BREAKING NEWS: Citizens urge Bar Harbor council to implement cruise ship ordinance

BAR HARBOR, Dec. 20, 2022 - As expected, the gamesmanship between the town and the citizens petitioners to cap cruise ship visits has begun, and the Town Council is slated tonight to mediate the conflicting issues on how to implement the new ordinance approved overwhelmingly by voters Nov. 8.

Town Manager Kevin Sutherland got what he wanted Dec. 15 from the harbormaster - a litany of concerns mirroring what Sutherland stated months ago when he was campaigning against the initiative, that it would be difficult to enforce.

Monday, Charles Sidman, leader of the initiative, sent the council an email responding to Harbormaster Chris Wharff’s memo point by point. Sidman stated that the new cruise ship ordinance is no more complicated than the vacation rental ordinance which the town implemented flawlessly.

You may access both Sidman’s and Wharff’s memos here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y7qG62wBOy6mjuraE6fu7IbXnpB0xFAh/view?usp=sharing

Wharff is a lieutenant in the police department, and Sidman questioned why this was even a police matter.

“While Harbor Master (and Lt.) Wharff is indeed a senior police officer, the Town’s cruise ship policies are inherently non-police matters to be formulated by town staff following guidance provided by voters in the recent Initiative passage.

“In respectful disagreement, it is not clear that Lt. Wharff’s experience and orientation toward criminal prosecutions is necessary here. Non-police departments have the authority to levy administrative fines or charge lawful fees without the requirements of criminal prosecutions. This concern seems misplaced.

“The Initiative ushers in a new era in the Bar Harbor-Cruise Industry relationship, with far different priorities and goals from those of the past,” Sidman stated. “It is not a given that the new system must follow the former, or that all fees per passenger must be equal. In other words, the Town can charge what it costs to administer the new system, and cruise lines or ships that do not accept the new rules are free to avoid Bar Harbor and go elsewhere.”

The citizens group envisioned two stages of permits, Sidman wrote - one for any facility used for cruise ship disembarkation and one to reserve a ship.

“It is believed that the reservation request system described above will lead to most of the required reduction in persons disembarking from cruise ships. However, a counting system will be required to confirm that more than the approved numbers of disembarkations do not take place. It is not clear that one person keeping count would not suffice (rather than the two Lt. Wharff suggests would be necessary), especially if physical arrangements forced all disembarking individuals into a single file (as through a gate.) Furthermore, a video record could readily be made, to serve as backup confirmation and evidence in case of numbers above those permitted.

“In any case, as a practical requirement for administering the new system, charging the necessary fees for either one or two persons per active disembarkation site would be justified.”

Regarding private property, access for official counting and control should simply be a requirement in the first-step “facility” permitting process. In similar fashion, rental property owners cannot refuse official inspections while continuing as legal landlords.

Sidman also wrote that the petitioners “are more than willing to be directly involved in the rule-making process, to be both useful and time-saving.”

Citizens voted 1,780-1,273 on Nov. 8 to approve a land-use ordinance barring disembarkation of more than 1,000 persons a day from visiting cruise ships onto any or all properties in town. Bar Harbor currently has only one facility, Ocean Properties, which allows disembarkation. Sidman has asked to use the town docks as well.

As an executive, the QSJ experienced many encounters with employees who disagreed with a policy or directed order. Sometimes, they would undermine a project as if to prove their point. I called such behavior “malicious compliance.”