ROCKLAND – At a special meeting Aug. 4, the Rockland City Council continued planning to develop a 2015 work plan, set the agenda for its Aug. 11 meeting, and heard about immediate repairs being made to a damaged sewer line on Mechanic Street.

Terry Pinto, Water Pollution Director, told the council at the end of the session that dye testing and televising on Mechanic Street revealed that a section of older sewer line had been cut in half by a newer storm sewer, rerouting sewage from two houses and two pumping stations at Sharp’s Point into the harbor.

Pinto said they were taking immediate steps to fix the problem and would begin digging Aug. 5. He added that they reported the issue to the Department of Environmental Protection and he did not yet know whether the DEP would take any action against the city.

He saids that although waste has been dumping into the harbor pollution levels in the harbor are safe.

Pinto went on to provide an update on the E. coli contamination in Snow Marine Park. While the dye tests revealed a source of pollution to the harbor, they did not show how E. coli is getting into the field in the park.

Pinto hopes the smoke test next week and the results of a species origin test on the bacteria will help them work out where the contamination is coming from.

“There’s a myth going around that salt water kills E. coli,” Pinto added. “That’s like saying mosquitoes won’t grow in salt water.”

Trash bags, Thorndike parking

Earlier in the session the council heard several public comments about a recent petition to repeal new pay-per-bag legislation.

The council decided not to vote on an order to hire a facilitator and begin to develop a work plan when several councilors raised concerns that there was still no consensus on whether to hire a facilitator, which facilitator to hire, and for what steps.

Instead, they decided to hold a work session to begin identifying items for the work plan before making a decision on hiring a facilitator.

Community Development Director John Holden and Terry Pinto presented the council with a “tweaked” plan for improvements to the Thorndike Parking Lot area. The first phase of this project will be funded by a Communities for Maine’s Future (CMF) grant the city was awarded after a successful application in 2011.

Mayor Larry Pritchett explained that the CMF funds were not issued until 2013. The council then voted to use the grant to improve Thorndike parking lot because of its potential for first floor commercial spaces on the backs of the buildings and because of security concerns.

The long-term plan for the space includes a new entryway in Grover’s Passage, lighting around the lot, new waste disposal and gas lines and improved parking spaces.

The grant will not cover all of these plans, so Holden explained that they have focused in on what can be done immediately with the budget available.

The plan under consideration by the council includes restriping the parking lot and moving the single line of parking at the east end of the lot to the building side. This change addresses security concerns and makes parking more convenient for the commercial spaces in the backs of those buildings.

Holden said they also plan to add new lights along the west side of the lot, where they will illuminate almost all of the space. More lights are included in a future plan when funds become available.

Additional improvements include the Glover’s Passage walkway, curb extensions and fixes, solid waste storage improvements, new crosswalks, and a plaza at the north end of the lot for the harbor trail.

Holden offered an estimated cost of $234,817, but added that they would not know the cost exactly until each part of the plan was put out for bidding and estimates.

Pinto added that the path and landscaping at the back of the wastewater treatment plant will be worked on by wastewater and public works employees, so there will be no need to go to a bidding process on that part of the project.

The council decided the plan was different enough from the plan it voted on it 2013 that a second vote to approve it will be needed.

The rest of the meeting was devoted to agenda setting for the Aug. 11 meeting.

Upcoming meeting discussions: No more dumping snow in harbor? Moratorium on buildings taller than 50 feet?

Discussion became somewhat heated over a proposed order to amend the Tillson Redevelopment Tax Increment Financing District and Development Program and clarify the language around Credit Enhancement Agreements (CEA).

CEAs can take a number of forms. The council’s discussion centered at CEAs the city might authorize with developers interested in bringing businesses to Rockland. These agreements would guarantee those developers a percentage of their property taxes back from the TIF District for the term of the agreement. This percentage can scale down over the years of the agreement.

The city reached a similar agreement several years ago with Fisher Engineering.

John Holden returned to the table to give his recommendation, on behalf of the Department of Economic and Community Development, that the language about CEAs in current policy be clarified. He suggested “flexible” terms that would give the city council the power to negotiate any percentage of taxes returned from 0-100 percent.

Councilor Elizabeth Dickerson raised some objections to this broad language, saying it may “leave the floodgate open.” She also expressed her concern that the city should give “corporate tax breaks” when there are statewide organizations that can provide incentives to companies.

Councilor Isganitis replied, “We can’t have the conversation if we omit it from policy.”

Isganitis also responded to Dickerson’s remarks about the difference in public perception between exempting nonprofits from city taxes and giving businesses tax breaks.

Mayor Pritchett asked that the council not to interrupt each other.

“My concern is if it’s not in there we can’t do it at all,” Isganitis said. He added that the city council would always be able to say no to any proposed agreement.

Dickerson said she would be willing to meet in the middle if there were some language in the amendment defining what the city council needs to consider, and what measure of benefits a business should be bringing with it to deserve a CEA.

Kevin Beal, the City Attorney, drew the council’s attention to a section of the existing policy that lays out some expectations and guidelines.

Councilor Louise MacClellan-Ruf joined Dickerson in expressing a desire to consider some sort of guidelines or limitations in the language of the amendment. Pritchett suggested Holden provide the council with examples of how other communities in Maine have framed their CEA policy.

The council approved several other agenda items for the upcoming meeting, including a ban on all snow dumping in the harbor, a moratorium on new buildings downtown over 50 feet, an increase in harbor cruise passenger fees for 2016 to eight dollars and an amendment expressly banning CEAs.