Bar Harbor OKs extra code assistance

BAR HARBOR – Construction activity in town has increased so dramatically this spring that the Town Council on Tuesday authorized extra help for Code Enforcement Officer Kim Keene.

“I need help. They finally saw it,” Keene said Wednesday.

Officials think the unusually low mortgage rates have contributed to the sharp rise in building permits this spring, which require both initial processing by the planning office and follow-up plumbing, electrical and structural inspections as the projects are built.

Keene has issued 190 building permits so far this year, compared to 411 in all of 2001 and 557 last year.

Building permits are issued for all types of projects, ranging from new multimillion-dollar hotel projects to residential decks and home additions.

Three especially large projects – expansion of The Jackson Laboratory and two large-scale hotel projects – have further taxed the small staff, prompting the planning office to hire CES Inc., a Brewer-based engineering firm, to take over inspections at the two hotel construction sites, according to Fire Chief David Rand, who supervises town building and code inspections.

Additionally, Angela Chamberlain, office manager for the planning department, recently was named alternate code enforcement officer to help Keene keep up with the workload. On Tuesday, the council also named her alternate electrical inspector to further assist Keene.

Chamberlain, in her new role, will do the paperwork for electrical permits and inspections, freeing up Keene to do more on-site inspections.

“We’re trying to be more user-friendly,” Rand said, “and try to get people a little more happy.”

Councilor David Bowden said during Tuesday’s meeting that contractors and property owners are frustrated and upset that their projects are being slowed down because they have to wait for Keene and other town inspectors to sign off on key elements of the project.

For example, if electrical wiring has been completed in a section of a project, other subcontractors cannot do their work until the town inspects the work, Bowden said.

Rand and Town Manager Dana Reed acknowledged that inspections are backlogged more than usual this year, but staff are moving as quickly as possible to get the work done.

“The only way to solve it is to put another CEO on the road,” Rand said.

Reed agreed and said his preliminary budget next year will include a second full-time code enforcement officer. Although the code office has been under stress for some time, town officials have been under pressure to hold down municipal spending and property taxes.