I started the week off with a discussion about the Tolman Cemetery. F. Carl
Mahoney spoke to the City Council in public session a few weeks ago about some veteran’s sites that have become forgotten and poorly maintained. These
veterans date back to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Mr. Mahoney
and I discussed a possible donation from the city that would be a matching
component to the DAR fundraising. I am researching reserve funds and
mechanisms. I plan to have a draft order for consideration by the City Council for agenda setting. Even if we are unable to authorize this donation to restore these veterans to glory, it is demonstrating to this group that the city is determined to try.
I had a phone conference with Don Ettinger, Eaton Peabody, regarding the
Camden Street design. As a reminder, the Camden Street study was a complete
street concept with pedestrian, bicycle, and traffic calming amenities to improve
the visual entrance to the city from the north. Gorrill-Palmer has been hired to
make that study into a preliminary design. They have collected traffic counts and
submitted an initial draft to the city project team. The city project team
authorized a draft to be submitted to MDOT for comment. MDOT came back with a lot of comments. Obviously, their concerns were regarding street access of
existing structures and how medians may impact that. They submitted many
challenging comments back to the engineer. This phone conversation was to
determine the next steps in design. Some of the solutions would create “jug
handle” turn arounds. In my experience those are controversial and expensive.
The other alternatives involved smaller and more strategic medians. I authorized
further design on the secondary options and asked REDAC to discuss the same
issues. Chairwoman Joanne Billington stated that the committee had a great
discussion but they are concerned with some vision drift. Staff will organize a
meeting to make sure the committee, engineer, and study designers are on the
same page. Taking a study from concept to design and then adding operation
parameters always creates some gaps that need to be filled.
I have finished the review of the Old County Road contract and submitted my
changes to the engineer for inclusion in the contract. We were very diligent on
reviewing this contract because it is a significant investment in the city. As I have stated before, the city feels that this project must be performed flawlessly and anything less will be unsatisfactory. After the contract is physically signed we will start planning project meetings with the contractor. The project is still on timeline. The project will start in April and complete in the end of July. The contractor is Crooker Construction from Topsham.
The Budget Working group continued to analyze and proof the budget drafts.
The next step will be to start making strategic decisions. I will present the working group with some ideas that I have and we will further analyze. The goal is to present a budget that is strategic, comprehensive, and supported by all of the
city services. This will mean sacrifices to keep the operating costs reasonable for
the taxpayer but it is all achievable. I have stated on numerous occasions in
budget deliberation that I intend to present a plan to revitalize Rockland through
the Capital Improvement Plan. This requires discipline in the operating budget
and deliberation in the capital budget.
I conducted second interviews with Harbor Master candidates. As I reported
before, the application pool was deep. I have made an offer on the position and
received a tentative agreement. When the agreement is complete I will report
the new Harbor Master. I am excited about having this person on the city team.
Al Gourde, Municipal Fish Pier Director, has submitted his resignation and intent to retire. He will work through June 30th, 2016. His 14 years of service in an area of public business often overlooked is commendable. Thank you Al. I will start the process of hiring a successor. I am currently entertaining the merger of the Fish Pier Department and the Harbor and Waterfront Department. Likely, this would mean that the Assistant Harbor Master would also be the Fish Pier Director. I am running some analyses and will report further when I know more.
I completed the bid award of the two ambulances to EAV and we will receive
delivery late in the summer. Since this bridges into the next fiscal year it will save some money in FY16. There were many capital purchases that were authorized in the budget last year that administrative staff pulled back on. Originally, the city approved $1,794,000 of capital expenses for this year. In the end the city will likely only spend about $100,000 of those approved funds. Strategic decisions this year have allowed for opportunities in the capital budget this year after acceptance. This will create more breathing room for future years as we replace our assets.
I am working on a fiber optic connection plan with GWI. The plan would connect all municipal buildings to high speed internet and use that speed to reduce phone and internet costs. It would also have the added effect of creating better departmental communication and efficiency. The proposal is almost ready. I will report further when information becomes available. This project would likely be less than a three year return on investment.
I worked on Worker’s Comp cases quite a bit this week. It is likely that we will clear the liability exposure by the end of the fiscal year. Our Worker’s Comp liability exposure was over $1M and based on reoccurring events. Better personnel
practices and safety programs have had an enormous effect.
I attended to several constituent requests this week. There has been a
tremendous uptick in FOAA requests for information that is already relatively easy to acquire. FOAA requests are a legal mechanism to request documents
possessed by the city but it is usually not necessary. The city provides all
information upon request, whether formal or not. In the end, staff needs to
acquire the information and transmit in either case. Sometimes we cannot
answer questions as fast as some would like but we do the best that we can. The
law allows for a “reasonable” response to requests for information. We balance
these requests with other public business for prioritization. When there are more
requests it also takes more time to respond.
Please remember that Monday is Volunteer and Committee Appreciation day.
The recognition event is at 5:30 and I look forward to a good turnout. The event is open to all volunteers. If someone picks up a park anonymously they are
welcome, as are the people that volunteer their time in advocacy on local public
issues.
OFFICE OF THE MUNICIPAL FISH PIER DIRECTOR
No permits were issued this week.
MKM Island Lobster Co. and I conducted an on sight meeting to discuss his
intended uses of the two Lobster Buyer station and any issues with the lobster
buyer station equipment not functioning as intended for its use. All equipment
operating as designed.
A new weather tight on and off hoist switch has been found and ordered. The
switch will be installed as soon as it comes in on Fox Island Lobster Company’s
Buyers Station hoist.
The price per pound for scallops is $13.00 per pound.
The price per pound for lobster is around $6.00 per pound.
OFFICE OF THE FINANCE DIRECTOR
Another week has gone by, and the end of the month is near. This year, February happens to have 29 days; although the month of February still seems to fly by rather quickly.
Billings, payables, and payroll occupied much of the staff’s time this week. The tax collector and the clerks in the front office have been busier given that the
municipal tax due date is in early March.
During the past week I attended a budget review session; continued to update
the budget as we review and discuss ways to better report and represent certain
items. One of the improvements to the budget format will be in inserting
recommended items into the budget document as recommended by the
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) under their terms of “building a better budget document”. This year we will be including a number of items into the budget; one of which will be the city’s organizational chart. I have worked with the budget team in coming up with the chart, and expect to have a final version early next week.
I also attended a meeting of the Park Street Condo Association; the building
currently houses the Rockland City Policy Department, the Lobster Festival
Association, and the Maine Lighthouse Museum. The dilemma facing the Condo
tenants is the status of the boiler system that heats the building and how to pay for a new system. A new heating system is estimated to cost as much as $96,000, yet the association does not have enough funds in their capital reserve account to
pay for the expense; due in large part to non-payment of dues and fees by the
museum. In addition, the US Coast Guard – as owners of the museum’s collection - has not decided on a long term loan arrangement for the collection. At the conclusion of the meeting, the association members opted to meet again after the meeting with the Coast Guard officials in March; at which time the issue of the heating system will be discussed again.
I’m pleased to report that the cash flow has started to improve, after being at a
low of about $2 million. We should be able to finish out the year without needing
to borrow funds in anticipation of taxes (unless something unforeseen develops).
Another item of interest is the municipal revenue sharing. Although the city does not receive nearly as much in revenue sharing as they had in past years, it would appear that the city should receive more than this year’s estimated funds of $470,679; to date, the city has received nearly $346,000 in revenue sharing. This represents 73.5% of the early projection - with four more months of revenue sharing yet to be received.
Next week will be devoted to budget preparation and month end reconciliations and reporting.
OFFICE OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR
Keith Drago hosted the Monday evening Drop-in Tech Help, which service
continues to grow in popularity.
Catinka Knoth’s Adult Art Class drew presidential portraits; the Children’s class used the theme of Chinese New Year—the Year of the Monkey, as their theme.
This was an “on” week for the LEGO™ Club, with Star Wars the offered theme. Some participants like to follow a theme, and others to go their own way.
Thank you to Public Services staff for helping with the installation of a new people counter, which replaces a failed unit. While here, Arthur Hutchinson also replaced burned out light bulbs on the lower level, and checked on the Historical Society after the heavy rain storm.
I participated in a meeting of the Budget Group again this week, which met with Legal, Code, and Assessing departments.
Staff continue to book appointments for the annual AARP Tax Aide, free income tax filing assistance, from trained volunteers. We are still waiting for some of the forms which have not yet arrived from the IRS.
Jean Young once again had all boys at Wednesday Storytime; she provided
maracas to shake as they discovered the rhythm of each story. Among the titles
read were Bow, Wow, Wiggle-Waggle by Mary Newell DePalma and Jean’s
favorite for rhythm, Over in the Grasslands by Anna Wilson and Alison Bartlett.
After reading, Ms. Jean introduced a new game donated by Lea Carver, an
elegant Domino set. Jean printed out directions for playing dominoes with young
children and the parents and the boys dove into it happily.
I attended a meeting of what will hopefully morph into a new/sub-fund-raising
group; there is the potential for a rather exciting inaugural event, though until we
get a bit closer to being certain it will occur, I offer only that tantalizing bit of
news…
The Thursday Evening Arts and Cultural Event was Film: Herman's House. Herman
Wallace may have been the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement in the United States- he spent more than 40 years in a 6-by-9 foot cell in Louisiana.
Herman's House is a moving account of an unusual project proposed by artist
Jackie Sumell. Imagining Wallace's "dream home" began as a game and
became an interrogation of justice and punishment in America. The film takes the audience inside the duo's unlikely 12-year friendship, revealing the transformative power of art. This film is in collaboration with POV, PBS' award-winning nonfiction film series; Friends’ Board members Ann Rafferty and Judy Grossman hosted the showing.
I met individually with several members of staff this week, as well as with some members of the various support groups.
Patty King met with Lori Schafer about the Library hosting a Fiber Arts group here; Lori will also be highlighting some fiber & natural dye products in the display cases. Upcoming events include Kite Building and Flying for children and their families with Ethan Yankura, Education Director, Owls Head Transportation Museum, and March Arts & Cultural events around the theme of Women’s History Month.
OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF
Over the preceding week, in addition to the response to 33 Fire and EMS calls,
conducting apparatus checks, daily cleaning, routine repairs and maintenance to
the fleet and of the quarters, the following occurred:
On Friday I attended a DOL Confined Space Class in Augusta. This program
highlighted the number of potential confined space entries that may be
happening in any given town on any day that rarely are done in compliance with
OSHA standards.
I participated in two preliminary walk-throughs and an in-office meeting with CEO Root for three new projects in Rockland. Additionally, on Thursday, Bill Butler and I conducted an inspection of 3 Crow. A/C’s Elwell and Mazzeo have also been working with Bill this week to conduct license inspections for the March Council meeting.
Tower 3 participated in the impromptu parade to celebrate the Oceanside HS
boys win on Friday.
Continued my participation in the Budget Review process.
B-Shift installed a few smoke detectors for a resident who was unable to update her smoke alarms on her own.
The Knox County Emergency Management Directors meeting on Thursday
covered numerous topics and upcoming training opportunities.
I want to thank Paramedic Ben Mullane for helping our staff recognize our success rate in cardiac arrests and working on guidelines to help us be even better. We already are over 10% better than the national average when it comes to CPR success and we will be taking strides to maximize our potential for the citizens we serve.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
Officers responded to 312 calls for service. Rockland Police Officers responded to 7 motor vehicle crashes and 3 animal complaints. Sixty-seven (67) traffic stops and traffic violations were conducted. Officers charged or made arrests of 7 individuals for various offenses, to include Warrants of Arrest, Traffic offenses, Bail violations, Probation violations, and Theft.
Administration: -
Chief Boucher attended the Sexual Assault Services of Mid Coast Maine Board of director’s meeting at the office in Brunswick this past week.
DC Young and Chief Boucher attended the District Six meeting of the Maine
Chiefs of Police to discuss the area programs being utilized by other agencies to
address the opiate problem of addiction.
Chief Boucher and DC Young completed year end evaluations of all supervises and support staff and met with each to discuss their annual review and career development.
Worked with the Employee/Officer of the Year Award Committee this past week. A nominated member was selected and forwarded for final review.
DC Young attended a 1 Park Dr. Condo Association meeting. During this meeting options were discussed concerning how the association need to replace the boiler. The City Finance Director attended this meeting to provide insight and
suggest financial options to the board.
Conducted weekly unit meeting with C.I.D. to discuss ongoing investigations,
current case load, ongoing multi-agency investigations and proactive
enforcement planning for the upcoming week.
We are prepared for the upcoming hiring process, Physical Agility and Written Test scheduled for 02/27/16 and Oral Board scheduled for 03/08/16.
DC Young conversed with Chief McFadden (Belfast P.D.) regarding employee recruitment and retention. Discussed what was and was not working for both agencies in the hopes of gaining valuable insight to use moving forward in an attempt to recruit and retain the best applicants possible.
C.I.D –
Coordinated with the Maine Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole
and conducted probation checks on probationers living in Rockland.
Conducted Sex Offender Compliance Checks on Sex Offenders living in
Rockland.
Provided landlords / property managers with resources for screening potential
tenants.
Provided identity theft materials to citizens of Rockland.
Patrol Division –
Patrol Sergeants have been busy working on subordinate year end evaluations.
Main St. foot patrols were utilized to conduct building checks.
Targeted traffic enforcement details were conducted throughout the City.
Responded to agency assist calls from Probation and Parole and Rockland
Fire/EMS.
Reset several traffic lights throughout the City that had cycled to flash.
Assisted MDEA with the execution of a search warrant.
Provided escorts to local banks while they put cash in their exterior ATM machines.
Conducted business checks at several local stores and met with employees and
managers to discuss and address any ongoing concerns.
Sgt. Finnegan has been at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for the past two weeks teaching a Drug Recognition Expert class. Sgt. Finnegan is a subject matter expert in this field and one of only a handful of instructors statewide that can teach this class.
Conducted compliance checks at local establishments that are licensed to serve
alcohol. Parking Enforcement-
Issued 42 Parking tickets this past week.
OFFICE OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
John and Bill attended the MCEOA meeting Wednesday.
John continued this week to meet with potential developers.
John worked on a map showing short term rentals in Rockland.
John and Bill continue to be busy with various permits and inspections.
There were no complaints filed this week but Bill continues to work on ongoing issues from previous complaints.
The following permits were received by the Code Office this week:
o 2 Plumbing Permits
o 6 Building Permits
o 2 Electrical Permits
OFFICE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY DIRECTOR
Replaced the fan and motor on one of the hanging unit heaters in the headworks building.
Cleared a blockage in the #2 dry weather pump
Checked and lubricated the chain and gearbox in the #2 secondary clarifier.
Cleaned and inspected the horizontal belt conveyer.
Tested the pumps in the F.M.C. Equalization Tank.
Had a damaged rear tire replaced on a pickup.
A contractor checked a leaking circulator pump in the boiler room, they will
provide a repair quote..
Inspected and tested all pump stations after the heavy rain on Thursday.
Responded to an emergency Dig-Safe at Cedar & Bunker Streets for Maine Water to repair a broken water main.
Smoke tested the storm drain system near Summer and Main Streets to confirm the
connection of floor drains from the former Navigator Motel property.
Contacted a second contractor for a Quote for the rebuild of the influent bar
screen in the headworks.
Checked the sewer main on Olympic Dr. for blockage in response to a reported sewer backup in in a basement on Olympic Drive. The city sewer is flowing freely with no blockage.
Looked into possible sewer connection points on Payson Lane in response to an inquiry from a contractor.
Sampled the storm water flowing from a outfall pipe at a Ocean & Water Street property as a follow up to previous investigations. The lab results continue to indicate a high level of sewer in the storm water flowing from this property to the harbor.
Performed E coli testing for Ocean and Water St. stormwater outfall
CSO every day except for 1 this week. Average flows were about 3.7MGD.
Maximum flow through CSO structure was 26.6MG
OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR
Attended training provided by Maine Local Roads.
Performed snow and ice control resulting from Wednesday’s storm on streets and sidewalks.
Coordinated and completed Work Zone Traffic Safety Training for Rockland,
Thomaston, Rockport and Union Public Works departments with Safety Works.
Discussed with Mike Martunas from Dragon Cement the potential of the City
obtaining clay overburden material which could be used for landfill closure. The
topic of filling quarries between Old County road and the Solid Waste Property
with shot rock came up. Mike is organizing a meeting date for the Plant Manager
of Dragon and the City Manager to discuss the quarry filling proposition.
Responded to and investigated many calls regarding storm water and flooding
resulting from this week’s heavy rain. One particular washout at the end of Lake
View Terrace will need extensive repairs.
Attended the Harbor Management Committee meeting to discuss the results of
the RFP for concept improvement work on the Public Landing. Millone &
MacBroom were the chosen consultants and an initial meeting date of March 9th
will be scheduled to review the work specified in the Public Landing RFP.
Rock Coast Heating has provided a very reasonable quote to repair the Public
Services Building boiler - needed in order to pass inspection. We plan to go
ahead and have the repairs made.
Interdepartmental cross training of new employees was carried out this week.
Continued work on RSMS road survey, this is almost complete.
Washed fleet trucks.
Weekly Cold patch, basin top clearing and trash removal duties were performed.
Rock Coast Heating continued work on the Public Services Heating system,
several steam leaks had to be repaired.
Painted the children’s after school program room at the Recreation Building.
Continued interior painting at City Hall.
Storm Clean-up this week was ongoing.
Worked on Safety Enhancement Grant.
Worked on in-house Flagger safety video, test certification to be given to all
employees and volunteers that perform work zone flagging.
Completed the 2015 Residuals/Compost annual report.
Completed and submitted the EPCRA Tier 2 reporting requirements for the Public
Services Department.
Coordinated pick up of the Harbor floats that were constructed by the
Department of Conservation.
With the assistance of the City Attorney, two of the three Old County road
drainage easements are close to being complete.
Began Annual Solid Waste Reports.
OFFICE OF THE CITY ASSESSOR
Processed Real Estate Transfers, updating parcel cards and property splits.
Processed Personal Property accounts, updating ownership, owned items,
depreciation, State BETR’S 801 returns.
o Folded, stuffed envelopes and mailed out Personal Property update
requests--2nd mailing.
o Processed one BETR account with 248 items for accuracy. (3.5
hours)
Analyzing qualified sales of all properties and neighborhoods for a fair and
equitable assessment and for the purpose of answering abatement
requests.
Listening and reviewing properties at the property owner’s request.
Completing State forms and returning for processing.
Processed building permits, reviewing, updating property cards and
assessments.
Received and reviewed with Dennis abatement requests.
o Follow up and worked on abatement requests.
o Amended 3 page abatement letter with Kevin and Dennis.
Attended Planning Board Meeting.
Inspection of 10 Maverick Street and sent Abatement letter.
Attended Vision Appraisal report training.
Attended Budget Meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment