Selectmen accepted Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Bob Hasch’s resignation Aug. 23. It is effective Nov. 4 and he will stay on as a reserve officer and to transition the department’s new chief, said Town Manager Julia Latter. Hasch has served on the department for over 28 years.

In his resignation letter, Hasch said he has reached a point in his life where change is due. He thanked the town for the privilege to work with the many fine people from the community for so long.

“I can only hope that my body of work is viewed as reflective of the very strong feelings I have for this wonderful community,” Hasch wrote. “It has been an absolute honor to serve, I gave you everything I had.”

Assessor Robert Duplisea reviewed the recent revaluation process with selectmen, an effort which ended with a decrease in the town’s mil rate from $12 per $1,000 to $8.50. The average assessment was up 30-40% and commercial assessments were up 20-25% since 2003 when the last reval was completed, he said.

Duplisea said the reval was needed not just because it has been nearly 20 years since the last one, but because the market has gotten to a point where the town’s assessed values were getting closer to failing minimum assessment standards. It was also good timing because all data has been moved to the Vision software system which puts assessing and billing in the same place, he said.

The new assessments were based on three years of sale data and long term trends in the real estate market which Duplisea said draws a reasonable conclusion for the new numbers. He said he and his team met with over 100 people to discuss the changes in their properties’ values and, despite some large individual changes, there were no big swings in entire classes of property.

“Everything kind of went up at a more constant percentage last assessment to this assessment as opposed to 2003 when the values had increased from the early 90s.”

Sunrise Ecologic's Shri Verrill presented the possibility of a grant for up to $50,000 from the Maine Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and Future (GOPIF). GOPIF has been encouraging towns and regions with grants for two years to combat climate change locally by investing in environmentally friendly projects. Verrill also appeared before Southport, Boothbay, Edgecomb and Wiscasset select boards offering herself as a service provider to apply for the grants and navigate the process. All towns accepted Verrill's services except Edgecomb, which will enroll in the program by itself.

There is a list of 72 preapproved programs the town can choose from, said Verrill. Past projects include community gardens, electric vehicle chargers on municipal property, energy efficiency in municipal buildings, installation of heat pumps, culvert replacements, water-source protection, watershed planning and land conservation. The grants are available twice a year with applications due Aug. 31 and in March.

Eligibility requirements are passing a municipal resolution and identifying one contact or establishing a committee for Verrill to work with. Future work will include the contact or committee conducting a self-evaluation for the town, reviewing the community action list, and having at least one public meeting where self-evaluation results and the community action list can be shared. The public will need to identify what actions are most important, she said.

Verrill's services are free to the town as GOPIF sets aside $10,000 to pay for service providers. Towns ranking high for social vulnerability, or those with fewer than 4,000 people, can receive another $2,500.

Said Chair Mike Tomko, “So, this doesn't cost us anything, this has the potential to get us up to $50,000 twice a year, we don't currently have any resources to do this work, so this sounds like a pretty easy decision.”

Selectmen approved a letter of support and Verrill will apply to GOPIF on behalf of the town.

Boothbay Harbor Fire Department received a $30,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to install exhaust fans in the firetruck bays to keep a safe and healthy environment in the building. The department was one of three in Maine to receive funding through FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters program, said Latter.

Boothbay Region Emergency Management Service Director David Cody applied for the grant last year, said Latter. The grant will have to be matched with $1,150, but the full cost of the fans was already set aside in May for the project. Selectmen will decide how to use the remaining $28,850, said Latter.

Selectmen also approved a 50% deposit on a $110,507 new pump-out boat. Maine Department of Environmental Protection will reimburse the purchase and cover 90% of the total cost. Local marinas will pay the rest, said Latter.