The Rockland Report December 4, 2015

Monday, December 7, 2015

The Rockland Report December 4, 2015

OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
 I did not publish a manager’s report last week due to the short holiday
week. Also I was on modified vacation for the two weeks prior. So, it has
been a little bit since I have communicated through the manager’s
report. I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday. I’m recharged and
ready to work.
 Last week I worked with Councilor Jillson on orienting to the new position.
We brought in department heads and talked about their departments,
issues, and items a Councilor should be informed of. I think it was a
worthwhile experience and something we will try to improve each
election. Mr. Jillson has some great ideas and perspective.
 I met with Mayor MacLellan-Ruf and discussed her new leadership of the
city. Some of her approaches will be different and administration looks
forward to her leadership.
 I conducted 2nd interviews with the Assistant Code Enforcement Officer
position and made an offer to a fabulous candidate that will bring
immediate skill and talent to the position. As he has not given notice yet, I
will release his name and profile next week.
 I met with the Department of Labor regarding the penalty for violations
incurred during the compliance inspection earlier in the year. Steve
Greeley, Director, and I discussed the violations, penalties, and mitigation
of the issues. I am very optimistic that the final determination will be in
favor of the City. Department managers worked diligently to alleviate the
concerns raised by DOL. Although we were unprepared for the
compliance inspection, the result will be a much more robust safety
program.
 Met with the Fire Department Union regarding several personnel issues.
Due to all of the firestarter issues in the last year, it was the first substantial
dialogue between the firefighters, management, and myself. I believe
that everyone developed a better report and trust. I am attempting to
have more sessions like these and encourage individual Councilors to visit
when we do. I’ll try to announce when they are.
 Representatives from Rockland, Biddeford, Falmouth and South Portland
met to discuss new laws and regulations regarding streetlights. This is
leading to a fruitful development of cost savings in the future. I will report
in more detail as it becomes available.
 WWTF has been working on major repairs in several of their holding basins.
I visited and inspected the area to further my knowledge of the issues.
The site was the safest site work I have seen since arriving to Rockland.
This department is taking safety seriously. The repairs will be significant but
we are monitoring them as we go. When we have more detailed information I will try to summarize it.
 Met with the City Clerk, City Attorney, and Mayor to help develop the
draft agenda for Monday’s meeting. Several of the sensitive issues were
obtained by the press before I could alert the entire Council to their
presence. We should discuss the flow of information because I spent the
rest of the week responding to inquiries.
 Met with DC Young regarding the Safety Committee. DC Young will take
over the Safety Committee and he has promising ideas. We are trying to
emulate the features of the Brunswick Safety Committee. DC Young has
already established a relationship with the committee chair and
debriefed me.
 Tourmaline gave me a status briefing on the website construction. Even at
the early stages it is nothing short of amazing. We discussed breaking the
release into stages to allow the public to start utilizing some of the early
features of the site. Notification systems and news release systems would
be in the first stage of the unveiling with the beautiful home page.
 Worked with the Finance Director on projecting the results of new
healthcare rates and plan changes. FY 2016 savings are approximately
$100,000. More work is being done in analysis to predict 2017 and 2018
figures.
 Worked with the Finance Director on budget process launch. Tuesday will
be the first official budget meeting. There I will announce a budget
workgroup comprised of myself, Finance Director, Director of Public
Services, Fire Chief, Police Chief and Librarian. The working group will
design budget strategies for all the departments. Having the major
departments involved at the first stages will be an important first step to
delivering a new and strategic budget approach.

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.

OFFICE OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR
 Last week’s Friends of Rockland Public Library’s Tree Auction was a huge success, and the donations from the Historic Inns of Rockland were a wonderful plus. Thank you so much, Friends and local businesses!
 I met with the Library Advisory Committee; among other discussion was the plan to have the Library support groups meet with the Committee, to see how all can best assist the Library together.
 Keith Drago offered Drop-in Tech Help—this is available on Monday evenings; patrons may also make appointments for individual assistance.
 Catinka Knoth’s Children’s Art Class drew Hanukkah and Christmas tree designs, while the Adult classes drew Native American Motifs this week.
 This was a LEGO™ week! Rather than a theme, this week was more of a free-forall.
 The Food Safety Committee of the Good Tern Co-op met with me about a
proposed purchase of books and DVDs on their area of responsibility, which would be given to the Library to be included in our collection. As space is a
consideration in collection development here, they will ascertain that titles are not held by other libraries in the State-wide catalog.
 Wednesday Storytime was led by guest presenter Judith Andersen, who read The Christmas Alphabet (several times), Amelia Bedelia, and My Dog Bob. Jean
Young is on vacation for a couple weeks; there was no craft offering on
Wednesday.
 I attended the bi-monthly meeting of the PLEA Board of Directors; in addition to the regular meeting agenda, we signed the second round of Annual Appeal
letters.
 Public Services staff Arthur Hutchinson and Todd Philbrook replace a repaired
downspout, cleared gutters, and staked a path to the propane tank (to be
shoveled).
 Tourmaline, in the persons of Nathan Davis and intern Jacob Faunce did an audit of the non-public PCs in the Library.
 The Thursday Evening Arts and Cultural Event was live music; the Oceanside
Concert Chorus and Honors Choir presented songs of hope, love, and timeless
change. The music spans nearly a millennium, from 14th century Germany to 21st century America. Accompanying the singers was Charles Brown, music director of the Nativity Lutheran Church. This concert was held in the Reading Room for its esthetic and acoustical value; the beautiful performance was much appreciated by the audience.
 Reviewed and okayed the work plan Nicholas Theriault from Tilson presented for completion of the fiber project from the Maine School Library
Network/MaineInfoNet.
 Regular part-time staff member Mary Jane Martin presented Saturday Storytime and craft program.
 On Saturday, the Library hosted a Reading & Book Signing: Richard King, author of Meeting Tom Brady. At the start of the 2013 football season, King set off in an ’88 Volkswagen minibus in a time-honored quest to answer life’s pressing questions— and to meet his hero, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. King took the audience on a tour of stadiums and bars across the country and posed the existential question, “What would you ask Tom Brady?”
 Also on (a very busy) Saturday, Keith offered Open Technology Help with Keith for tablet, smartphone, or laptop.
 Also-- WE (still) NEED (well, want, at this point) A WORD, ...or two, to help with RASA’s Art in Action Library Mural: a word cloud with YOUR word, which describes the Rockland Public Library, or describes what it means to you, may be made into a word cloud as part of the mural. PLEASE SHARE YOUR WORD(S) via the Library’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Rockland-Public-Library-
60836427783/ ,in person, or by emailing the Reference Desk
refdesk@ci.rockland.me.us
 Upcoming: Adult Coloring--Ever wonder why coloring for adults is so popular? Join us every 3rd Saturday for Adult Coloring and find out the benefits of this cool new/old activity. Bring your coffee or tea, bring a friend or bring just you! All materials provided, and best of all, no previous experience required!

OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF
Over the past two weeks, in addition to the response to 60 Fire and EMS calls,
conducting apparatus checks, daily cleaning, routine repairs and maintenance to
the fleet and of the quarters, the following occurred:
 Completed new ambulance specifications and sent them to City Hall for review and readying for bids.
 Conducted a final inspection of a new automobile repair/sales business with CEO Root.
 We assisted the American Legion in replacing the halyard on their flagpole. .
 Squad 3 delivered Santa Claus to the Christmas Tree lighting last Friday evening.
 On Saturday evening C-Shift’s planned participation the Festival of Lights Parade was interrupted by EMS calls.
 We held an Advanced Cardiac Life Support update class for all of our
paramedics on Monday.
 Attended a QGIS class at EMA. Appeared that it was better for those with previous GIS experience.
 In house work continues on upfitting our 10 year old diesel exhaust system with new components to ensure the system works properly for another 10 years. These are the hoses that connect to each tailpipe and remove any exhaust from the building to maintain a clean and exhaust free working environment. Before this system we would often trigger our Carbon Monoxide detection equipment when one of the vehicles was started up!
 Our firefighters drilled on Halls Lane again, this time practicing forcible exiting techniques that allow them to escape a space via a no traditional opening.
 CEO Root and I conducted a pre-conveyance inspection of a downtown building that has businesses on the first floor and apartments above.
 I conducted follow-up inspection of a previously cited residential over commercial building to view the corrective actions. Everything was done to properly ensure the safety of all occupants.

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
Officers responded to 181 calls for service. Rockland Police Officers responded to 10 motor vehicle crashes and 3 animal complaints. Thirty (30) traffic stops and traffic violations were conducted. Fifty-two (52) parking violations were issued. Officers charged or made arrests of 19 individuals for various offenses, to include Warrants of Arrest, Bail violations, Traffic offenses, Obstructing Government Administration, Domestic Assault, Drug violations and Operating under the Influence. Administration
 Coordinated and supervised the Parade of Lights Detail.
 Coordinated the annual tree lighting ceremony.
 DC Young with the director and assistant director of Public Services to discuss
barricade placement for road closures during major events (Lobster Festival
Parade, Blues Festival Pub Crawl act.) It was decided that Public Services would
use their computer software to create a master list and map for each event so
that proper barricade and signage placement was guaranteed.
 Coordinated two road races being held in Rockland by Region 8 Vocational
School.
 Met with representatives from the District Attorney’s Office to ensure that
Rockland P.D. continues its cooperation with that office for the best possible
outcome of criminal cases.
C.I.D. –
 Det. Neal attended a three day training in Franklin MA. On statement analysis.
 Completed year end mandatory training.
 Continued to work criminal investigations as needed.
Patrol Division –
 Received a sub-grant from the Bureau of Highway Safety in the amount of
$3,660.00. This grant will allow the department to conduct 9, 2 man OUI
Enforcement Details during the next 9 months.
 Assisted in crowed / traffic control during the tree lighting ceremony, parade of lights and two different arrivals of Santa. One by boat and one by helicopter.
 Provided mutual aid to the Thomaston Police Department on a call of a suspect with a knife.
 Radar details have been conducted at various locations throughout the city,
including school zones.
 School visits continue to take place on almost a daily basis.
 Officers continue to complete mandatory academy training.
Parking Enforcement-
 One hundred letters were sent to those vehicle owners who have multiple
outstanding parking tickets owed to the city from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015.
 Issued 30 parking tickets for parking violations around the city.
 On December 1st, the winter parking ban went into effect. During the first week of the parking ban warnings are issued to violators. So far over 50 warnings have been issued by night shift patrol officers

OFFICE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
 John attended the Planning Board Meeting 12/1/15.
 A pre conveyance inspection was done with the Fire Dept. at 497 Main Street.
 Final Inspection was done for Certificate of Occupancy at 734 Main Street. There will be an Automotive Repair & Sound Business opening soon at that location.
 There was one complaint filed this two week period.
 The following permits were received by the Code Office this two week period:
o 9 Building permits
o 2 Demo permits
o 3 Electrical permits
o 2 Plumbing permits

OFFICE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY DIRECTOR
 Average flow through the plant was 2.6 MGD.
 A CSO event began Wednesday and continued until Friday.
 One person attended a training class on Electrical and Mechanical Power
Systems in Augusta.
 Removed Plant Water Pump 4 and replaced the suction pipe and flange.
 Completed repairs to the #2 Sludge Press.
 Performed PM’s on RAS pumps and grit removal equipment.
 Cleaned and pumped the Wet Well at the Glenwood Avenue Pump Station.
 Approved repairs to pump for Park Street Pump Station. Estimated repair cost is $11,827.00. Replacement cost for the pump would be approximately $24,000.00.
 Completed camera inspection of 1,200 linear feet of sewer main on Upper
Pleasant Street.
 Removed flow study monitoring equipment from eight locations in Rockland.
 Replaced 2 FMC influent pump check valves in #4 Aeration Basin. Emergency repairs are planned for next week on the #4 - #5 sluice gate. Preparations have been completed to replace aeration diffusers in #4 tank next week.
 Due to the depth of the aeration basin, the difficulty to safely access the check
valves located ≈20’ above the tank floor and the additional repairs that need to
be made, scaffolding and safety barriers were erected prior to entering #4 tank.
 Completed annual FMC Corporation Industrial Wastewater Discharger
Inspection.

OFFICE OF THE MUNICIPAL FISH PIER DIRECTOR
 Public services picked up all pallets on fish pier and disposed of same in compost pile at the land fill. Public services also filled in the pot holes and two sink holes that had form in the pier. A job well done. Kudos for public work crews.
 All current user permits for herring carriers large and small, lobster buyers, and bait dealer have been applied for. No new applications for next year. Applications are being reviewed for compliance of current permits and any debts owed. A letter of acceptance or refusal will be mailed to the applicant by December 11, 2015.
 Submitted user bills to the Finance department for payment.
The local lobstermen who use the pier are pretty much done for this season. The
pier only has a couple of Lobster boats that go off shore during the winter months.
 Scallop season is open from Monday thru Thursday (day trips). The pier has one scallop boat currently rigged.
 The price per pound for scallops is currently $12.50 per pound.
 The price per pound for lobster is still $4.20 a pound.

OFFICE OF THE HARBORMASTER
 Worked mostly on getting the mooring permits printed and ready for sending out in January. Ordered the stickers for 2016.
 Responded to yet another complaint about the destructive ferry wakes in the
harbor, and I'm working with MDOT to see if there's a solution.
 Met with the City Manager and the Police Chief to discuss possible future
directions for the office of the Harbormaster.
 Continued some conversations with the Rockland Yacht Club about adding rental moorings to the arsenal of services that they provide.

OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR
 Met with the Walk and Lift program, Knit Wits and the Rockland District Nursing groups to discuss policies and the transition for when the YMCA begins to occupy the Community Building.
 Met with Lissa Bittermann to review future recycling opportunities.
 Met with Jeffrey Pitcher from the Railroad to discuss how the City and the Railroad can collaboratively work together on road improvements and Railroad
improvements.
 Reviewed applicants for current advertised laborer positions.
 La Branch Survey has been working with Public Services employees developing a GPS system for the City’s sanding routes. The GPS routes will assist with employee interchangeability and coverage as well as route efficiency and overall route accountability.
 Met with representative of I Works software system to review web based
interdepartmental permit approval and infrastructure improvement tracking.
 Cleaned all the gutters at the library.
 Repaired the bleachers at the Community building.
 Began dry plow route runs identifying and marking plowing obstacles. Verifying and familiarizing general route patterns. Creating logs of discrepancies and correcting potential problems.
 Trash cans and picnic tables were removed in preparation for winter.
 AD electric installed the light at the corner of Park and Main as well as a
corrective action on Camden St by Ocean State and work continues on the
pedestrian crossing at the corner of Tillson and Main.
 Continued work on the Snow and Ice Control plan.
 Reviewed snow dump permit reviewed upland snow dump location and
inspected silt fence and conducted BMP inspection of area in preparation for use.
 Staked out walking paths at the library.
 Assisted Fish Pier with the removal of pallets and debris as well as repairing sink holes.
 Continued the removal of leaves. Next year we plan to implement a systematic
way of dividing up the City into zones that will be serviced at specific times to
better serve the public and facilitate more efficient leaf pick-up.
 Attended Parks Commission meeting but the meeting was postponed due to lack of quorum.

OFFICE OF THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR/ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
 Meeting with a new manufacturing business interested in pursuing a CDBG
Economic Development Grant.
 Meeting with a real estate agent regarding a potential housing development.
 Attended a regional affordable housing meeting held by Penquis to identify
potential opportunities for addressing the issue with a lack of affordable housing.
 Prepared a report to the City Manager and City Council on the development of a Housing Development Advisory Committee (see attached).
 Presented to the Midcoast Leadership Academy on Regionalism and Local
Government.
 Worked with the City Manager on finalizing a Communications Policy.