[0:00] Um,
>> we didn't.
[0:03] » So, I would like to uh I would like uh
start the meeting and I would like to
[0:07] ask for a motion to go into executive
session.
[0:10] » So, moved.
>> Second.
[0:12] » All in favor?
[0:16] » No.
[0:47] Welcome back everyone.
[0:52] » Um, I will take a motion to approve the
minutes of August 3, 2026. Move them.
[0:58] Second.
>> All in favor? Appointments
[1:04] and resignations. None. Consent agenda.
None. Any select board reports?
[1:10] » I have one.
[1:15] I think it's time that we took another
look at U short-term rentals. They're
[1:19] back in the news. Um, the Bar Harbor
story did a couple of good articles
[1:25] about it on August 6th about the
discussion at the Tmont Select Board and
[1:31] August 12th the similar discussion in
Southwest Harbor. There's new state
[1:37] legislation that allow will starting
next year will allow um three dwelling
[1:44] units on the lot and four dwelling units
in a designated growth area
[1:51] and towns have to be in compliance by
July 2027.
[1:57] I know that this um legislation is
intended to create more housing for more
[2:03] people, but it could backfire and it
could without an ordinance in place, it
[2:08] could result in enormous growth in
short-term rentals in all of our towns.
[2:14] I'm not against I said this when we
tried to tackle this before. I'm not
[2:19] against people renting out their own
homes or space in their home. That's an
[2:25] old tradition in our town and I think
it's one that we that should continue.
[2:31] I'm talking about the growing practice
of people using homes as investments.
[2:38] People buying up houses or building
houses and using them like hotels.
[2:45] This does nothing to promote a healthy,
vibrant year-round community which we
[2:50] all want.
It's time we address the issue.
[2:55] I think we need to begin by taking stock
of what's going on in our town. Find out
[3:01] how many short-term rentals there
actually are currently exist. Who owns
[3:06] them? Are they owned by the people who
live in the house? Are they somebody
[3:11] from out of town, out of state? That's
the first step. But we can't stop there.
[3:18] We need to put some guard rails in place
so our town doesn't turn into a ghost
[3:23] town.
>> I agree 100%.
[3:26] » Y
[3:30] » thank you.
Any comments?
[3:34] Thank you, Martha. That's very to the
point.
[3:39] Um, I do have something. I I just want
to get out there and reiterate the the
[3:44] importance to have a plan in place for
um
[3:48] um for our issue with town garage.
Um and just to let people know that
[3:54] nothing's going to happen overnight. We
are working on plans, but we need to we
[3:58] need to get those plans in place and
have something for folks that we've
[4:03] overlooked because apparently there are
a lot of folks in town that don't have
[4:06] the wherewithal to get their garbage out
at the end of their private road there.
[4:11] Either there isn't a container there or
there isn't space or something like
[4:16] that. So, we need to look into getting
that done.
[4:22] » Okay,
that's all I got. Anyone else?
[4:25] directing Alex to figure it out.
[laughter]
[4:30] » We're still playing with some ideas as
is anyways. So,
[4:33] » yeah,
>> I will say the communication
[4:37] that we've gotten from ex outside
people, letters, different I mean some
[4:42] of them have been really good had really
good points.
[4:45] Um, so I feel like we're making progress
getting information out there that we we
[4:51] need to do something. And I will say I
if you drive by that town garage Sunday
[4:57] night [laughter]
>> I saw it's disgusting.
[5:00] » I I've made a point to do it this I no
wonder we have to do something like it
[5:06] is beyond uncontrollable.
And so we have to do something. But
[5:16] » I think one of the things and and Brian
mentioned this um and he's on the Zoom
[5:20] call by the way, but um there's a rather
enormous amount of the trash for the
[5:25] town itself that seems to be passing
through there. Much larger chunk than
[5:30] would seem
rational. Um, and so that's that's part
[5:35] of what we got to really figure out here
is
[5:38] » marvelous out of town trash.
>> I agree.
[5:41] » Yeah. I mean, and that's part of why if
we come up with a system, we'll we'll
[5:45] find out pretty fast. And I think
anecdotally, we all know it. We've all
[5:49] been there after hours and seen the car
pull up where you're just like, "No,
[5:53] no." [laughter]
So, yeah. Um, so we know that's out
[5:59] there. Um, but yeah, there's a lot of
work to be done on this one. This has
[6:03] definitely proven to be a stickier one
than I think initially thought.
[6:09] » I could
go ahead, Brian.
[6:12] » Go ahead. Oh, so yeah, we're still we
we're still trying to collect data and
[6:17] information and really understand what
the circumstances are so that we can
[6:20] come up with a good solution for how
we're going to move forward with this.
[6:26] that there's not a fixed answer
certainly and I'm doing some data
[6:30] collection in terms of managing the way
in which we're dumping it such that we
[6:34] can actually know total volumes coming
out of there. We're trying to pay
[6:37] attention to what's going on there, make
sure that our camera system is
[6:40] operational that we're so we're trying
to do that. I I would
[6:46] ask that if anyone does come to either,
you know, any town staff or any of the
[6:51] select board members and does talk about
their particular circumstances, by all
[6:55] means, please send them my way. I want
to hear as many people as I possibly
[7:00] can. I want to understand all the
circumstances um as much as I can and
[7:05] and really use that information to our
best ability to craft something that
[7:11] will work but does
improve the conditions at the town
[7:15] garage. But I I need to hear from
people. So please please refer people to
[7:20] me as much as possible.
I haven't heard anything personally, but
[7:25] I I think I mentioned before I have
visions of having the the place closed
[7:30] up and Monday morning come down and find
Well, if we can't get in, just drop it
[7:35] at the gate. And I I I actually see that
happening. Maybe not, but I
[7:41] » No, it does. It's well documented and
that's years. Oh,
[7:44] » yeah.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
[7:48] [clears throat] Um process question.
What what role does the sustainability
[7:53] committee play in this? Because to me,
this is part kind of managing the town
[7:59] garage and it's part recycling and trash
procedures, expenses.
[8:06] Um, so
where does this get hashed out? Where
[8:11] does this get workshopped? I have full
faith in Brian, but I think having, you
[8:15] know, [clears throat] volunteers who
have put a lot of time and thought into
[8:19] this in the past, we just just need to
understand what their role is, if any.
[8:24] » Actually, um, I can tell you uh, none.
There's no role for them in this. This
[8:30] is this is strictly a town thing. I I
don't want to put that kind of committee
[8:35] work on that particular committee
because it really that committee was
[8:40] designed initially to to get the LED
lights installed and the fixtures
[8:43] installed and work on solar and work on
sustainability stuff. We've had very
[8:49] very little interaction other than Phil
went out to look at municipal waste hub
[8:54] at one point when it was fiberite.
Uh very little involvement in in
[9:00] municipal solid waste. Okay, that's
helpful.
[9:04] » Yeah.
>> Okay.
[9:05] » So, the recycling a different issue, but
you know, the sustainabilities committee
[9:11] sustainability committee's uh input on
recycling will simply have to do with
[9:17] what we end up recycling, either
returnables or
[9:21] um use sports equipment or used tools,
things like that.
[9:26] Things that aren't part of our
mainstream.
[9:32] I just think you get yourself into
trouble when you land something like
[9:36] that because that that's going to take a
lot of uh horsepower to put you out.
[9:48] » Okay. Anything else?
>> Can I make a side note?
[9:51] » Yes.
>> When we visited Waste Hub, was that Have
[9:56] we had a meeting since then or not? I
can't I'm losing track. second.
[9:59] » Okay. The belts were running.
>> Successful visit. The belts were
[10:03] running.
>> Oh boy.
[10:05] » I posted a little very very amateur
video up on our YouTube channel if
[10:09] anyone wants to look at it. It's It's
>> Yeah.
[10:12] » Yeah. No, it's that
>> for sure.
[10:15] » And the grill is still there.
>> It is. It is really impressive.
[10:21] » They didn't smell any
mistake.
[10:25] » So bad. Yeah. somewhere. [laughter]
[10:30] » That's okay.
>> Thank you for your service and going
[10:33] back. [laughter]
>> Actually, the entertaining part was
[10:36] watching the lady with that enormous u
backhoe try to lift a stuffed elephant
[10:44] out of the pile and perch it up
somewhere.
[10:46] » Oh,
>> well, I thought the most interesting
[10:49] thing was the grill,
[clears throat]
[10:52] » the barbecue grill
>> in the facility.
[10:56] for people to have their lunch there.
>> Well, we never quite figured if it was
[11:00] » that might have been a a statement, a
decoration or something.
[11:06] » All right. Anything else?
[11:11] » All right. Unfinished business. None
presented. New business. Public space
[11:15] special event application. Neighborhood
House and Mount Dessert Police
[11:18] Association Community Barbecue.
September 13, 2026. Northeast Harbor
[11:24] Village Green.
Move approval.
[11:27] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[11:32] » Uh, approval of service agreement with
the town of our Harvard Police
[11:34] Department.
[11:38] Police Department
[11:43] like me to speak about this before I
make a motion or
[11:45] » I think we're make a motion first,
aren't we?
[11:48] » Yeah, make a motion first.
>> Uh, move approval.
[11:51] » Yeah. Second. Uh what this is, this is a
one-off um for a a new officer who will
[11:57] be stationed in the town of Mount Dert.
Um but instead of us hiring this person
[12:01] on as a Mount Dert employee directly,
Bar Harbor is bringing this person on
[12:06] and then will bill us for the services.
From the perspective of the residents,
[12:10] there's no change to the cost or how the
person will function. It's this was a
[12:15] more experienced person where their pay
structure is better structured for
[12:21] handling somebody like this. And this is
a great in example of where as we draw
[12:26] closer to the date at which we truly
merge, you may see us making more and
[12:31] more decisions like this. And the way I
put it is we are acting under the
[12:36] assumption that this is going to work
and that we are going to emerge because
[12:39] we've seen nothing um that would cause
us to feel otherwise in terms of the
[12:45] dealings with the po the force the way
it's working between the two towns and
[12:50] mostly just how successfully this police
force is running right now. So we really
[12:55] have two paths. We can either assume and
and make assumptions like this as if
[13:00] it's going to occur or we can go the
opposite direction. And I think going
[13:04] the opposite direction and acting as if
it's not going to work isn't really fair
[13:08] to employees to anyone. I think we need
to do that. If it something were to
[13:12] occur and we didn't cross the finish
line, we can adjust course for there.
[13:16] But we sort of need to plan for what I
think we all agree is the most likely of
[13:20] the outcomes here. Um, and that has a
lot to do with just the fact that um,
[13:26] it's going awfully well. [clears throat]
Um, so yeah. Yeah,
[13:30] » I was under the assumption that it was
already not merged, but you were already
[13:35] doing that. Do we have to go through
this like if with everyone that is hired
[13:39] until we merge or even after?
>> Uh, not after we merge, they'd all be
[13:44] uh, Bar Harbor employees straight
forward. The tricky part for us is
[13:47] moving the employees from Mount Dert to
Bar Harbor, moving assets over and
[13:53] really getting the um governing language
for this so that we have a voice, maybe
[13:58] not too much of a voice, not too little
of a voice, but there's a lot of
[14:02] nuances, I guess, that we just need to
get in writing and get just right um in
[14:07] order to do this. But there's absolutely
no indication from anyone that any of
[14:10] this is going to be problematic. Um
>> so, but that hasn't been done yet.
[14:14] That's what we're working on in a series
of meetings right now. Figuring it out,
[14:19] figuring out the assets, figuring how to
bring over audited.
[14:21] » Yeah. I I think it's a good move.
>> Yeah. Um but in terms of operationally
[14:27] for the residents of both towns,
nobody's going to notice any difference
[14:31] at all. Like none whatsoever. Um the
only take cakes where you'd see a huge
[14:37] difference is if we reversed course and
say the town of Mount Dessert chose to
[14:41] try to stand alone again. Then we'd see
massive changes to budgets, massive
[14:46] changes to staffing. Um and none of it
in a direction that I think our
[14:51] residents would be happy with. So
>> there's that.
[14:55] » Good.
Vote.
[14:57] » Nope. All in favor?
[15:01] Authorized the use of $120,997.30
[15:07] from public works road reserve account
$45100-24573
[15:13] with an approximate unencumbered balance
of $153,8306
[15:20] to pay outstanding costs on contracts
for the Jordan Pond Road sewer line
[15:25] replacement project.
[15:30] Move authorization.
>> Second.
[15:35] » Second. Oh, you're second again.
[laughter]
[15:38] » Um, any discussion?
>> Yeah. Um, Brian, what what's that for?
[15:42] They haven't even done it yet, have
they? What is the 153,000 from
[15:49] » the the two contracts that we did at the
last select board meeting? When we were
[15:54] initially putting those together, we
were looking at the account balance for
[15:58] where we've moved those pulled bond
funds, which is in excess of what we
[16:02] needed for those two contracts. But then
thankfully Nancy went back and looked at
[16:07] what was authorized at the last annual
town meeting, which was short of the
[16:11] total amount for those two contracts. So
the town meeting had a specific amount
[16:14] that was authorized. It's not just
everything that was available. It was
[16:18] 1.8 million. uh one point it's like 1834
I think something like that. Um and so
[16:25] there is a shortage relative to what was
authorized at that previous annual town
[16:29] meeting but there's not a shortage in
the total funds that have been pulled
[16:32] together. So what we're doing is going
to use a reserve account to cover the
[16:37] difference just so we have everything
allocated such that we can pay those
[16:41] contracts when they do the work.
>> Okay. I misunderstood it that that when
[16:47] when you're just having securing the
funds so we can pay
[16:51] » securing the funds. This is yeah this is
the this is the step to secure the funds
[16:54] and then
>> potentially for repayment of those funds
[16:58] we might be looking towards another
authorization at annual town meeting to
[17:02] then pay back that reserve account where
we're using money out of it.
[17:06] » Yeah. if if the reserve accounts, that's
a pretty big hit in a reserve account
[17:11] and you'd want to have a plan for how
you'd pay that back and we'll we'll be
[17:15] working on that and potentially bringing
that forward for um a warrant article or
[17:21] your review later.
>> Ryan, will that reserve account be
[17:26] sufficient for the rest of the year?
>> It's a rarely used reserve account. Um
[17:33] it's the roads reserve. We have a budget
line for paving which we typically do
[17:38] the road work out of. Uh so we'll raise
manholes and we'll do paving on that. So
[17:42] there's it's a pretty limited use. It's
it's just been a handful of times since
[17:48] I've been here. So I don't foresee there
being an issue with that particular
[17:52] reserve account and this use.
>> Nancy, did you want to weigh in?
[17:58] » No, I I agree with what he's saying.
We're able to use so I think we'll be
[18:03] fine.
Thanks.
[18:06] » Thank you, Brian.
>> Thanks, Brian.
[18:08] » Thank you.
>> Uh, one more process question. So, so
[18:14] using a road reserve account to do sewer
line replacement,
[18:19] is that a slippery slope, Brian? Is that
a precedent that we have to be careful
[18:27] about?
you know, the the history of the sewer
[18:31] lines in the road have actually they've
been a roads project.
[18:36] » Okay.
>> So, I've I've mixed things a little bit
[18:39] differently than what Tony's past p
practice was.
[18:43] » So, the sewer the wastewater collection
line system typically had been kind of
[18:49] in the the highways division and
primarily within the public works
[18:53] superintendent. I kind of have put both
of the superintendent into the mix in
[18:59] terms of understanding what we have for
both uh storm water collection and sewer
[19:03] collection. I just feel it's better to
have that institutional knowledge spread
[19:07] across a couple of people and that
they're both out there understanding
[19:09] what our systems look like. So roads is
a pretty typical in the past of where
[19:16] wastewater collection systems come from.
The sewer reserve, which is a separate
[19:20] reserve account, is typically the
pumping stations and wastewater
[19:25] treatment plants.
>> That's helpful. Okay. Thank you.
[19:30] » Anything else? All in favor?
[19:36] » Okay. Review and adopt the municipal
resolution for emergency medical
[19:39] services transport plan for the town of
Mount Desert Fire Department.
[19:46] » Approved.
That's right. A second.
[19:52] » Okay. So,
all this is about posting
[19:57] » this plan that we already have in place.
>> Correct.
[20:00] » Right.
>> So, Santa Maine formed a blue ribbon
[20:03] committee. Um, and really what they're
looking at is EMS coverage across the
[20:07] state.
>> Trying to get an official tally because
[20:11] some agencies with the new DEA changes
and everything else are giving up their
[20:15] paramedic license. Um, and so they're
really trying to get a grasp on who's
[20:20] doing what officially so that they can
make recommendations to the state on how
[20:25] to approach EMS moving forward. So
really, we formed this resolution in
[20:30] 2022
in the town and we're just basically
[20:35] translating it to the verbiage the state
is requiring for posting to meet the
[20:39] terms of the blue ribbon committee.
[20:48] We have a motion, a second. Correct.
Okay. Any more discussion?
[20:52] » All in favor?
>> I.
[20:54] » Great. Thanks, K.
[21:02] Informational. A letter from resident
Alan Kimberly regarding proposed
[21:05] elimination of public dumpsters at
public works garage
[21:12] » and warrant giving public notice of
commissioner district caucus for
[21:17] election of budget advisory committee
members.
[21:19] » I'd like to explain that one if we' be
great.
[21:22] » Yeah. Um so this is an interesting one.
We have a caucus at 2 PM next Monday
[21:29] um
for the budget advisory committee. I was
[21:34] able to track down a couple of people at
the county uh this afternoon to get the
[21:40] answer as to what that entails. So at
this caucus, this is the point in time
[21:45] which at which any elected official
within the town of Mount Desert would
[21:51] like to put in their name to be on the
budget advisory committee for Hancock
[21:57] County and serve on that. That would be
their time to come in and for members of
[22:02] the public to come in and to essentially
affirm that caucus and vote for them at
[22:08] that moment in time. Unfortunately, it
is elected officials only, not appointed
[22:14] officials like say a town manager or a
finance director. So, um for somebody to
[22:20] come forward for that caucus, it would
need to be one of our elected officials.
[22:24] Um and that would be at 2 o'clock next
Monday. So,
[22:28] » I was looking forward to serving on it
and I'm sad. But,
[22:32] » how many people are on that committee?
the budget advisory committee. I believe
[22:37] it is a nineperson committee, but I
could be wrong on that.
[22:41] » So, they're not from all the towns.
They're just
[22:43] » not all the towns. No,
>> we would get one if we put someone forth
[22:46] because we represent such a large share
of county taxes.
[22:50] » Rodney wants to do it. How often do they
meet? [laughter]
[22:54] » Thinking about electing to
>> It would probably be I think every
[22:57] couple of weeks through the winter
months. Again, I don't have a lot of
[23:00] visibility into exactly how this works.
Um it is something we are the largest
[23:06] taxpayer in Cumberland County or I
haven't done that one in a while
[23:12] county. Um I was hanging out with
Cumberland County folks a lot this week.
[23:16] Um um so it's I think it is an important
thing for Panama Dessert. Um but it's
[23:22] certainly something for us to discuss as
to how we want to approach this moving
[23:25] forward.
>> Um
[23:27] » where do they meet? Do you know
>> the caucus or the actual meetings? the
[23:30] actual meeting
>> I believe they occur at the um
[23:33] administrative building for Hancock
County
[23:35] » which is where
>> uh in Trenton
[23:37] » it's in Trenton. Okay.
>> And it's in Ellsworth
[23:42] » County building the courthouse.
>> Oh it's at the courthouse I think. Okay.
[23:46] Yes.
>> Give them a lot of money.
[23:48] » Yep.
>> Is this caucus uh specific to the town
[23:54] of Mount Dert or is this
>> Yes,
[23:55] » it is. Okay.
>> Yep. So it is a 2pm caucus. Commissioner
[23:59] Neella will be here to organize it.
We're essentially just giving them the
[24:03] use of the room for them to hold the
caucus here.
[24:06] » And do they do a similar thing in all
other towns?
[24:09] » Not all other towns, but
>> question as needed.
[24:12] » As needed. Okay. So, this caucus will
involve anyone everyone that's
[24:15] interested in having that spot
>> who is an elected official of the town
[24:20] of Messer. So,
>> who wants to support
[24:22] » of the five of us plus the school
boards? be considered.
[24:26] » I don't think the school well the
elementary school board could count
[24:30] because it would be specific to
map dessert. Yes.
[24:35] Well, that could potentially be a group
of people who could fit in on it. Yes.
[24:40] » Yeah.
>> Um it's the the elected piece is the
[24:44] tricky piece.
>> And I understand the rationale behind
[24:48] it. It just is very limiting of course.
Um
[24:52] » so [clears throat]
that's our explanation on this one.
[24:55] I was able to tease out this afternoon.
>> So,
[24:59] like I said, I was actually looking
forward to serving.
[25:02] » You I got that impression.
>> Yeah.
[25:05] » So,
there's my information on that one.
[25:09] [snorts]
>> So, you don't know like you said twice a
[25:11] month, but you don't know like what day
of the week or
[25:14] » timing or anything like that?
>> Because I I I only sort of learned about
[25:17] this, but I can certainly learn more in
the next couple of days. Yeah.
[25:21] » Because that would make a difference for
>> Yes. Yep.
[25:28] if you did it because you get a lot of
that number. Yeah. I mean, I just I do a
[25:32] lot of budgets, so I feel like it makes
sense, but I
[25:36] » I know. I know. I know.
>> It can't be 2 o'clock on a Monday
[25:40] afternoon, so
>> Okay.
[25:41] » I wonder if it'd be possible also to
zoom in.
[25:44] » Oh, yeah.
>> And we'll ask these questions.
[25:47] » Yeah.
>> Okay.
[25:53] All right. Um,
any public comment? Any general comment
[25:59] about something?
>> Um, Alex, what was the award that Derlin
[26:04] didn't Derland just get another award at
your meeting that you went to?
[26:08] » You did.
>> I just feel like that's a nice public
[26:10] thing to say.
>> Um, yeah. Thank you. Um so yes, last
[26:15] week I was at the main town and city
managers association annual conference.
[26:20] Um uh and joining me there as an
ambassador um uh you know no longer our
[26:26] town manager but for um very
distinguished town managers and city
[26:31] managers who had a good career. They end
up going up there as ambassadors
[26:36] um to help mentor new managers to serve
up advice as best as possible. Um, and
[26:41] Derlin won the Lifetime Achievement
Award, which actually basically gives
[26:45] him a membership running through the
next bunch of years automatically at
[26:49] MTCMA.
And just as a side note, they just love
[26:53] him up there. Uh, it's pretty cool to
watch. It's really interesting to watch
[26:58] how well known and respected he is. Um,
you know, here it's a year later, but to
[27:04] them it's just um, yes,
>> that's really nice. I just thanks for
[27:08] sharing that. Yes.
>> Yeah.
[27:11] » No, definitely. I should have jumped in
on that, but no, it was it was a cool
[27:14] thing to see.
>> Yeah.
[27:16] » All right. Any more public comments
or comments?
[27:21] I have any comments?
>> Okay. Treasures warrants approval and
[27:25] signature town invoice AP 2712 and
DD2705
[27:31] uh for the grand total of $3,47,560.68.
[27:39] Move approval and signature.
>> Second.
[27:42] » All in favor.
>> I have a a quick question. I I am in
[27:45] favor of it. Um this had some big
numbers in it. So for um Nancy and Alex
[27:52] just confirmed for me the the 1.6
million plus or minus to Hancock County
[27:56] Treasurer is
>> county taxes.
[28:00] » Thank you. That that was my assumption.
Uh, and the $776,000
[28:06] to Kataden Trust Company, is that moving
funds from one account to another or is
[28:12] that a payment for services?
>> That is the bond payment for the school
[28:18] bond that was taken out last year, but I
want to double check that one.
[28:21] » Excellent. Okay.
>> I'm pretty I'm
[28:24] 99% sure on that one, but I'll check
with N.
[28:27] » But it's a it's a bond payment.
>> Yes. Yes. Okay. Thank you.
[28:30] » The $6 million bond.
>> Yes. Yeah.
[28:33] » Okay. Um,
good. All in favor?
[28:37] » I
>> approval uh approval and signature
[28:42] state fees and payroll benefits AP 2710
DD 2704
[28:48] AP 2711 town payroll PR2705
uh for a grand total of $342,837.16.
[29:00] I move authorization.
>> All in favor?
[29:05] » One abstension, please.
>> Acknowledgement. School invoice MDESP3.
[29:12] School payroll MDESP4
uh for grand total of $196,5539.
[29:22] » Approval.
>> Second.
[29:25] » All in favor?
I will entertain a motion to adjurnn.
[29:30] » So move second.
>> All in favor? Great.