Harbor Committee - Regular Meeting

All right, I call the meeting to order. January 13, 2026. Welcome aboard. And

I want to thank everybody for being down at the marina today. We had a good hourong u discussion with the proposed contractor for the development of the place. and I good questions, good comments made, and uh I think we're on the right road. So anyway, I'll leave it at that for now. Um the first item on the agenda is to present uh accept the minutes for uh December 9th and 17th, 2025. I make a motion to accept the minutes of the 9th and 17th as written. Okay. Seconded. Seconded.

Moved and seconded. All in favor say I. I oppos.

All right. New business. Um I guess the new business is about the uh marina development with the uh engineering firm of Gartley and Dorski. and Greg Johnson was there. He's been our engineer representative all along. And uh my comment is and I and John and I think we both Chris and I I know we agree. We've got to make sure that Greg stays on board to be the go-between the engineering and we're a bunch of layman have a lot of ideas and comments but he has a true understanding and to make proper recommendations and I want to make sure that uh somehow his time is going to be budgeted for this development and I think we have to pursue the warrant committee. There's an article for that. It'll be tacked on to the number that we go and ask for to pay this Gartland and Dorski. Uh me and Greg have already discussed it and he'll come up with a number that will have to be tacked on to the number that they give us

to keep him in the loop and and assisting us through the whole project. Okay. as our the easiest way to accommodate that. But I am working with Greg now to get him to come up with a number for me to take to the select money to get us from now the town meeting. Okay. It will come out of out of our fun that we have for the marina.

It will it will it will come out of a CIP line for the pier. Well, uh, he's been very, very good and he's easy to talk with and, um, I want to make sure that he stays on. I don't want to be pussyfooting around with a bunch of different advisers. So, yeah. And I think we also have to make sure he stays on it, too, because he Well, that's what I'm trying to say. We have to make it worth his while to make this one his priorities. Yeah. So I guess until we hear from Greg with a proposed budget, we we can't really do anything. Okay.

So I would look forward to it our next meeting that we approve his proposals. Greg will bring proposal to the next meeting. Yeah, I am probably going to get a proposal from him to pay him from when the money ran out for the initial approval on this to get through to town meeting. So, I will probably end up taking it straight to the selectment. Can we should we vote to approve that or you don't need us approve the concept? Well, I think we're all in agreement about it. I I don't see any need for a motion without some, you know, hardcore

budgeting. But do do you have time is what I'm asking between I I think I'm going to end up getting this proposal from Greg and submitting it to the selectman before our next meeting. Okay, let's leave it at that for now. Do you think because he he's engineer of all this short stuff, do you think he's as as clever with marine stuff as like even you are? Well, I'm not going to discuss his qualifications, but he certainly is an engineer knows the terms and strategies and concepts much more than we do as layman. And uh I'm I'm going to rely on that. And

I think some of that they look they asked for someone to to be like a person of contact for and we you know had John to do that. It's puts him in a hard spot if something's over to check or need, you know, needs someone to I would have wanted as well. You know what I mean? And I I think he I think he he wants me but I don't think he's going to I think he's going to be fair with us and you know what he's you know what I mean? I think he's going to be there kind of the check balance and you know somewhat it's hard we I mean there was stuff we we overlooked on those north and south pier a diameter of a rod.

Right. Right. and he actually designed it with but we as some we couldn't you don't have it's hard for us we don't have time to go through it all or look at all the five pred and everyone's capable of making the state for sure I think it'd be valuable let's just leave it at in February meeting we'll have other uh financial issues to discuss but make sure that Greg Johnson stays on board and is our advisor go between. Okay. Y

All right. So, uh the main topic to tonight is the the main peer and if there's anything anybody would like to bring up, um it was a good time. I'm open for discussion. Uh I thought we had a very good meeting today and I think they were open-minded to our suggestions and uh uh I I think we'll have a good working relationship. I I wish I' when they asked for a cost I wish I'd said I'd like you to give us three different costs 50 years 75 years whatever epoxy rerod you know what I mean for the kind of that but maybe they will provide that I don't know

it would be an easy you get what I'm saying like here's my my reaction Chris is uh I can remember the first beer and the only one here that can and uh I suggest that we build the very best pier we possibly can for the town and don't worry about the money 75 years from now. I know it's goes different from a normal scheme of things but no it's the right way to go. Um 75 years from now none of us are going to be here but the pier should be and was that was rebuilding it

did the taxpayers paid for that the at the time the initial cost for the bulkhead and the dredging was $713,000 and it I think it was probably came up on the warrant I mean I'm 10 years old so I wasn't following it and there's grant a lot of grant money would the grant money came later on with the dredging?

No, after the dredging. I think it came on with the finger floats and stuff like that. And my perspective on that grant money was it's the biggest mistake we ever made because it allowed federal money to come in. You know what Washington DC thought? They could they could care less. Somebody from Kansas just had as much right to that dock down there as we did. and uh took a long time to get away from it. So, I'm suggesting we stay away from that foolishness. The money's too easy. All you got to do is watch the news and see what you can get,

especially if you're a farmer day down there. So, uh we can afford this pier and uh we're going to go for it. We have enjoyed the best reputation of a municipal beer in the state of Maine despite the size. So, let's keep up the good work. When we were down there, I'd like to point out that how busy it is even in the offse. Yeah.

Once again, there was a truck sitting there the whole time we were there. got out of the way for one buyer, another buyer to come in, but but came right back and sat there for an hour and a half or an hour or whatever. We were down there, which is just what we've said that we don't want him to do. It was longer than that cuz I I went down by there about noon time. He was there then. I don't know how long he'd been there then.

Well, we're all aware this is a new phenomenon down here. the trucks on the dock and uh it's less than five years old really. The pressure that Northeast Harbor is under lobster buying and and selling I you know we have people out here in the audience mad and hell because they can't come in. We we cannot expand that business out there. We have too many other obligations. need to even in the winter time we need to enforce that freaking trust. I think that would have block

I think it'll be a I'd like to bring it up as another issue after we get this marina well underway and I've got some ideas how to expand in some of our other harvests and I think it's going to be worth our while to do that. Hi, Steve. I will say, Jimmy, anytime I've needed either Ronny's truck or the union truck, those are the two that are there for the longest period. Ronnie obviously is, but anytime I've asked them to move, even if like the union truck, their boat is right there, not far from coming in, but I got a load of traps or something, they do all move out of the way with no problem. I know what you're saying, but they have been good to work with that way. they won't get out of the way

and they moved out from Trenton Bridge, but they they were already sitting there for an hour or more, which is not what we've asked them to do, right? I mean, if there's nothing going there, I don't see what say there's nothing going in the summertime, too. And if somebody needs to get in there, they could ask or something. I don't know. Don't need to sit there. I I wouldn't necessarily blame the I don't think all the drivers are aware of the other correct I don't think they're intentionally trying to

you know what I mean to do it to aggravate anyone and I I think a nice way reminder to each company and I told her that they have a half hour out there. Yeah. Yep. So, while we're on the issue of the use of the pier, something that we never talk about is the impact of the Cranberry Isles. Oh, that's a big one. And that's huge. It's a labor force that's out there on a daily basis, not necessarily boat traffic,

but automobile traffic and people. And it it it's something that we're going to have to discuss, too. So, we we can't be the gobetween for the whole Mount Desert Island, which right now we really are for working hard beside them having half the big big parking lot at the mistleable building. They have all that, too. Jim and I blew it when we were

Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. We should have built a threetory garage right here. We talked about it and that when Rick and I were sleeping to put a out over the scare now the price at that time I think was like $1 million and we just Oh wow that nobody can afford that. What's the guy's name? He spent a million dollars just resurfacing the parking lot. Can't remember. There was some squawking from the Cranberry Islanders how much they had done. Parking fee would go up.

There was talk putting the restaurant on top and all that. All right, I'll open it up to the floor. You guys go for it. So, it's just the the Cranberries just pay for to get their stuff out there. the few mailboats and stuff that haul stuff out, which they pay to use the dock. $660. That's 28 cents ahead. That's all we get. That's all we get from the Cranberry Isles. Cranberry Isles annually. It's two boats. Well, three. 660.

Two wheeling bunkers. And then you have the wintertime commuter. They pay 660 a piece for each one of them. three boats that solely service the cranberry as a ferry and they pay 28 cents ahead for it's 660 annually 660 bucks the same fee that Rick pays to run the astic and 28 cents ahead that's that's you're doing that three months yes four months three months and maybe three times a Go ahead. She

does that cover all the fees in the town that one price. It does. Yeah. The deal and bunker could land over in Seal Harbor if they wanted to or needed to pick up a trip or something. That's why I was asking could also do that or he could go to Bartlet, you know, because a lot of the guys from Cranberry come in there now and tie up and uh due to the fact there's there's no tie up here for them, you know. Well, that's only the commercial operators. I understand it. Yeah. But I'm talking about other boat traffic as well. Yeah. Anyone private, there's no there's no fee for them to tie up to the dock for two hours and do their thing.

Two hours. You should come on up and see it. Three, four, five hours. You know, it's all day. And they and they have poor dock etiquette. You know, they leave that board out one end of it. So you can't use the front of a dock, you know, and you try to ask them to swing in, you know, stick it out to the pier, you know, the bar, you know, it's it's uh you have to land on the other side of the boat. Yeah. Well, they I I told you they had a what a 21 or two foot outboard, 150 horse there tied up his ski. The guy got snotty there when that I'm using my boat, you know. So what do you there's nothing you do up here.

I mean unless Paul call take a picture email or call is over there five days a week. Uh you know and and looks at it. We are in the works. So I'm trying to get cameras over there uh hopefully this summer. This camera would be good cameras. Yeah. Yeah. and and hopefully they'll be visible right from our screen at the office. So,

please call these guys. There's never I don't think I've been a time when they haven't been able to make time or address a problem or look back and you know what I mean. Sometimes they need help. They're busy doing you know what I mean? They get pulled in so many directions that and it helps them. They'll not you know what I mean? Might take a minute or two but they've always been very good about resolve especially the people. I mean, it takes time. It's not. And some people don't care about tickets and fines and they don't care about the rest of us. I mean, there's always those couple. But please contact them.

I mean, one visit, we're there for whatever amount of time once a day to look and then we're gone. You know, unless somebody says something, we don't see it. We don't see it. If you took a picture and said, "Hey," and he says, "Okay, I'm Adam's coming over at 11 and you have a picture and the boat's been there from 7." You know what I mean? Then, Right. Right. Would that be help? I mean, that

any anything, you know, there's a handful of them over at Bartletts that, you know, will call us and say, "Hey, you know, this is going on." You know, Adam might have been there at 9:00 in the morning and nothing was doing. He looked around, checked everything, and left. But, you know, at 11 o'clock, you know, there's something that isn't supposed to be there. You never know. Uh, if we can get cameras that are live that I can view like I can the ones here, that would be a huge. But internet has been our problem. And I think we're solving that problem with Starlink. So hopefully even Bartletts Bartletts has cameras, but I got to physically go over there and log in with a laptop to view them. I can't see them from the office. They record all the time. If something happens, I can go pull footage from three months ago and look at it, but you know, it's doesn't help when you can't see them from the office.

Maybe I'll get over there. Even Northeast Harbor, I can look on my phone in Hancock and look at all of the cameras and see them, move them around, you know. So, it's it's very helpful. But it's, you know, Seal Harbor and Bartletts are a blind spot. Yeah. John, how long have we been at 28 cents for a passenger down there? Because I don't I mean, we I I feel like I don't remember ever this board talking. It's been a long time. It was 22 cents for a long time. We went to 25 and then to 28, but I would guess it's been five to eight years.

Just everything else seems to go up, right? I think when we have more time that we should look at the a tiered permitting system if you have one vessel that has so many trips versus pickup versus so many passengers maybe or have a discussion of other ways and if and I think the commercial $500 should be expanded not just to fisherman anyone commercially using the pier whether it's freight wood cargo and and I do think there's we need to enforce that for all you know aspects of it Maybe be a little more aggressive about that when we have time.

Do we know what Southwest charges per head for the their fairy? I don't think anybody uses in public. Yeah, they tipped them off. They don't. Yeah, they don't. And the manet dock. They have their own pier now. Manet and bees. They've had that one, but I think they go to bees, right? Oh, yeah. They do, right? No, they must have a deal with bees that we used to just I mean it was just like we hope they making the right count and give us the money but you know we didn't make any money off it when I was there and they don't use it

just it was too popular now they had they had to get rid of them too much parking not enough parking much space on the dock it's a big boat up in the upper town do so well they have a dock and a parking area over there but they don't use it. Well, so they do they do use it. They It's Cranberry Cove Fair limited. They can't use it in the winter because it's man side. It's just rock getting all got to carry everything down the length of the dock. You can't drive down there. Freight that go out of there. Yeah. You can't bring like So it's kind of walking dock.

The docks long shallow. They can only dock at the very end of it and there's like six floats that go out. But they, you know, they could find a way to utilize that more. They did after they kicked them off of, you know, upper town. So,

so what happens? Well, like when uh Hammond Lumber comes down, the fella fell a barge going out to Granberries. They just the barge pays a $15 landing fee and they load the truck and they go. it. But when it unloads on the main pier, they're not paying any fees. So all that cargo, there's no fees attached to it. Although you bunker would charge them extra fees to take the cargo across.

So it's a $500 fee for commercial fishermen to use and non-residential commercial fishermen use. Maybe that can be a non-resident commercial fee. So if you're use using hauling cargo goods coming off that using that maybe you're not just passengers because you're pay passengers down but you know regularly using that that there should that should be the another fee of some nature attached to it. I had forgotten uh that it was only $15. But uh there's a there's a joke number right there. Yeah. Really $300. I don't know. But

651 we have the facility which is so unique and we get 15 bucks out of it. $3 million too. Yeah. And uh it it's all about the growth on the islands. It's not they're not coming to the town of Mount sure. I don't want to make it hard for, you know, the harbor master and people to, you know, collect all this stuff, but it's a shame we don't get more revenue out of it cuz like you said, where else are they going to go? It's crazy. Sometimes out of Southwest a lot, but not no.

They come over here quite a bit, too. And we we collect a check once a month from good ones. You know, it's all all the things are good about paying. They just getting a free ride. Cost more than $15 to drive the truck from Le Moan to Northeast with a load of gravel. Yes, it does. Well, anyway, folks, let's go on to ordinance changes that um new and expanded operators. Chris has sent out a memo here.

How we how we did all the hard work?

Well, want to talk about it, Howie? Well, it's really what we've discussed, I believe, uh, previously that, uh, we wanted to expand it so that uh, Mount Desert residents or businesses had preference in the lottery for um, for operators as well as all the other things we've already done. So, we're just expanding that in this case as well. Uh and then the other point um to make is that uh I guess in the past you know uh there's been a lot of issues with people putting in multiple uh proposals or applications and then winning like three slots instead of just one. So to uh to to address that I wrote this sentence uh you know to maintain diversity equality and to prevent a monopoly any operator may only hold one permit at a time. So

that doesn't stop them from putting in multiple bids. Okay. But they you're right it doesn't but once they win the first one they can't win anymore. The year I got my permit, I'll explain it right up front. There were four openings, I was one and there was one applicant for three. So, it's almost wasn't fair because they only had one vote using it's not fair to be one one chance, right, at getting the spot.

So, um so just to finish up here real quick. So anything in blue is added, you know, blue and bold is added from what was previously written there that nothing was taken out. So obviously somebody like Bill and Bunker would be grandfathered because they have two boats, but in the future Rick wouldn't be able to get a second boat going by this, right? No, I mean that's Yeah, I I think that's Yeah, I can't see us taking anything away from something that somebody already has, but we're just stopping it from there's one person progressing. Yep. No, that's just Yes. Someone could start license another company and have another

I mean there's always there's always ways people abuse our system, but I think this is more and then that we all agreed on the precedence of you know having someone a business in the town of Mount Der have a president like we did in the morning. So we're just kind of following up with the same the same kind of thing we done before and I believe like the morning's very little generous state said we could do 28% and we still at 25 75%. I do think we need to find a way to so somebody isn't the same person isn't putting three in at a time. Well if you not really saying that here is it? Yes, I Yeah.

No, if you where how said to maintain diversity, equality, prevent may only hold one permit, right? I think it should be only applied only apply once. Well, I'd agree with what that's there and maybe another line about saying something. Yeah, it's applying for you can only apply once. No, I mean add that this line and then like a line like you're saying. So yeah, you can only put one application in. You can only apply once. Not Yeah, you guys can change it any way you want. This is just a draft. I'm I'm not beholden to this at all. I like that. I'm just saying if you had another line saying something so that you couldn't put one.

Yeah. If you want to write something up, that makes sense. They want to come up with and register three different companies, then it'll be hard to beat it. But that's been a problem. We should put put it in. Well, if it was a problem, could you disable who owns the company? One guy coming. Sorry. Yeah. You know, I don't know how to word it, but like story. I think if it says may only one operator may apply. What's explain? Okay. Captain's opinion. Yeah. If an operator is already operating

and they put an application in for another permit and they win, like we pull it out blindly and they win because we don't know. It says in here that they're only allowed to have one permit at a time. So hold on. So that permit, that pull of winning is disqualified. And then we look at the rest of the people and we say, "Pull another random name out of a hat." Hold on. Okay. So, they're already disqualified even if they want to put in an application. Okay. I'm not talking about that. I'm saying like when Rick said he put in for it, there was there was four people. One of them was Rick and the other three were the same people.

I understand. So, hey, so hold on. So, that I was addressing the first. The second one is just what you're saying now. Okay. So, Rick gets the first pull. Okay. and he and he goes off and then whatever company it is company multiple boat company, you know, pulls out of the hat and they get the second one, right? And then multiple boat company pulls out of the hat the third one. Well, they're disqualified because they already had the But what he's saying that there's one slot up for bid. Yeah. So Rick entered one.

Okay. and somebody else put in three different bids for 75% chance. Rick's got a 25 now. I got it. So, he has a three4 chance. That's the scenario that we're almost always going to see. There's only going to be one slot open. Yeah. All right. Now, carpet say is only one application per Right. Okay. I missed all that. Yeah. I don't know how to work because the one only one application for the lottery per individual entity, however you want to put it. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Or I don't know how to word it right now.

Chance you're going to word it. Only one operator may apply for a permit. Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. But I like the line you have there. And Yeah. also not getting down there. Say thing is maybe we can say um you know something like only one can apply for a permit and only one can hold a permit like we might be able to get it all in one sentence if I figure out the wording apply and or you know hold something like that. I'm sorry I just said quite sorry you know

so in that paragraph the new operator proposals that would be the place to add in the should be only only one proposal per entity individual yeah that makes sense whatever whatever covers the legal definition of covering you know a business or an individual of acquiring more than one through any means I'm sure a lawyer could come up with a sentence for that really really interesting you know the one one person and his wife and his kid you know put it under different names to keep the same result together

but we also before that happened we didn't have the language that's in this application process that was redone and we do have the power to say no you that's three application we when we were John can say, "I don't recommend this. This is the same oper." We do have that ability to say, "No, we think you're all trying to flood it with that." Yeah. But I but I do agree. I I do agree that in this paragraph right here, we should also highlight that. So to try to discourage as much as possible. And then after we have the lottery, we should probably check and make sure nobody cheated. Open the rest of the envelopes. Well, I'm John. I'm

the one that's gonna put the names in the envelopes like I did for the Oh, okay. Okay. Me. Gotcha. Gotcha. Those names in those envelopes like two weeks before our meeting. So, I couldn't have picked which one was which if I had to. I think gravy stain right there. A little gravy stain on the corner. Just a diamond. That's why I had the CEO assistant pick him because he had nothing to do with any of this. So, you know, John's driving through traffic. So, so do we what's our time frame? Are we gonna have this? So, for the warrant or warrant,

I need to get the gist of what you want to say and I need to get it to Patrick. Have him to turn it into a little article for us and lawyer word it up. So, do you do you want me to write on this? I mean, I don't know if you remember. Yeah, write it up. I I would suggest that we have time by February meeting. So if if you this is basically we're good to go. We just need to add that one sentence that we were just discussing and I can sending it to the warrior for

review. ship it off to him with the gest of what we want it to say and he will write it and hopefully we can have it for our next meeting to review and move and and give to CLA. We can write it up right now. We can speed it along. Can you read my handwriting and that suggest one proposal per person per company your LLC etc. Yes. You understand like I understand exactly what it's saying. Do you want us just make a motion on this now and you can the lawyer? I want to see it right in next time. One one whole article. Okay. We We'll have time, right? We've got time.

Yeah. I'll I'll get this off to him this week and tell him I need it back before the 10th. Yeah. Okay. Very good. Thank you. So, you folks have been so good. We'll have a motion to adjourn. Is there anything else on development? Oh, go ahead. Wait a minute. Uh yeah, wait a minute. Uh I did see that uh in tomorrow the economic development committee is having the the ice skating rink is coming in front of them and they've totally bypassed all of us

again again. And I think that's really wrong. Uh disregarding how any of us feel about the rink itself, I'm going to attend tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. if any of us want to come join. I thought you said four. 4 p.m. Uh I think it's at 1 p.m. Is it 4? I forwarded the email to all of you. You said, did I say you said four in the email? Okay. Maybe it's four. I I don't I don't know now. Now I'm all confused. Is that meeting here? Yes. Thought you said one. I'll confirm it in just a second.

I can look on the town calendar, too. And that's where I saw it on the town calendar. They can this group whatever label they have on them. Are they still see I'm going to look on the channel is what in your ear. Oh yeah. Big time. They are. the agenda. That was already voted on four 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. I don't know what how it's been voted on, but the budget's gone up like $3 million. The budget for the ice rink or in general?

The skating rink has two warrant lines. I think in the third party stuff, even though we were told, you know, no private funds, you know, but we're way past that with a $600,000 bond that is $917,000 once paid. And the ice out there, you know, is turning the water and lower headlock is just looks beautiful. Grab your skates and head on out. But it's, you know, half of it is, you know, I don't like it and the other half is I don't like the way they treated us.

You know, that's kind of, you know, the marina area and can you explain to me where your authority starts and stops? I'm in the parking lot now. Well, I can tell you that we have a lot of authority until the board of select men disagree with us. It depends on over here one night because of that. So, so essentially at the end of the pier

over in Sil Harbor is where it stops for us. Anything in the parking lot is essentially public works. That's their problem to deal with. The pier and out is us. Same thing over at Bartletts down here. We pay for the parking lots and all that. We paid to build all that. We pay to maintain it. But the police depending on what is going on whether they want our input or not the gray area

it says over this the duties and the general duties and responsibilities harve master harbor committee oversee the town's waterfront facilities including but not limited to moorings floats docks ramps channels breakwaters and adjacent municipal property excluding parking lots, but that is an adjacent and it's not a parking lot. Minnesota problem that it's not a parking. When they came and said, "We're going to put the shed for the cooler over here or over here." You as the harbor committee can pick one of those two spots that we chose. And so we did.

And that's not the one they wanted to do. Oh, it isn't. No, they wanted to do the one we didn't want. That's right. Because it would have been easier for them. So, they're not even going to use our choice on that. They are. Okay. But they didn't want. But, and it's really irrelevant. But with the flooding that they have down there, you know, that's a whole another can of worms that we won't get into right now. I thought the town itself was they were going to redo the tennis courts anyway. happened last fall

for whatever reason it didn't happen but at that time they were going to put the pipes underneath and somehow the town and the group that in charge of the pipes we're going to split all that so the tennis court was going to get redone anyways and these guys jumped in and to put the cooling system and stuff in

so if it hadn't been for the ice rink the tennis courts would probably be all done and refreshed by now But it's been held up because the ice rink stuff has come into a lot of jams with getting the chillers and a lot of other um engineering stuff. Electricity and all that has held them up and the town has held back on doing what they were originally going to do to let them be able to have their stuff done at the same time.

But how does that translate? and and they raised over a million dollars to do all this. How does the town share go up to $600,000 and whatever else you're Yep. I the tennis courts may have cost that much. That's what that is. In any real world to resurface tennis courts, you resurface them. You don't dig the whole thing up and change all. It's gone beyond just a resurfacing. They've been filling holes that stuff just keeps disappearing in here. And it's amazing that the court hasn't, you know, because of all the fill it that was built.

Yeah. I mean, they just keep dumping into those cracks and it just keeps disappearing. So, but the rink seems so impractical to spend that much money on the small rink. Big is almost as big as this room. It's not that big. It's not big enough to barely get going for hockey. The 600,000 they're asking for is the town. We've already they already passed that for the redoing their share of redoing the tennis courts.

Yes. They said at the bond was supposedly said to redo the tennis courts and then the ice rink committee said, "Well, while you're doing that, we can help pay and put our chiller and stuff underneath there." And then John said, "Well, there's not going to be anywhere near enough electricity to run any of this stuff. You know, they're going to have to pull a new line in." And so now they've said they're going to run new power lines down so they can add two high-speed car chargers. And that's how they're getting the electricity down there.

But who's paying for the car chargers? The town. You and I. I It's always nice to have car chargers. There is one up there. Or who's in the parking spaces in those two parking spots? Yeah. park in those charging stations. Huh? There's nothing that says you can't park in there. I do it all. Just saying. They'll probably have a sign in front of them that says EV only. Yep. Do we get to set our rate for what we charge for? It's not us that we paying for the charges or will we pay the electricity?

No, it will not be us. It will be all through either the town or through the 365 ice rink thing. They haven't asked us for a penny for the tennis courts. Even though the tennis courts are kind of within our purview, none of this money is coming from the marina. This is solely through tax dollars and 365. But this was also sort of pushed as economic development wonderful thing. It was going to bring so many people to Northeast Harbor. I just I don't see that. Did you guys notice that Bar Harbor's done something similar?

Yes. I was going to bring that newspaper with me tomorrow at the meeting. They don't have chillers and stuff. Well, that is all volunteer. Well, it's all gonna only way they're going to get ice is if it's cold. No, I know. And and I don't think that's going to happen a whole lot. But the extent of the expense and everything to get ice here, I just don't see it, especially when you can go to Cadillac. Um, it's unfortunately it's already passed, but it hasn't been built yet. So, if anybody wants to show up tomorrow, you

better be good, Rodney. I just want John, you you maintain the Seal Harbor floats over the winter. Yeah, they're out here on moorings. Well, if you're looking on half of the the two northern floats, the the cleats are put in all wrong. Get another broken one. We've se we see the broke cleanly. We'll be working on them in the spring as we get closer.

They you get the the um cleats through bolted the way they belong because right now they're they're lagged in. You got a great big washer. That's why that one keeps breaking because that washer is trying to wedge itself in. And uh they're made to have bolt head to go through. So when you put a line on it, that washer stuck out there, they'll cut in line. They all go to like that. We can look and see if we can figure out another solution. through bolting them is is very difficult if they're in the water. Uh because, you know, have to get a diver. You need a diver. Yeah. Well, they you decking.

What's that? Can't take up decking when you get at it. No, you got a bolt from underneath all all the way up through that wide piece on the edge. Yeah. I mean, you're running a bolt that's this long down through the deck all the way through to the bottom of the bottom timber and then you got to, you know, uh do a little speed bore bit and to inset it a little bit. Then you got to be there cranking with a ratchet. I mean, it can be done, but yes, you need a diver. Or could we how much would it be would it be feasible to like ask you know the crane folks to just pull it out for a day and work on it and then pull it back in or charmers pull it up here.

I I don't know. I'm just offering that as another option. It really needs to be done because it would be it really would be I I think we can find another solution to the washer that you guys aren't liking. What was not just I don't and and that is acting like a wedge and breaking the cleat.

We've got multiple down here like that. And that's the only cleats that I've seen broken under this scenario. down here. We're tying, you know, 80 100 foot boats to them and somebody is has got to be forgetting to untie and taking off or something to put that much. We don't see the surge down here, though. I'm assuming Seal Harbor probably sees more of a surge in there, too, than what we see. I don't I don't know. We'll look into a solution to at least doing away with a washer that you say is cutting on your lines.

Yeah. to see if we can come up with a different solution. But, you know, have a time to meet with him to ride out when he gets his gift back in and see what can be done. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Be glad that work for you, John, to see if you guys can work with them. Yeah. I mean, they're welcome to go out. We don't have to go out to that float. We can go down and look at a float that's right down here that's got the same hookup on it. Th those bolt heads, I mean, they They're shop too. They'll if you got something stuck up over a cleat, it'll cut your lines off. Is there a different cleat that would work set up?

Are you able to reset? Well, actually, you've got some with a flange on the bottom and you could you could actually screw those down. They have four and they put a heavy 38 and third bolt that way. Well, they got a flange on the bottom of the cleat.

Put two here, two there, and you could use heavy screw like I mean, they're not going to be there all day long anyway. They're not made to be, you know, just high up and get it. Well, if the weather's nice, I think we should have a site visit and somebody bring some beer. We'll do some research and see if we can find some uh cleat that have larger openings up at the top that would allow the what we're doing to be recessed down in all of the cleats that I've been able to get are meant to have the throughbolt go down and lock into that. And yes, we are doing the best we can with what we've got, but there may be a solution there that has a round surface that's inset that allows us to hammer down below the level.

We had an aling head that went down in that recess down in that hat or may have a a round enough opening that allows the bolt to be driven like we're driving them, but to recess it down below this top of the surface. Yeah, there may be something out there. There probably is. You know, the local stuff that we, you know, get from Hamilton's or uh, you know, custom floats. I've never seen that, but we can look at it. Thank you. Yeah. Uh, John, this is for the parking lot of Seal Harour. Uh, the one up above down the highway. Highway. Yeah. He's in charge of it. just,

you know, I was told that we're going to have mutants on parking issues in Seal Harbor and uh and that's one thing that we're going to open that up for the village of Seal Harbor, not be permitted parking for boat trailers and different things out there on the island. And I was told that she was in charge of that parking.

I am in the only one that supposedly can provide a permit for that lot. I don't know how that that became for the harbor master to be in control of that, but that's the way it's always been. I take I don't know five or six uh request a year and we've been overwhelmed with uh ringing points construction. The PD has been asking me to permit, you know, to keep them out of the Seal Harbor uh beach parking lot. Uh I'm open to anything because we personally don't use it for anything. I get I would say five to six actual boat users a year call and ask me for a couple of nights here and there because they want to go out on their boat for three or four day cruise. No place to park down the pier. Um, so I'm open to anything

because we're gonna that there is no Harvard committee, excuse me, uh, parking committee. So, you got to deal with Dave Karns and, uh, Brian Hankle. So, uh, we're going to be meeting with them on issues about parking on Main Street. We'd like to be able to access that parking lot for the beach and everything like that. It was supposed to get potentially paved when they were going to put one or two electric car chargers in there and that was there was money approved at town meeting a few years ago for that to happen. I don't know why the Marina Harbor has zero dollars invested in that parking lot other than for some reason I'm the one who can issue a permit.

Right. That's how it was slated for when we bought it from Jackie Jordan. the town march in Jack Jordan that was going to be a parking lot for the use of the village. Yeah.

And uh putting household boat trailers and stuff like that, you know, it's like and the issue is the state is talking about not allowed as a law already on the book. State say you can't park against that stone wall across from the lighthouse up through there. So now that there's been some issues. So now that things are going to come to a head. I'm open to anything for that because, you know, I may pull into that parking lot once every three or four years. I I don't patrol it. That's solely on the PD. Uh I only take requests and grant them or not grant them depending on what they're asking for.

Okay. It would be nice to not lose the ability to have some parking spaces for people with votes, you know, in your in your process. I think if it was paved and and lined up right, there probably 20 spots in there. Well, see, it's also supposed to happen down behind Jordan's garage, but the town has turned that into a dump site for everybody doing construction, you know, so it's full of gravel and stuff like that all the time. And there's folks being able to pack trailers and stuff like that with boats down there. Town is has turned that into a gravel pit. Everybody doing construction up on the hill. Has it you brought the slack mill?

What's that? You brought your local slack. He's doing work. Okay, guys. How about a motion? Motion to adjurnn. Motion to adjurnn. Second. Moved and seconded. All in favor raise your hand. I oppose. Thank you very much. Going to save.