ROCKLAND, Maine — The issue of how long the Maine Lobster Festival will have to set up for the annual event this summer eventually will be decided by the Rockland City Council after a Tuesday meeting showed continued divisions.
Mayor Louise MacLellan-Ruf attended a meeting Tuesday afternoon between the Harbor Management Commission and representatives of Rockland Festival Corp. The mayor stressed that the two sides wanted to work together but the hourlong meeting showed there was still disagreement between the groups over whether the festival needed the adjacent Harbor, Buoy and Mildred Merrill parks for 14 days.
“I think 14 days is excessive,” Harbor Management Commission Chairwoman Melissa Maker said.
Festival President Brian Plourde insisted that 14 days were needed. Last year, the City Council gave the festival seven days to set up, five days for the festival and two days to clean up. The festival has scheduled 14 days for the process for the past 10 years.
Commission member Richard Whitman said as a neighbor to the parks, he was concerned by the amount of time during the summer that the city properties were used for different festivals.
“First there is the [North Atlantic] Blues Festival, then two weeks for the lobster festival, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors [Show] comes next and by then summer is almost over,” Whitman said.
He said people in his neighborhood feel it is too much time that the parks are not accessible to the public.
Festival representative Buddy Carleton said if he lived in that neighborhood he might feel the same way but that if you consider the community as a whole, festival benefits outweigh the inconveniences of neighbors and boaters. He cited the estimated $5.2 million that the festival brings into the community.
Plourde agreed, saying that people from around the world come to Rockland for the festival. He also pointed out that people can walk down to the park during the setup and the festival works with boaters so they can get access to the public landing.
Carleton said when he attends meetings with organizers of other festivals across the state, he is told they are welcomed with open arms by their communities.
The mayor said the the Maine Lobster Festival is welcome in Rockland but that times have changed and the council cannot do something just because “that’s the way it was always done.” She said it was appropriate for the council to set limits.
Whitman said the lobster festival requests things in Rockland that other festivals don’t, such as a waiver of fees for use of the park. During the past two years, the City Council has rejected the festival’s requests to waive fees for use of the parks. Last year, the festival paid $14,250 to the city for the 14 days.
Carleton said the lobster festival is different because it is a nonprofit organization that returns the money it receives to the community.
Whitman said he doesn’t see that and said that it is not a gift if the festival expects something from the city.
The 69th annual festival this year will run from Wednesday, Aug. 3, through Sunday, Aug. 7.
The Harbor Management Commission will meet again and make a recommendation to the City Council. No date for that meeting has been announced. Last year, the council approved in early May the use of the parks by the festival.