CAMDEN — Wednesday evening, Nov. 20, a small group of Camden and Rockport will gather in Camden Town Manager Audra Caler's office to advance the wastewater interests of both towns.

It has been a meeting longtime in coming, and the gathering will be small, but citizens, especially those serving on Rockport's Wastewater Task Force, are hoping for constructive progress.

Those meeting will be Camden Select Board Chair Susan Dorr, Select Board member Alison McKellar, Town Manager Caler, Rockport Town Manager Jon Duke, Select Board Chair Denise Munger and board member Michelle Hannan.

It is not considered a public meeting, and no agenda has been released; in fact, neither town manager has confirmed the meeting is to take place. However, Rockport Select Board Chair Denise Munger said at the Oct. 12 Rockport Select Board meeting that the group will be gathering.

In a follow-up conversation Oct. 14, she said she hoped the topics covered will include the lawsuit filed by Camden against Rockport over sewer system payments; the status of a missing check (a check had been sent by Rockport to Camden, but was misplaced by Camden. Another check was sent as a replacement, but there are questions of associated fees); and the request by Rockport to Camden to reduce some sewer fees.

Both towns are attempting to find common ground in the sewer system that is shared by Rockport. In the meantime, the Rockport Wastewater Exploratory Task Force that was established by voters at June 2024 Town Meeting has been making progress with shaping vision and recommendations for Rockport. That Task Force was to study the costs and benefits of a collaborative approach for improving wastewater treatment systems in the Towns of Rockport and Camden, including a municipal utility district.

The Task Force said it is encouraged to hear of the Nov. 20 meeting in Camden and hopes the representatives will reengage in positive ways, said Task Force Chair Taylor Allen.

"We are hopeful that the Boards will make public a summary of the meeting, either directly after or during their next Board meeting," said Allen. "We have not had a meeting in the last month or so as it seems the ball is currently in the hands of the Boards, though we remain committed to the mandate established by referendum vote last June."

In an Oct. 28 letter from from Rockport Task Force to the Rockport Select Board, the citizen-lead committee asks for action from the Rockport Board on a variety of sewer-related issues, both internally to Rockport and to the two-town system.

The letter was not on the Nov. 12 Rockport Select Board agenda, and was not discussed. Its existence, however, was briefly mentioned at the meeting, but Chair Munger said would not be discussed because it was not on the agenda.

The Task Force letter said:

"We request a consensus from the entire board, ideally within two weeks," the letter said. "Voters approved the formation of this committee last June, and you appointed us, to determine the costs and benefits of an interlocal wastewater agreement with Camden.  

"The following points are some of the key topics under discussion. Your opinions matter and our updates should flow both ways for maximum benefit.There is potential here for meaningful consequences for how Rockport funds wastewater treatment in the future; whether we continue to share collection and funding cooperatively with Camden and Rockland; or whether we build our own treatment plant.  

"1. Based (in part) on our visits to the Rockland and Lincolnville Beach plants, it is clear that wastewater treatment plants are expensive to operate and maintain and are a 24/7 commitment. When problems arise, necessary additional spending can be unpredictable. Personnel are both scarce and expensive. Lincolnville Beach’s system is having financial difficulties.

"2. There is clear value in receiving towns accepting wastewater from a neighboring town. Likewise, the neighboring town should recognize that reality in its contributions and/or rates.

"3. Rockland is interested in managing those parts of Rockport’s wastewater delivery system that is sending flows to Rockland.

"4. Towns can issue a bond to reserve wastewater capacity in another town.

"5. Existing users of a wastewater system should not pay for expansion of the system if the expansion does not directly benefit them. However, if a wastewater system expansion is considered to be a community benefit (e.g., affordable housing possibly being one benefit), having the entire town’s property tax base pay for it should be considered. 

"6. Property owners affected by an expansion should be canvassed.  Opt-out options should be available to affected property owners. If opting out, their property values would remain static in this regard, while opt-in owners would see their values increase because of the wastewater connection. 

"7. It is in the interest of the Town of Rockport to be a partner in its wastewater relationship with Camden rather than a customer.  

"8. Will the Rockport Select Board request a tour of the Camden treatment plant for the Board and our committee? 

"9. Will the Rockport Select Board allocate some funding in the eventuality that professional help might be useful, such as exploring capital funding options relative to Rockland and Camden systems and exploring MUD options?

"Future items to consider:

"1. Research capital funding options to help Rockport contribute to capital improvement needs with existing Rockland and Camden systems.

"2. Assess the results of the 20-plus year wastewater extension from Route 1 to the high school.  What percentage of existing homeowners have connected?  How many new homes and businesses have been established?

"3.  Utilize ARPA funding for a survey on the potential wastewater extension on Route 90 from the high school to Route 17 to determine impact on existing properties (e.g., would they opt-in, by when, what barriers to opting-in exist, etc.) and to develop realistic projections on growth with timeline (e.g., X hookups Year 1 through Year 30), and to propose an equitable financing structure (e.g., who pays for wastewater expansions and/or capital improvements?) and potential funding vehicles (e.g., TIF districts, state/federal grants and their associated impacts on Town finances).

"4. Research costs/benefits of having Rockland and Camden manage Rockport’s wastewater collection system, leveraging their respective full-time staff versus Rockport’s existing outsourcing/contracting services.

"5. Research MWRA resources to identify “best practices” for above issues and case studies for Municipal Utility Districts 

"It is important that we remain committed to the purpose of our committee as established by a clear majority of town voters last June.

"The purpose is to help develop a timely proposal with Camden to continue to share wastewater collection and funding through a mutually agreeable arrangement with Camden and present that to the Rockport Select Board for consideration in March 2025, preparatory to inclusion in the June 2025 warrant. Given Camden’s unwillingness to field their own citizens wastewater committee and that both Select Boards have decided to negotiate directly amongst themselves, it remains the Rockport Wastewater Advisory Committee’s mandate by the voters to ensure that these negotiations are occurring in an open, productive and expeditious manner.   

"We hope to work in tandem with the Rockport Select Board to achieve that goal.  Chief among the issues is resolving the financial and legal disputes between the two towns.  We are in the dark regarding progress on that point and understand that the board may not be in a position to speak publicly in that regard.  As we’ve said earlier, we hope that the Board will choose to appoint John Viehman as one of its two members to negotiate a settlement with Camden as he is in the best position to quickly keep us informed of progress between the two towns and to facilitate the flow of information back and forth between all parties for the benefit of all parties.

"Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your timely response."

The Rockport Wastewater Advisory Group
Taylor Allen
Sall Cook
Des FitzGerald.
Scott Gazelle
 Richard Aroneau
Sam Temple- Alternate member