PRESQUE ISLE, Maine —The Presque Isle City Council approved a lodging establishment ordinance to protect hotels and other lodgings from guests who break the law while at their establishments, when it met Wednesday, Jan. 4.
Doug Cyr and Jeff Willette were readmitted as city councilors with a swearing in ceremony and reading of the oath of office after winning back their seats during the Nov. 8 election.
The city council unanimously adopted the Chapter 63 Lodging Establishment License Ordinance that would require all lodging businesses to register for a license approved by city council.
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — January 4, 2023 — Presque Isle Industrial Council executive chairperson Tom Powers (middle) goes over the annual report for 2022 at the Presque Isle City Council meeting at the Sargent Family Community Center on Jan. 4. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald)
The ordinance would have lodging establishment properties inspected by the city’s code enforcement officer annually. Each lodging business cannot have more than two unresolved instances like breaches of the peace or other violations of the law caused by a person staying there in order to keep their licenses.
The lodging ordinance targets any illegal activity on the premises of hotels by occupants. When the Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center took in people experiencing homelessness there were multiple emergency service calls for overdoses, or for police to deal with unresolved disturbances at the hotel.
“We’re trying to make sure our businesses are outstanding members of our community, which they are, and we are trying to keep that standard in there for all the taxpayers,” said Economic and Development Director Galen Weibley.
The city council would act as the licensing board to go over applications given out at City Hall to rooming houses, hotels and motels and approve them by April 2023. A fee would be set by the city council but that won’t be addressed until Feb. 1.
“The interest behind this [ordinance] was because of the difficulties that were encountered with the rental program that was administered from the federal government in the community,” said City Council Member Craig Green.
At the beginning of the city council meeting, the council members unanimously accepted the slate of nominees as presented for the boards and committees for Presque Isle with a substitution of Craig Green for Mike Chasse on the Presque Isle Downtown Revitalization Committee.
Jacob Shaw became the new city council chairperson with Kevin Freeman switching to deputy chairperson with the gavel being passed across the table in the Sergent Community Family Center.
Scott Norton was approved for a three year term as director of the industrial council by city council members. Industrial council executive chair Tom Powers gave the annual report to the city council and said the city’s assets in the industrial park have an estimated value of over 47 million.
In 2022, the operating budget for the industrial council stayed at a budget of over $400,000 and a rental income of over $800,000. Rental income for the railroad was over $51,000, which was $11,000 more in 2022 compared to the previous year and placed in a reserve account to cover the cost of maintenance and insurance for the railroad.
“The parks operation is 100 percent self-sustainable, we return money in excess of what we are allocated every year,” Powers said.
Projects in 2022 for the Industrial Council were affected by a limited labor force, price stability, and material shortages. Some of the larger projects the Industrial Council were able to do were a groundbreaking for two solar panel sites on the north and south end of the Industrial Park.
The Spudnik Equipment Company moved into the former Coca-Cola building on Jan. 1 with the lease secured by the Industrial Council, increasing their operation size by five times, according to Powers.
The 2022 estimate for jobs in the Industrial Park was between 800 and 900 jobs containing 58 businesses, industries, and organizations. Kevin Freeman pointed out the dedication and hard work of four members on the Presque Isle Industrial Council compared to Bangor’s 16 Industrial Council members that has a population similar to the Star City.
The city council unanimously approved the minutes of the 2022 warrants totaling more than $1.6 million and reappointments of Carol MacPherson, Greg Roderick and Noel Currier to the Presque Isle Utilities District Board of Trustees.
A public hearing was scheduled for an amendment to the Chapter 9 License and Public Hearing Fees Ordinance on Feb. 1. Another public hearing was scheduled to approve an amendment to Chapter 48 General Assistance Ordinance for low-income houses on Feb. 1.
