The two new city councilors in Ellsworth say that boosting housing availability, updating the city’s comprehensive plan and finding the right person to hire as city manager will be among their top priorities when they are sworn into office.
Patrick Lyons and Nancy Smith were the top vote-getters in Tuesday’s election for two seats on the seven-seat Ellsworth City Council. Both are expected to be sworn in Monday to begin serving their three-year terms.
Lyons is a lawyer specializing in municipal government for a Bangor law firm, while Smith is the chief executive of nonprofit organization Grow Smart Maine. Both have moved to Ellsworth in recent years, with Lyons buying a home in the city in 2016 and Smith in 2022.
Smith and Lyons each said this week that they quickly felt welcomed in Ellsworth and have gotten involved in the community beyond buying homes.
Lyons has served on the board of Ellsworth-based Healthy Acadia since 2017 and since 2020 has been a member of the Ellsworth Planning Board – a position he’ll now have to give up for his council seat. Smith, who was a state representative for eight years during the 2000s when she lived in Monmouth, serves on the city’s comprehensive plan steering committee.
Both said that Ellsworth needs to maintain an adequate supply of affordable housing in order to protect the city’s quality of life that drew them to move here.
Lyons said his parents-in-law moved to Ellsworth in 2021, and his father moved to the city this summer, in order to be closer to Lyons and his wife, who works in Bar Harbor, and their 4-year-old son.
“It was incredibly difficult and stressful helping them find housing, let alone housing that was affordable,” Lyons said. “The rising cost and lack of housing is also a huge strain on Ellsworth businesses, pushing [employees] out of the region.”
Smith said one of the reasons she moved to Ellsworth was to share housing costs with her daughter, who has worked in Bar Harbor since 2020. A former farmer, Smith said she supports having a streamlined permitting process for small-scale, multi-family housing development in the city, and incentives that can reduce property taxes for farmers.
“We need to get it right as more people want to live and work in Maine communities, including Ellsworth,” Smith said. “Coordinated use of both strategies would make it easier to develop housing in our growth areas while supporting the financial viability of farmers.”
Both councilors-elect said the city needs to maintain a proper balance of diversity in business development and infrastructure improvements so that Ellsworth continues to draw new businesses and residents. Adequate funding for public safety and schools, collaborating with local nonprofit organizations, maintaining roads and utilities, and preserving public access to parks and green spaces all are part of making sure Ellsworth stays affordable and liveable as it continues to grow.
“People want to live and work here,” Lyons said. “We need to find smart, proactive ways to plan for this growth to support all our residents and small businesses.”
They also each said that finding the right city manager to take over that role from Glenn Moshier, who has decided to relinquish that post but continue to serve as Ellsworth’s police chief, will be key to making sure the city pursues the vision and tone set by the council. Whoever is hired as the city’s next top administrator should have personnel management experience and proven leadership skills, and a demonstrated ability to hire and support capable employees, they each said.
