MMA’s Legal Services Department has issued guidance for local Planning Boards and Boards of Appeal regarding holding meetings and taking actions during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The document states that planning boards and boards of appeal are expected to keep meeting during these difficult times. Members with questions about the process are encouraged to contact our Legal Services team.

The administration of Gov. Janet Mills today posted updates to four COVID-19 Prevention Checklists, including detailed instructions for holding town meetings. Other checklists updated were: large gatherings/ticketed events; organized racing events; transportation; and, a new checklist was created for private events. The updates maintain public health and safety guidelines, consolidate and streamline language in previous checklists, and reflect the latest science to help mitigate the spread of the virus. The updates are part of the governor’s “Moving Maine Forward Plan,” which aims to provide clarity and predictability for Maine people and businesses in advance of the summer months.  

Please join a Virtual Police Town Hall with municipal managers and Damariscotta Chief Jason Warlick, Waldoboro Chief John Lash, and Wiscasset Chief Larry Hesseltine, facilitated by Maine Community Policing Institute Director Noel C. March and hosted by the Maine Municipal Association. These listening sessions are intended to provide a chance for the wider community to engage with their local police on topics of concern, establish informed open dialogue about policing issues in a local context and discover opportunities for community members to inform policing policy. To join this event, you can sign up using the link provided.

The Maine Department of Disease Control and Prevention updated its FAQ page regarding COVID-19 this week, adding important information about who is eligible for vaccinations in Maine. Specifically, seasonal workers, seasonal residents (See “Who is a Maine Resident?” in the link provided) and college students who live in Maine are eligible to be vaccinated here, when their eligibility dates occur. As of April 19, 2021, all qualifying Maine residents 16 years of age and older will be eligible for COVID vaccinations. Currently, vaccinations are reserved for people 50 and older, and in certain job classifications.

Gov. Janet Mills has accelerated the schedule of Maine’s vaccination plan for COVID-19. As of last Tuesday, all Mainers 50 years of age and older are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination. As of April 19, 2021, Mainers 16 and older will be eligible. Maine also has a new, pre-registration website so citizens can register for their vaccinations: https://vaccinateme.maine.gov/.

The U.S. government’s Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bill will permit Congress to directly fund projects, for the first time since 2011, in the form of Community Project Funding, also known as “earmarks.” This opportunity is available to local and state governments, and non-profits. For more information, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingrees’s Office is making available information on the parameters of the project requests, including direction to make the process transparent and accountable.

The MMA Nominating Committee is seeking interested candidates to serve on the MMA Executive Committee in 2022.  The Executive Committee is the Association’s corporate board of directors, and has overall governance and fiduciary responsibility for MMA, including its annual operating budget and custody of its assets.  We encourage qualified municipal officials interested in serving the Association to complete a Statement of Interest to Serve on the MMA Executive Committee and submit to MMA by Monday, April 26, 2021 (by 12:00 noon)

A select group working on the protection of vernal pools in Maine – seasonal bodies of water that provide important wildlife habitat – has developed a new tool for towns and cities that want to protect them and mitigate damage when development occurs. The Maine Vernal Pool Special Area Management Plan supports local growth by allowing development that impacts vernal pools in municipally Designated Development Areas, in exchange for permanent conservation of pools and their surrounding habitat in municipally identified rural areas.

Please join a panel of municipal and academic experts on Tuesday April 13 for the first talk in a new lunchtime webinar series that offers strategic approaches to challenges that local and regional governments face in Maine. The series is designed for municipal managers, county managers, elected county commissioners, elected municipal officials and planning directors, as well as Councils of Government. In this first webinar, four applied data experts will explore practical applications for how local government can use data for making important policy decisions regarding housing, economic development, and planning.

A forum of international government and business leaders this week highlighted Maine’s progress – and progress in the Province of Quebec – in developing networks of public chargers and establishing new programs to promote greater use of electric, plug-in cars. To that end, Efficiency Maine has been working since October 2018 to minimize obstacles of electric vehicle adoption by offering grants that support the installation of a network of EV chargers throughout the state and defray the cost of an EV. The panel featured Marie-Claude Francoeur, Québec’s Delegate to New England, as well as business leaders on both sides of the border, including Hannaford Supermarkets, which has elected to host EV charging stations at many of its Maine stores.