Peaks Island Council

Peaks Island Council WORKSHOP MINUTES Wednesday, July 23, 2025, 6:15 p.m. Hybrid ZOOM/in-person meeting in the Community Center NEXT Regular Monthly PIC Meeting August 27, 2025 CALL TO ORDER: 6:21 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Laura Glendening, Fred Somers, Scott Mohler, Karsten Rees, Norm Proulx Absent: Shelagh Reiser, Jess Burton Number of Audience Members (AM) in attendance: 5 in person, 1 on zoom APPROVAL OF MINUTES Unanimous approval of minutes from May 28th PIC meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS No announcements. TREASURER’S REPORT Patnaude said the current account balance is now $45,000 since no money has been distributed yet. Unanimous approval of Treasurer’s Report. PUBLIC COMMENT (beginning of meeting) Comment that the stairs to Sandy Beach are complete. Patnaude said the stairs to Ferry Beach will now get into the queue, along with the fence repairs at the Welch Street Parking lot. Somers asked Patnaude about moving the boat on Ferry Beach. Patnaude said it should be moved soon. Glendenning asked Patnaude about repairing the sidewalks along Welch Street. Patnaude said that work hasn’t been considered yet. AM asked how community could prevent boats from parking on Ferry Beach in the future. Patnaude said community cannot prevent fishermen from parking boats on Ferry Beach without passing an ordinance that would control that. AM asked about paper versus private roads at Evergreen. Mohler said there is both a private road and paper road at Evergreen. AM said that more owners are letting their dogs run loose near Trefethen and on Island Avenue, which is dangerous for bikers. AM also asked about whether electric bikes have any special rules and should be equipped with bells so that they can warn regular bike rides that they are passing. Glendenning said the issues raised should be addressed by Paper Roads committee and Sustainability Committee. AM said that they still see some kids driving golf carts. Proulx said the ordinance exists to prevent that, but it’s an issue of enforcement. Mohler asked AM to send an email outlining public safety concerns. PIC July 23, 2025 Meeting Minutes, DRAFT. Page 1 COMMITTEE REPORTS & UPDATES • Executive Committee – No update. • Environmental and Sustainability and Parks and Rec Committee Exercise equipment should be installed in September or October. Mark Gorsky said a $10,000 grant from Island Institute will be used for a culvert assessment on the backshore. The culvert work could happen simultaneously with the FEMA road work on the backshore. • Ferry Service Operations Committee looking at the Down Bay schedule to see if there are changes that can be made. Finance Committee will begin looking at commercial vehicle rates. Rees said that PUC is asking CBL questions about the decision making process for the new passenger rates. • Housing and Zoning Committee – ReCode Zoning survey Rees said the committee meets on second Thursday at 5pm at the community center. The committee is working with people who have purchased property on Brackett Avenue and who are considering developing year-round housing. • Island Assessment – Mark Gorsky said that receipt of a $25,000 grant from Casco Bay Estuary Partnership to fund working groups to look at items on the Island Assessment has been slightly delayed. • Paper Roads Norm Proulx said the committee met July 9th and will continue to meet once a month. Committee is considering how to display the information collected so far. Committee wants to add GPS markings to the map, not just longitude and latitude. Proulx said it would be some time before the map was complete. Proulx said the people involved in the lawsuits regarding paper roads have been asked to resign from the Paper Roads committee, which they have done. • Parking Mohler read an update from Reiser. Eric Winchester said the new city parking director, Tony Wirkus, said that the city is working with DPW to investigate opportunities for more street parking within the “No Parking Overnight” restrictions. Ocean Gate parking will not close before the end of the summer. Casco Bay Garage is under new management and the parking committee will be meeting with the new garage management. Forward any questions or concerns to PIC. • Golf cart No update. • Election Committee Three PIC seats available, three CBL seats available. Committee is looking for a chair. Mohler will ask Jerzy Sylvester if he would like to be the chair. OLD BUSINESS Status of boat removal – discussed during public comment. PIC July 23, 2025 Meeting Minutes, DRAFT. Page 2 NEW BUSINESS ● Land use Code Update Rees filed PIC Land Use Code amendment recommendation with City Clerk. City Clerk forwarded it to the Corporations Council Office and the City Manager. The Corporations Council Office said the amendment needed to go to the Planning Board. Rees says that the city ordinances don’t require the PIC amendment to go before the Planning Board, so he is asking Corporations Council Office for clarification. Somers said that the City Council or City Manager will ask the Planning Board for their input so the process might be correct. Rees said they have worked with Planning extensively and the Planning Board reached out to him as a result of the Corporations Council Office advice to say that they are not entertaining any amendments. However, there is nothing in the city charter or the city code that prevents PIC from putting forward its land use recommendations. Rees made a motion to file a letter with the Corporations Council Office to ask them to revisit the guidance that they issued and to issue new guidance to the city clerk’s office asking that the PIC land use recommendations can be brought to the city council. Proulx seconded. AM asked if PIC would ask for a meeting with the Planning Board. Rees said PIC will ask for a meeting. Motion passed unanimously. • PIC response to city regarding using CBL gift cards to purchase needs-based tickets Patnaude said the city has strict protocols for gift card use, so that the cards are used only for their intended purpose. The city wants the needs-based tickets program to purchase tickets directly. Rees said PIC should ask for a waiver of the rules regarding gift cards for this program. Rees asked if PIC council members could purchase the gift cards and get reimbursed. Patnaude said that the finance department would have to weigh in on that. Rees said he would be willing to meet with the finance department to discuss. Glendenning asked what the benefit of the pursuing 30-day pass is. Rees said there is a cost savings and the vulnerable population on the island will benefit from more access to the boat. Proulx echoed the city’s concern that there is no way for PIC to guarantee that the CBL gift cards are not used fraudulently. AM asked if there is a way for CBL to bill the city directly for the 30-day passes so that the gift cards could be taken out of the equation. Rees said next steps will be for PIC to work with CBL to find another way to pay for the 30-day passes. • PIC Zoom and Mailchimp account Patnaude said city will not allow purchase of software with a city credit card. He contacted Jennifer Grondin, who recommended that PIC use Google Meets rather than Zoom. Grondin also recommended that a PIC councilor purchase the Mailchimp account and submit an invoice to be reimbursed. PUBLIC COMMENT PIC July 23, 2025 Meeting Minutes, DRAFT. Page 3 AM said that there was an accident on Brook Lane, a steep hill, in which a woman on her bike almost lost her life. AM asked if a cautionary sign “Steep Hill” could be added to the top of Brook Lane. Also, the sand that accumulates on Island Avenue at the bottom of Trefethen and at the bottom of Brook Lane should be removed. Patnaude said that if PIC emails him requesting a sign, he can get a sign. Patnaude said a street sweeper has been assigned to Peaks Island so he can get the street sweeper out again. Somers made a motion to adjourn. Proulx seconded. Motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATES Next PIC Meeting: Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at 6:15 pm in the community room and on Zoom. Meeting Adjournment: 7:45 p.m. PIC July 23, 2025 Meeting Minutes, DRAFT. Page 4