has not held up their of the bargain struck between town and school officials to avoid repairs during school hours. At present, plans for this section of road will call for a shim coat of pavement to hold the road over the winter followed by significant ditching and a final coat of pavement next summer.

Public Works Generator: The generator, which will be funded in part from a significant grant award, has been ordered. We hope the generator will arrive soon to help over the winter months should our Public Works garage lost power, so our crew will be able to open the garage doors and keep our employees warm when they are not out plowing.

Project Updates: Over the past several weeks our Public Works department has been out and about wrapping up projects with summer traffic slowing down and fall in the air.

A great deal of vegetation was removed from the hillside around the Goose River bridge and more will be removed in the weeks to come.

Culvert replacements on Meadow Street, Forrest Street West, and Lexington Drive. Address depression in road on Reflection Pond Drive
Paint Stop bars at Simonton’s Corner
Install signs for pedestrians, engine brake noise

Catch basin cleaning

Forthcoming projects include:
Assist our wastewater department installing risers on sewer manholes due to forthcoming paving on Pascal/Central/Union streets
Install new culvert on Mount Pleasant Street
Pave storm damaged section of Mount Pleasant, and rough area on Meadow Street

Lastly, the crew have put up the winter sand in preparation for this winter. While we still have time before we put the sanders into the Town’s trucks, the plows have been painted and cutting edges are being prepared. One can never plan too far ahead.

Civic Ready:

We encourage all residents to sign up for this, if you are interested in knowing what is happening in the Town of Rockport. What is great about this system is that you decide which types of information you receive whether it is a reminder when property taxes are due to information on an upcoming event at the Opera House or when a public works project is happening in your neighborhood; Civic Alert can keep you informed. Those interested can also sign up for alerts on our website at https://rockportmaine.gov/civicready

Emergency Management Update:

The Town has been diligently working with FEMA to obtain the necessary reimbursement related to the storm damage from last October’s rain event. This process has been incredibly slow and frustrating. However, progress is beginning to arrive as we were able to close out sections of our repairs, which should allow the Town to begin receiving funds to recoup our costs.

Unsurprisingly repairs on Robinson Drive, West St Extension and Chris Road remain unresolved with FEMA as the requirements of state and federal agencies run counter to FEMA’s stated desire to fund repairs to return to its prior condition. I expect additional paving to be added to the Robinson Drive temporary repair to shore up this access area through the winter season.

Harbor:

Offseason Hours. With the departure of our deputy harbormasters, Rob, and Drew, we will be back to Abbie being our sole harbor employee available for the public. Abbie is available for questions and concerns at the Harbormaster’s building in the Marine Park during normal business hours.

Fire Department:

The department has totaled 169 calls so far year to date with a healthy portion of that amount consisting of car accidents.

Chief Peasley met with the Thomaston Fire Department and Midcoast Maine NEMBA to explore the bike trails in Thomaston’s Town Forest with the new side by side UTV. Recently there have been many accidents in the forest, and we want to become more familiar with the trails to help with our response time.

The fire department is also always looking for new recruits to the volunteer force, for those interested in learning more, please contact Chief Peasley at jpeasley@rockportmaine.gov

Employment Opportunities:

We have several job openings with the Town of Rockport, stop by the Town Office for an application or call and we can email you an application. Also, job applications are available on our town website, along with a detailed job description. https://rockportmaine.gov/jobs

All applications will be accepted until the positions are fill. The Town of Rockport is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Town has received over 40 applications for the soon-to-be vacant position of Town Clerk. We will be reviewing the applications received thus far and setting up interviews with several applicants in the weeks ahead.

• Public Works Truck Driver/Equipment Operator/Laborer - This position involves manual work in road construction, repair, and maintenance, snow and ice removal, and other seasonal public works projects. A CDL is preferred This is a full-time year-round position.

• Administrative Assistant – Planning and Development Office – The ideal candidate will be a charismatic individual, dedicated to the municipality’s goals, who is punctual with their work hours, highly organized, and can work well within a team environment. The ideal candidate will have strong computer skills, proficient with Microsoft products, capable of managing multiple tasks throughout the day, ability to use scanners/printers and the traditional office phone. This position will be the front line of this office, and the ideal candidate will show their professionalism in both attire and personality for this position will handle a lot of in person questions, phone calls and emails.

• Video Technician – This position primary responsibilities are to operate the video and audio equipment at the Rockport Opera House for recording and Livestreaming meetings and events. This is a part-time year-round position with a lot of flexibility (most hours are evenings with some occasional weekends needed).

Comings and Goings. We are excited to announce Julia Pierce as our new Deputy Library Director who is replacing Keith Drago. Julia is coming to us from the Camden Public Library, where she served as the Programs Director. We look forward to Julia joining us starting on October 24.

Events. Many events are happenings at the library so please keep an eye on the Rockport Public Library website and Facebook page. We will also provide a list of events in our Rockport Resource Newsletter.

Happenings.
Caroline Saxe-Cobaugh, our new part time employee, has taken over our Facebook page and Instagram accounts and is doing an excellent job. Social media engagement in key in today’s world.

Opera House:

Events. We have 5 events scheduled for October plus any town meetings/events. Currently working on a holiday winter concert series and a donut festival for the spring. Events will be split between the opera house and the harbor. Stay tuned to the Opera House’s Facebook/Instagram accounts for more updates or the Opera House calendar on the Town’swebsite.

Upgrades: Matt and Glen from the Buildings and Grounds department did a wonderful job cleaning the downstairs area, they will be replacing the auditorium entry way floor and the stairs going down to the meeting room in the weeks ahead.

Planning and Community Development:

TIF District Update. The Board will hold a public hearing on Tuesday on creating a new TIF district on Route 90 and updating the existing Downtown TIF in the village. These TIFs allow the town to fund a variety of infrastructure needs but most notably the expansion of sewer along Route 90 and upgrades needed to treat the Town’s wastewater. The public hearing will allow residents to ask questions about these TIFs.

Comprehensive Plan – “Tour of Rockport”. The Comp Plan Committee held three public engagement meetings throughout the Town over the month of September. One each at the West Rockport Baptist Church, Samoset Resort, and Rockport Masonic Center. The intent for this Tour of Rockport was to go to the community to have their voices heard and provide a chance for people to ask questions to better understand the Comp Plan Process and how it plays into a Rockport’s future. Each meeting had a good conversation and a decent turn out.

The largest takeaway from these meetings is that the community wants balance across the spectrum. This includes balance to ensure Rockport has a resilient economy to weather the economic downturns, balance of housing options to ensure a healthy workforce, balance of transportation options so those that live/visit here can choose how they want to see Rockport, and to balance all this with the environment to ensure the most important part of Rockport is forever preserved.

If you were not able to attend any of these meetings and want to contribute to the future vision of Rockport, the survey is still open until the end of October. Use this link to send us your feedback in the survey: https://planmyrockport.mysocialpinpoint.com/

Comings and Goings. Administrative Assistant for Planning and Codes, Shenley Neely’s last day will be Tuesday, October 18. Shenley will be moving on to become the Assistant Planner for the Town of Camden. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

GovPilot. The Town’s new online building permit application is now live! Applications can now be submitted online.

Appeals. The Town received an appeal for the application from Hope for The Future project at the former medical office buildings along Route 1, the ZBA will be meeting on this appeal on October 12.

Electric Vehicle Stations Grant. Planning and Community Development Director Orion Thomas will be meeting with Efficiency Maine to take advantage of a new grant program which will fund the cost of electric vehicle charging stations on municipal properties open to the public.

MIDC. The Midcoast Internet Development Corporation sent out surveys that will help in their efforts to bring state-of-the-art high-speed internet to all residents and businesses in the area. The survey will have a couple of questions and it will send in your actual internet speed to Midcoast Internet rather than relying upon the often-inaccurate speeds claimed by the larger telecom companies. This data is important and useful in these efforts, and we look forward to your participation. You can also fill out the survey by going to https://midcoast.vetro.io

Finance:

Salary and Personnel Policy Survey The group conducting the survey of Maine communities and their salary and benefit structures met last week to discuss the criteria of the study and the communities from which the survey data will be requested. The committee chose 23 communities to request information from and hope to have the data in hand in early November

Outsourced Payroll System. The Town is continuing to work with Payroll Management to implement a new payroll system which we would hope to implement in the weeks ahead.

Budget Committee. Held their annual organizational meeting on October 4. The new chair is Clay Tolman, Vice-Chair is Clay Tolman, and Secretary is Mark Kelley.

Police Department:

School is open and in full swing. Officers are monitoring the school zones morning and afternoon. We are also making checks of the school areas throughout the day as well.

The October unwanted medication collection day is Saturday, October 29, 10 am - 2 pm at Camden PD.

One of the two new Police cruisers has arrived. It is in line for the install of lights and equipment, but it is expected to take some time because it seems a number of cruisers are being delivered to local departments at the same time. While we had hopes, the second of the cruisers would be in this month, that does not appear to be likely.

Just received word we will be receiving $2,991 in Drug Forfeiture money from a 2020 drug case involving MDEA, Rockland PD, Knox County SO, and Rockport PD. You can make that #6 on the update.

Wastewater:

Final pay has been received for the Route 1 project, will be able to close out soon.

Recreation Committee:

If you want to schedule the use of a field, email rockportrec@rockportmaine.gov.

Rockport Resource Newsletter:

If you would like to receive the Rockport Resource Newsletter via email you can sign up through our website.