City Hall·Mount Desert·Agenda
Selectboard
- I. Call to order at 5:00 p.m. Public please hold comments until the Selectboard Chairman opens the agenda items for public comment. When addressing the Board, state your FULL NAME (both in person and on Zoom). It is suggested that you enter your full name as your ID on Zoom.
- II. Workshop (5:00 pm)
- A. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts explained - Alyssa Tibbetts, Tibbets Law
- III. Public Hearings (6:00 pm)
- A. Proposed Warrant Article for November 3, 2026 Special RSU Consolidation Referendum: Do you favor approving the school administrative reorganization plan prepared by the MDIRSS-AOS #91 Reorganization Planning Committee to reorganize Trenton, Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, Mount Desert, Swan's Island, Cranberry Isles, and Frenchboro into a Regional School Unit with an effective date of 7/1/2028?
- B. Amendments to the General Assistance Ordinance Appendices A-H
- IV. Post Public Hearing
- B. Adoption of the Amendments to the General Assistance Ordinance Appendices A-H
- V. Minutes
- A. Approval of minutes from September 21, 2026 meeting
- VI. Appointments and Resignations (These are appointments/resignations that require Selectboard action.)
- A. Appoint Ballot Clerks under Title 30-A, MRS, Section 2528 for November 3,2026 Special Town Meeting
- B. Appointment of Heidi Smallidge as Warden for the November 3, 2026 General Election
- VII. Consent Agenda (These items are considered routine, and therefore, may be passed by the Selectmen in one blanket motion. Board members may remove any item for discussion by requesting such action prior to consideration of that portion of the agenda.)
- A. None presented Selectboard Meeting Agenda October 5, 2026
- VIII. Selectboard’s Reports
- IX. Unfinished Business
- A. Review and Approve Contract for Town Hall Improvements
- B. Sign final Warrant (includes recommendation votes from Warrant Committee)
- X. New Business
- A. Public Space Special Event Application 1-2027 - Seal Harbor Library Fair - July 31, 2027, Seal Harbor Village Green
- B. Consider accepting an unconditional gift to the Mount Desert Fire Department from Julia Merck and Hans Ustch in the amount of $500.00
- C. Review and approval for contracting Coastal Energy for #2 Heating Oil for the Fiscal Year 2027 heating season
- D. Review and approval for contracting with BFP Trucking for winter sand purchases for Fiscal Year 2027
- XI. Informational (These items require no action - informational purposes only)
- A. Thank You letters from: Bar Harbor Food Pantry, Eastern Area Agency on Aging, HOME Inc., Hospice Volunteers of Hancock County, Mount Desert Nursing Association, WIC Program
- B. Noise Ordinance Request
- C. Harbor Committee Minutes from May 12, 2026
- D. Warrant Committee Minutes from September 29, 2026
- E. Claire Woolfolk, Town Clerk, receives President’s Award from MTCCA
- XII. Public Comment (Non-Agenda comments - please keep comments limited to three (3) minutes; state your name and of nature of business.)
- XIII. Treasurer’s Warrants
- A. Approve & Sign Treasurer’s Warrant as shown below: Town Invoices AP#2723 10/06/2026 $671,143.68 Total $671,143.68
- B. Approve Signed Treasurer’s Payroll, State Fees, & PR Benefit Warrants as shown below: State Fees & PR Benefits AP#2720 9/23/2026 $137,513.00 AP#2721 9/30/2026 $1,162.61 Town Payroll PR# 9/25/2026 $218,006.98 Total $356,682.59
- C. Acknowledge Treasurer’s Town Voided Disbursements & School Board AP/Payroll Warrants as shown below: School Payroll MDES PR#07 09/25/2026 $217,947.92 Voided Disbursements V#2704 & AP#2722 Total $217,947.92 Grand Total $1,245,774.19 Selectboard Meeting Agenda October 5, 2026
- XIV. Adjournment The next regularly scheduled meeting is at 6:00 p.m., Monday, October 19, 2026 in the Meeting Room, Town Hall, Northeast Harbor The Town of Mount Desert is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. You can call in through any of the listed phone numbers or connect with a computer via the web link. You will need to enter the meeting ID to get access to the meeting. Mount Desert zoom meetings now require that only authenticated users can join meetings from a web browser. The participants need to authenticate by creating an account in Zoom prior to joining Town of Mt. Desert meetings from a web browser. Participants will be put into a "waiting room" until the host admits you.
- Public Hearings
- • MMA's most recent General Assistance Ordinance (September 2026)
- • MMA’s new (October 1, 2026-September 30, 2027) “General Assistance Ordinance Appendices” (A - H).
- • Recovery Residence Housing Maximums (October 1, 2026-September 30, 2027)
- • “GA Ordinance Adoption Form” which was developed so that municipalities may easily send DHHS proof of the adoption of any updated or changed GA Ordinance. Once the selectpersons or council adopts the new ordinance, the enclosed form should be signed and submitted to DHHS. (see “Filing of GA Ordinance and/or Appendices” below for further information).
- • “GA Maximums Adoption Form” which was developed so that municipalities may easily send DHHS proof of GA maximums adoption. Once the selectpersons or council adopts the new maximums, the enclosed form should be signed and submitted to DHHS. (see “Filing of GA Ordinance and/or Appendices” below for further information). Updates Please note that updates have been made to the allowances within Appendix A (overall maximums), Appendix B (food maximums), and Appendix C (housing maximums) of the General Assistance Ordinance. There is also a new Recovery Residence Housing Maximums guide. Although no changes have been made to the allowances within Appendices D - H, we have updated their effective dates and included them for your convenience.
- H. Even if you are not updating your GA Ordinance, the municipal officers must approve/adopt the new Appendices yearly. The Adoption Process - Notice and Hearing The municipal officers (i.e., selectpersons/council) adopt the local General Assistance Ordinance and yearly Appendices , even in town meeting communities. The law requires that the municipal officers conduct a notice and hearing prior to the adoption of the Ordinance and/or Appendices. The municipality is responsible for determining how notice of the hearing must be provided based on applicable law and the municipality's own charter, ordinances, and established procedures. OFI does not prescribe a particular method of public notice. Municipalities should use their
- 1) Allow all interested members of the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed ordinance;
- 2) End public discussion, close the hearing; and
- 3) Move and vote to adopt the ordinance and/or appendices either in its posted form or as amended in light of public discussion. Municipalities May Establish Their Own Maximums Municipalities may establish their own maximum levels of assistance provided that the proposed levels of assistance are reasonable and meet adequate standards sufficient to maintain the health and safety of applicants in the municipality. The municipality must submit documentation to the Department to justify these levels of assistance and verify that the figures developed are appropriate to maintain health and decency. A municipality’s maximum assistance level for f ood may not be below the Department provided figures which are issued by the USDA and published annually following a study of cost of food
- General
- Assistance
- Ordinance
- a) Liquid Assets. ........................................................................................................................................ 20
- b) Tangible Assets. .................................................................................................................................... 20
- c) Automobile Ownership. ........................................................................................................................ 20
- d) Insurance. .............................................................................................................................................. 21 iv
- e) Transfer of Property. ............................................................................................................................. 21 Section 5.4-Ownership of Real Estate .............................................................................................. 22
- a) Principal Residence. .............................................................................................................................. 22
- b) Other Property. ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Section 5.5-Work Requirement ........................................................................................................ 23 Employment; Rehabilitation. ........................................................................................................................ 23 Verification. .................................................................................................................................................. 23 Ineligibility. ................................................................................................................................................... 23
- a) Earned Income. ....................................................................................................................... 37
- b) Income from Other Assistance or Social Services Programs. ................................................ 37
- c) Court-Ordered Support Payments........................................................................................... 38
- d) Income from Other Sources. ................................................................................................... 38
Where this came from
Mount Desert Agenda Center
The town's own agenda, 181 pages. The outline above is read from the first pages of that document; the packet behind it has the memos and exhibits. Links open in a new tab.
The town's own agenda, 181 pages. The outline above is read from the first pages of that document; the packet behind it has the memos and exhibits. Links open in a new tab.