Fireworks permitted, regretful resignations accepted, and city manager rated exceedingly well
Editor’s Note: The audio for Hancock’s city council has been giving me trouble, and just when I thought I had it solved, a new problem was introduced. This week, the air conditioning was running. I did my best to make it understandable, but there’s only so much that can be done. Councilor Will Lytle and Mayor Paul LaBine’s voices particularly blended into the sound of the fans blowing. I’m trying to figure out what more I can do. Thanks for understanding.
Meeting Highlights
During City Manager Mary Babcock’s administrative report, she updated the board on census results, which showed the population decreased by more than 100 people. This could signal a small decrease in the tax budget. She also implored everyone to keep voting for the Hancock dog park in the Bark For Your Park contest until the end of the month.
Poster from the council information packet.
The community night out plans have been finalized. Rewind will be at Porvoo Park, and the city council approved the fireworks permit during this meeting, too.
Poster from the council information packet.
During the meeting, the council accepted a couple of resignations, with regret. Doug Lancour informed the council of his wish to be replaced on the Board of Review, and Jerry Wuorenmaa resigned from the Rental Code Board of Appeals. Both emails of resignation are in the council information packet (‘Agenda and Documents’ link above). The board positions will be advertised for applicants.
The council also unanimously supported a resolution to support partnerships for “materials management”, which is a term that combines things like garbage, recycling, compost, and other refuse. Councilor William Lytle pointed out that while Hancock was a regional leader in recycling, there was still plenty of room for improvement.
The council reviewed the city manager’s performance in closed session, in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. They returned to open session after a few minutes and reported her review as generally exceeding standards. No link on this one because there’s not much on the video other than the vote, which was unanimously in favor of accepting the positive report.
One resident complained during the final public comment, about the traffic turning left from Reservation Street onto Quincy Street. They said the confusion of people in the right lane turning left and the left lane sometimes suddenly deciding to go straight was dangerous and asked if there was anything that could be done to improve signage or find solutions to prevent collisions.