The Rockland Report November 6, 2015

OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
 First and foremost, congratulations and welcome to Councilor William
Jillson. This will be the first report received after the election.
o I am working on an orientation meeting with Councilor Jillson
sometime after the organizational meeting.
 Secondly, farewell and thank you to Mayor Isganitis. I have expressed this
personally but I’ve appreciated your leadership in my first year in
Rockland. In the end, the voter is never wrong but I will miss your voice
amongst the discussions.
 The buzz about the strategic planning session and the SWOT analysis
doesn’t go unheard. I apologize for the representation of the strategic
planning and goal setting exercise. It was my idea that City Councilors
supported. In the end, the discussion was very worthwhile and the last
fifteen minutes were a bit inspiring to me. Yet, the delivery of the
conversation was not reflective of either the tone or totality of the
discussion and the City Council has taken heat for it. For this I sincerely
apologize. I was naïve in my hope that the press would be willing to work
constructively with the City in communicating our goal of creating a
positive Vision for Rockland. Also, Laurie Bouchard has taken criticism for
the event but, as you know, she was merely a facilitator. She didn’t share
one personal opinion of the City, nor was she asked to; but it was reported
that she made personal statements. I have already apologized to Ms.
Bouchard. Her professional reputation shouldn’t be tarnished due to the
event. I am proud of how the City Council pushed back on issues raised
such as professionalism, minority voices, and others that are common
perceptions of the challenges of moving the City forward in a positive
fashion. Most of these issues were rejected in the end. However, this has
been lost in the press correspondence. Regardless of how the Visioning
session was represented by the press I think it’s important to keep sight of
the fact that we had an incredibly positive and constructive discussion on
how we can move the City forward. To keep this positive momentum
going and include the community I recommend we have a Visioning
workshop with the community to give them the opportunity to directly
participate in the process of developing a positive future direction for the
City. As I explained during the session I will be conducting a similar
Visioning session with City Staff. I am confident that input from Council,
the Community and Staff will result in a Vision for where we want to go as
a community that we can all get behind – even if our opinions on how to
achieve this vision differ.
 Dennis Reed, Assessor, has officially given notice of retirement. We
expected this because Dennis has not been shy about plans for enjoying
retirement. I have already created the ad and new job description. We’ll
fill the position by his end date of January 29th, 2016.
 Enclosed with this report are the Teamsters Union agreements. The City
Council will be asked to authorize me to sign with the substantial
conformance provision. The Union will act on the agreements too. If
there are minute wording changes I can handle them but the substance
of the agreement will not change. This will allow us to process the
retroactive pay increases for Teamsters employees around the holidays.
They have earned the increase pay, so it’s not a holiday present, but it is
well timed.
 Let me explain the major points regarding the contracts:
o Regarding all contracts
 The Teamsters requested splitting the traditional contract
into three spate contracts. The separation creates a
Clerical, Police, and Public Services/Waste Water contract.
These were the three original bargaining units in the
original agreement. We traded that willingness for a
rewrite of form to the agreement. The old agreements
didn’t flow well and made administration of the
agreement difficult. The union agreed.
 As previously reported, the Teamsters were less willing to
switch health benefits plans like Firefighters and non-union
employees because the value of the Northern New
England Benefit Trust plan. Instead we negotiated
increased employee responsibility of health costs. We also
timed this with the budget and pay increases for negligible
impact on the individual employee.
 Collectively they are three year contracts that reduce the
contract cost trend line by about $400,000, through the
duration of the contract, while retaining the important
values of the Teamsters employees. I think the City
established trust and respect with union negotiators.
o Regarding the Clerical contract:
 Standardized the longevity clause.
 Change the overtime trigger to 8 hrs from 7 ½ hrs.
 Allowed for nontraditional workweeks for the DPS
Administrative Assistant.
o Regarding the Police contract:
 New wage brackets for employees above 8 years’ service.
 Additional 1% raise in year two of the contract.
 Retained the retirement provisions as previously
negotiated in the past.
o Standardized comp time carryover, accumulation, and longevity
across the bargaining unit.
o Added management flexibility in snow removal.
o Added $0.75 differential for DPS employees working between 11
PM and 7 AM.
o Added new billets.
 Again, my three largest concerns about taking the position were the
impending budget, union negotiations, and the financial safety net of the
city. We have survived two out of the three. The next budget will
determine if we survive the last one.
 My last entry in my report is regarding the political targeting of me,
personally. I understand the comments at the podium and the letters to
the editor. I’ll admit, having people yell at me while I am walking with my
children is new and uncomfortable. I understand that a valuable election
was at hand and all is fair game. At this point I am not deterred because I
know that the community frustration long outdates my presence in
Rockland. At times, I am the face of the City government and the
decisions we make. I understand it, although it is a struggle, and I want to
reiterate it for the City Council while it is at the forefront so the City Council
doesn’t lose that focus. Thank you.

OFFICE OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR
 The first of a planned ongoing Ukulele Club meeting was held on Monday with a nice turnout of a mixed group age-wise.
 Keith Drago offered Drop-in Tech Help—this is available on Monday evenings;
patrons may also make appointments for personal assistance.
 Both Catinka Knoth’s Children’s and Adult classes drew deer this week.
 Public Services staff dug an approximately hundred foot-long trench, removed
the old pipes running from the building to the chillers and replaced them with
new, higher quality, and better joined pipes. After being pressure tested by ABM,
which company also made the joins to the chillers, the area was back-filled, hot topped, and an area of the sidewalk was replaced. Thanks to Dave Larrabee
and the crew for doing such a great job on this project, and for Public Services
management for making it happen.
 This was an on-week, for Lego™ Club; the theme was Tree houses, but Lego™ Master Jon told me most of the participants created items with a Star Wars theme.
 Patty King met again with Jennifer McIntosh, the managing editor of Boats,
Homes, and Harbors as well as Polly Saltonstall, Editor-in-Chief regarding cosponsoring a series of programs in 2016.
 Judith Andersen hosted Wednesday Storytime this week, and divided the stories between dinosaurs and “diggers.” Books read included: Dig Dig Digging, by Margaret Mayo, and Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, and Harry and the
Dinosaurs say, “Raahh!” After the reading, children could view Public Services
staff digging and using the large machines, from the Children’s Garden. The craft consisted of cutting, gluing, and putting together a dinosaur door-hanging that says, “Shhh, Dinosaur Reading.”
 The Thursday Evening Arts and Cultural Event was an Author Talk: Food That Works. Malia Dell talked about what it was like writing her newly released, energetic cookbook, Food That Works: Real Meals to Survive the 9 to 5, in Rockland for the past four years. She shared tips on how to eat more healthful, homemade meals, and offered some delicious samples from recipes in the cookbook. Malia signed copies of her book following the event.
 Jean Young offered Baby Storytime on Friday.
 On Saturday, the Hampstead Players presented: The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe, based on C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. The Hampstead
Players tours are performed by two professional actors, each playing multiple
roles. Their scripts are original adaptations, based directly on literary classics, and include children and adults from the audience.
 Also on Saturday, Keith conducted another Technology Class: Computer Basics, where participants learned the parts of the computer, the layout of the computer screen, basic internet functions, and how to use the mouse. A mouse exercise was provided after the class for those who wished to practice. This class is for the absolute beginner.
 Upcoming: Holiday Tree Auction on Saturday, November 28th (a terrific, annual fund-raiser by the Friends—expanded this year); also, the Oceanside East Chorus will perform Thursday evening, December 3rd, on the Library’s Main Level.

OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF
 Over the past two weeks, in addition to the general response to 76 Fire and EMS calls, conducting apparatus checks, daily cleaning, routine repairs and
maintenance to the fleet and of the quarters, the following occurred:
 Over the past two weeks we’ve seemed to have suffered numerous plumbing
issues. Luckily in-house talent was able to replace a drain valve on a heater,
replace a cracked water pipe in a fixture, and overhaul one flush.
 B-shift responded to an unpermitted outside fire. The owner was warned on
burning unnatural items and failing to obtain the permit.
 A-shift responded to an issue with a self-cleaning oven that filled the apartment with smoke. They found the unit had numerous smoke detectors disabled or removed. Sadly, this is an all too common issue.
 Two fires occurred last weekend that again prove the value of both sprinkler
systems and working smoke alarms. The first fire was rapidly extinguished by a
single sprinkler head before it spread to the readily available combustibles. This
happened so quickly that the smoke detection did not activate. The second fire
started in a cardboard box of paper left too close to the woodstove overnight.
Thankfully a working smoke alarm activated before the fire spread and woke the
occupants who called 911 and then proceeded to extinguish the fire. In both
cases, without the working safety systems, these could have had very different
outcomes. Similarly, in both fires, the occupants were above the fire and were
able to descend without issue due to the fire being small at the time. Had either
fire extended before the sprinkler or alarm activated, the people would likely not
have been able to escape without going out windows.
 Our Engine 2 is at O’Connors in Augusta with an oil pressure issue that exceeds our in-house or local service capability. We hope to have answer fairly quickly as to the cause and remedy.
 Ford is still attempting to correct the 2012 ambulance, though nothing we’ve
heard is giving us much confidence. This issue has prompted us to exclude a Ford chassis from our new ambulance specifications which we hope to have ready to go to bid by Nov. 20th.
 Our Fire Prevention Education Team of FF Lowe and Sullivan attended the Lonza Safety and Wellness Expo on Wednesday, providing information on home fire safety, how fires in the home have changed over the last 30 years and how to
access the Red Cross smoke detector program.
 I met with the project manager and job foreman at CMCA to review a few
changes and questions regarding the sprinkler system coverage and fire alarms
panel location.
 Conducted a “final” inspection at 10 Leland St. for the new “brick and mortar”
Pho Sizzle, which is targeted to open in the next week.

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
Officers responded to 206 calls for service. Rockland Police Officers responded to 6 motor vehicle crashes and 5 animal complaints. Twenty-Nine (29) traffic stops and traffic violations were conducted. Forty-seven (47) parking violations were issued. Officers charged or made arrests of 12 individuals for various offenses, to include Warrants of Arrest, Bail violations, Traffic offenses, Domestic Assault, Assault and Operating under the Influence.
 All Officers took part in Firearms training for low light/nighttime and long gun certification at the Maine State Prison range facility.
 Chief Boucher attended the Knox County Community Health Coalition directors meeting this past week.
 Officers assisted the State Police Executive Protection unit with the Governor
LePage’s Town Hall event at City Hall this past week.
 Officer assisted MDEA in drug interdiction investigations within the surrounding area.
 Radar details continue to be conducted at various locations throughout the city, including Main St. and school zones.
 Communicated with several community members regarding events/activities that are being planned in Rockland.
 Officers continue to do school visits at all schools in Rockland.
 Officers were busy catching up on reports and serving court paperwork from the previous week.
 The sign board was placed on Main St. with a message informing the public about the construction taking place this past week.

OFFICE OF THE HARBORMASTER
 Responded to a call Sunday evening from Knox County Dispatch that there was a fishing boat “hung down” on her dock lines at Journey's End Marina. I went down and because of the tide, her docking lines were breaking, and there was no crew around to loosen them. I needed to take an axe to cut two of the lines to create enough slack so that I could free up the rest of the lines. Otherwise she would have broken the dock, or the boat.
 The Rockland Gulf broke free of her mooring and went ashore on the Jameson
Point beach near the breakwater. The first try on Monday afternoon didn't get her
off the beach, but they kept working on it and finally got her off on Thursday
evening. It took longer than hoped for, but it was a good example of the way
things should work. A responsible owner, an insurance company that was there
and willing to foot the bill, the involvement of the Belfast branch of the USCG, the cooperation of the Maine DEP, and a responsible salvage company. And all the while I tried to help move the process along.
 The water company finally came and turned off the rest of the water to the parks and took away the meters, since they are exposed, we like to get them out
before the frost really sets in.
 Spent a large portion of the rest of the week trying to catch up on paperwork, I
think I see my desk under there somewhere.

OFFICE OF THE MUNICIPAL FISH PIER DIRECTOR
 The f/v Western Sea is mending their net and will store the net off site.
 The bait dealer and f/v Western Sea have started to remove barrels, exactors, and miscellaneous trash from the pier.
 One of two 40’ bait storage coolers has been removed from the pier.
 The lobstermen have begun taking in lobster traps for storage in the upper lot.
 A solicitation for next years’ permitting of Lobster Buyers, Bait Dealers, and Herring Carriers large and small has been place in the paper. All permits are open for next year and new permits will be issued by December 11, 2015.
 The price per pound for lobster is still $4.20 a pound.

OFFICE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
 John has been busy getting caught up on license inspections at various
businesses. These inspections are done annually in order for businesses to retain
their license to operate in the City of Rockland.
 John attended the City Council Agenda Setting Meeting 11/2/15, the Department Head Meeting and the Planning Board Meeting 11/3/15.
 John met with an electrician and the President of the Board of Directors of the
Lobster Festival Committee to go over the plan of corrections for the festival
grounds.
 There were no complaints filed this week.
 The following permits were received by the Code Office this week:
o 2 Building permits
o 2 Electrical permits
o 3 Sewer Connection permits
o 1 Sign permit
o 1 Street Excavation permit

OFFICE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY DIRECTOR
 Average daily flows through the treatment plant were 2.9 million gallons per day.
 Compiled all Significant Industrial User pretreatment reports for the last year as well as municipal flows and loadings that will be used to calculate local limits.
 Performed annual pretreatment sampling at the City of Rockland landfill.
 Began annual pretreatment sampling at Fisher Engineering, Inc.
 Replaced the battery on the back-up generator at the Park Street pump station.
 Replaced the Number 1 dry weather well pump. The pump that was removed
was sent out for inspection and testing.
 Removed debris that was lodged in a valve in the vortex underflow pump suction pipe.
 Met with a contractor to design pump failure alarms for the region 8 and Sea Pro pump stations.
 Replaced the monitor for the Multi-Trode SCADA computer.
 Performed preventive maintenance on the Return Activated Sludge pumps 1
through 3, odor control system fan, grit pump and sludge holding tank blowers.
 Scheduled contractor to replace valve at Park Street pump station.
 Cleaned and inspected the flow meters being used for the flow monitoring
project.
 Set up a sewer bypass on the 24” interceptor through Harbor Park for CCTV pipe inspection. Work is expected to be completed next week.
 Inspected sewer lateral repairs at 29 James Street, 170 Rankin Street and 31 Talbot Avenue.
 Worked overnight on Wednesday with Wright-Pierce Engineering to perform
collection system flow isolation as part of the flow monitoring project.

OFFICE OF THE CITY ASSESSOR
 Processed Real Estate Transfers, updating parcel cards, sales book, and
property splits.
 Processed Personal Property accounts, updating ownership, owned items,
depreciation, State BETR’S 801 returns, BETE exemptions.
 Processed building permits, reviewing, updating property cards and
assessments.
 Analyzing qualified sales of all properties and neighborhoods for a fair and
equitable assessment.
 Completing State forms and returning for processing.
 Updating GIS with the new splits and merging parcels.
 Listening and reviewing properties at the property owner’s request.
 I have submitted my notice for plans of retirement!

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
 Assisted two small manufacturers undertaking site searches in Rockland.
 Assembling housing data.
 Finalizing submission of CDBG MEA Grant materials in preparation for drawdown.
 Working with business on preparation of 2016 CDBG application.
 Working on Solarize Midcoast Maine project with Midcoast Economic
Development District (please see attached memo).
 Finalizing first draft of the Communication Policy. I am hoping to distribute this to department heads for review within the coming week.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR
 Stormwater separation work crossing Main Street linking Museum Street and Winter Street was completed. Temporary paving was completed. Next spring Farley will be grinding down beyond the road cut to finalize paving when the temperatures are suitable.
 Work was performed on the corner of Main and Tillson to relocate the pedestrian crossing base, underground electrical and side walk tip down to avoid future traffic interference. The sidewalk concrete was also poured.
 Assisted with setting up and taking down voting booths at the Community center.
 Excavated and reinstalled chiller lines for the cooling system at the library.
 Completed stormwater pipe installation/separation project on Kimball lane,
behind the Thorndike parking with only the catch basin remaining to be installed.
 Began fall leaf pickup.
 The sidewalk loader on lease was picked up in preparation for this winter season.
 Two City property incident investigations and one record only incident
investigation were conducted.
 Monthly wastewater sampling was conducted.
 Landfill groundwater sampling and testing was conducted.
 Landfill leachate pumping was started back up and the south pump VFD was
reprogramed.
 Administrative assistance from the code office started this week.
 Atlantic Street sidewalk quote was completed and provided to community
development.
 Picked up brine making equipment from Fisher and received brine applicator
 Continued work on City wide priority snow and ice control plan.
 Review and inspected several street excavation permit requests.
 Replaced the fuel injector lines and replaced the batteries and battery tie down
on the D5M bulldozer.
 Various small paving projects were completed.

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