Councilor slams parking plans again

BAR HARBOR – Town Councilor Matt Horton on Tuesday intensified his opposition to the town’s new parking rules and charged that the council is ignoring a vote of town meeting.

Horton and Vice Chairman Ken Smith have consistently opposed the new rules, developed by the council’s own Transportation Task Force.

The five other councilors, however, support a clamp down on illegal parking as the first step in a multi-year plan to address a problem that has haunted the tourist Mecca for decades.

Horton slams the parking plan every chance he gets. On Tuesday, Chairman Joseph Cough tried to move Horton along while discussing whether to approve a request from the task force to take a three-month hiatus.

When Horton started his spiel about the parking plan, Cough asked him to address only the task force’s new requests, which also included starting to identify town-owned property where more parking spaces could be squeezed in.

After Cough told Horton a second time to stay on point and that he wasn’t clear how Horton’s comments were relevant, Horton let him know.

“I want [the task force] to have a permanent hiatus,” Horton said, looking directly at the chairman. “I don’t want us to act on it. Not one bit. Is that clear enough Mr. Cough?”

Soft-spoken Cough answered, “Yes it is, Mr. Horton.”

Horton added that the council “is so entrenched with this nonsense it’s unbelievable.”

When task force Chairman Ivan Rasmussen told the council the panel wants to survey residents about the new parking rules, Horton seemed exasperated.

“You don’t need a survey,” Horton told Rasmussen. “Go talk to people. They’re outraged.”

Horton also alleges the council is acting in violation of a town meeting vote in May that rejected funding for two additional parking officers as part of the new parking plan.

The town meeting vote, however, did not usurp the council’s power to impose the plan, even without the extra officers, which is what it has done.

The current year budget, endorsed by voters, also included about $80,000 to buy computer equipment that will be needed to convert three town parking lots into paid parking lots next year.

It is unclear how many town meeting voters realized the parking equipment money was in the new budget.

The council Tuesday also discussed the need to hire a parking administrator once the new system is in place. The cost is estimated at $60,000 a year, according to officials, which includes the cost of benefits.

Smith said he wouldn’t support a parking administrator when the town had other priorities that have languished, including hiring a human resources director.

The question may ultimately become whether existing staff takes on the duties of the parking guru and what other services can or would be reduced to free up someone’s time.