Village Updates

The Board of Overseers will hold a Financial Planning and Strategy Workshop on Saturday, January 25 from 9:00AM to 10:30AM in Community Hall (downstairs) and via Zoom. 

The purpose of the workshop is to discuss potential projects identified by committees, staff, or Maine Municipal Association Risk Management Services that are outside of annual operations costs.

NOTE: Board workshops are held from time to time for the board to focus on a single topic. No board votes are taken at workshops. The public is invited to attend to listen, but no community input is taken at that time.

To access the workshop on Zoom, please use this link.

The Northport Village Corporation is looking to hire a new Finance Manager in a part-time role of between 10-20 hours a month.

For information on the job and how to apply, please go here.

The NVC office will be closed on Monday, January 20th in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

The office will reopen on Tuesday at 9AM.

The Utilities Committee will meet in a regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Friday, January 17th at 2:30PM.

The meeting will be held in Community Hall (downstairs) and online via Zoom. The public is invited to attend.

For meeting agenda, draft minutes of the December 20th meeting, and materials provided to the committee ahead of the meeting, please go here.

Also, prior to the meeting — at 2:15PM — RCAP Solutions will meet with the committee to discuss a study of the billing practice associated with the NVC wastewater department.

RCAP Solutions is a non-profit based in Massachusetts that assists small drinking water and wastewater utilities, rural communities, and individuals in finding solutions to their infrastructure needs. They work to build financial, managerial, and operational capacity to rural and tribal communities throughout all six New England states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Recently, RCAP worked with NVC Utilities in requesting a water rate increase from the Public Utilities Commission.  

Following a public hearing and special Trustee meeting on October 5, 2024, the Utilities Trustees extended the moratorium on new connections to the village system by 6 months from October 7, 2024—April 6, 2025.

The moratorium on new sewer connections is in place to allow time to study how increased load will impact the village sewer system. The moratorium dates to March 2022 and has been extended four times since it was originally enacted.

You may have noticed that Northport Village Corporation email addresses have changed. We have transitioned from nvcmaine.org to nvcmaine.gov  This change has been underway for quite some time, and we are excited that it is finally here.

The transition is designed to  be seamless, so emails sent to old addresses (like [email protected]) will seamlessly forward to our new email addresses. However, if you run encounter issues sending emails to an nvcmaine.gov address, please reach out to [email protected] for assistance. 

A gentle reminder for people who have Village Agent Bill Paige’s personal cell phone number: Please do not call Bill on that phone about village business.

All calls for Bill about village business should be directed to the NVC Office at 207-338-0751. If your situation is an emergency, call 911. Otherwise, please call the village office. Thank you.

NVC is now accepting credit cards for online payment of sewer and water bills. If this is an option that appeals to you, please see the details below for paying utility bills online. Of course, you can continue to pay utility bills via check, in person or through regular mail.

Here is how online bill payment works:

1. Credit cards accepted are: VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Discover.
2. You must use the dedicated links to pay sewer and water bills.
3. To pay your sewer bill, please use this link only.
4. To pay your water bill, please use this link only.
5. Please make sure to enter the correct NVC utility account number listed on your bill.
6. Also: use the correct village property address to ensure your payment is recorded accurately.

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• There is a fee for this service, which is a requirement of the State of Maine. See information about the fee in the Disclosure below. This is not an NVC fee.
• You can pay Watercraft and Facilities Use fees by credit card ONLY IN PERSON AT THE NVC OFFICE WINDOW with a completed application.
• NVC does not collect your Town of Northport or Village Property taxes.  Any payment for property taxes must be done at the Town of Northport office.  

Questions? Please call the NVC Office at 207-338-0751 during regular office hours and speak to Trish.

[Disclosure]

PayPort is a service offered by a third party working in partnership with the State of Maine and this municipality. As part of our service to you, we will remit the designated portion of your payment to the municipality on your behalf. The balance funds the operation of this and other Maine.gov online services. Conducting business through Maine PayPort is voluntary and the final cost may be higher than using other forms of payment. This service is provided by the Information Resource of Maine (InforME) as designated in statute of (M.R.S.A.Title 1, Ch. 14).

Transactions up to $40  – $1 processing fee
Transactions over $40 – 2.5% processing fee

The NVC Utilities Committee has approved an extension, through October 6, 2024, of the moratorium on new connections to the village sewer system. The committee approved the moratorium extension following a public hearing on the issue on March 15th. 

The sewer connections moratorium is in place to allow time to study how increased load will impact the village sewer system. The moratorium dates back to March 2022 and has been extended three times since it was originally enacted. 

For more information on the moratorium, please go here.

The 2024 dates for Utilities Committee meetings are now set. The committee meets on the third Friday of each month – generally the Friday after the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Board of Overseers. 

The committee meeting dates are as follows: 

1/19, 2/16, 3/15, 4/19, 5/17, 6/21, 7/19, 8/16, 9/20, 10/18, 11/15, 12/20.

Utilities Committee meetings are at 2:30PM and can be joined in person in Community Hall (downstairs) or online. 

The agenda for each meeting follows a standard structure:

1. CALL TO ORDER
2. APPROVE MINUTES
3. SUPERINDENTENT’S REPORT
4. FINANCIAL REVIEW
5. OTHER BUSINESS.

To join a Utilities Committee meeting via Zoom please click here.

Meeting ID: 829 6150 8196

Passcode: 912998

To dial-in via audio: Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kkH7fyLYG

The following is a message to all NVC wastewater customers, from Chuck Applebee, Utility Superintendent:

For the last six weeks or so the wastewater system has experienced severe overloading and the village is not always meeting our wastewater discharge permit limits for BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand).

This could be the result of a resident or residents discharging substances that the wastewater plant cannot adequately treat.

Some examples might be a small micro-brewery, coffee brewing at a commercial rate, a bakery, or other small commercial activities.

If you are discharging anything other than human waste and toilet paper please contact the Village Office to discuss the nature of your discharge at 207-338-0751. 

Please refer to the following links detailing sewer guidance information for wastewater discharge:

https://www.nvcmaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Bayside-Guest-Sewer-Flier-2022.pdf

https://www.nvcmaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NVC-household-hazardous-waste-brochure.pdf

Also, this notice is being sent via regular mail, but you can help us reduce the cost of such mailings by providing your email address to the office. Please contact Trish Parker with your email address at: officemanager@nvcmaine.org.

Hours for New Playground & Basketball Court

More than 20 families have homes that ring Ruggles Park and I’ve been asked by a number of them to send a friendly message reminding Baysiders — particularly parents of young children — that the new playground and basketball court hours are from 8AM-9PM daily. 

The hours are in place to respect the various ways that people of all ages enjoy Bayside. The new playground is a wonderful magnet and everyone is thrilled at how popular it is with children. But please remember that the playground and basketball court open at 8AM — and the 9PM closing time is particularly important to area residents who cherish evening quiet time.

Also, if you would, please let your house guests and renters know that the hours for the Ruggles Park kids play areas are: 8AM to 9PM. 

Thank you!

Janae Novotny, President

Northport Village Corporation

This is a special and timely notice about bike safety in Bayside. Scenes of kids heading off on their bikes is a longtime village hallmark – whether they’re tearing down to the wharf, pedaling up to the Bayside Store for ice cream, or meeting up in Ruggles Park for a group activity.

And yet, already this summer, we are hearing of heightened concern about bike safety issues.
Recently, there was an alarming near miss involving a vehicle and children on bikes on Shore
Road – along a stretch that has some hills and blind spots.

STOP Means STOP
All bikers – young and not-so – need to STOP at STOP signs, but many children don’t. This is
especially important in busy, high traffic areas – including all streets leading to Ruggles Park.
Next time you’re around the park, watch how kids barrel down the hill on Maple St. and sail
right thru the intersection by Blair Realty. Our police officer is making a special effort to reinforce messages around bike safety – but he cannot be everywhere at once, as we know.

Wear a Helmet: It’s the law
Maine state law requires a bike helmet for anyone under the age of 16. Please click here for a
one-sheet note on Maine’s Bicycling Law, the attachment is a screen grab from the website of
the Bicycle Coalition of Maine (www.bikemaine.org).

Message from Safety Committee Chair, Michael Tirrell

All fireworks are prohibited in Bayside.  The Town of Northport’s Fireworks Ordinance states, “No person shall use, possess with the intent to use, sell, possess with the intent to sell, or offer for sale consumer fireworks within the geographic limits of the Northport Village Corporation.” 

In addition, state law and local ordinances severely restrict and/or require permits for fire pits and recreational fires.  Bonfires (fires larger than 2’ in diameter or with flames higher than 2’) require both a permit from the Town of Northport and permission from the NVC Overseers.  Please refer to the Fire Ordinance for specific information, which is available here. An informational  “Be Fire Smart!” brochure is available here.

The Tree Committee would like to share information on the Emerald Ash Borer present now in Maine. This spring, the NVC has partnered with Hawkes Tree Service to treat our ash trees with the goal of preserving our beautiful and prominent ash trees in our Bayside parks.

To understand more about the Emerald Ash Borer and how to best preserve your own ash trees, please use the following resources from the State of Maine.

https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/caps/EAB/index.shtml

https://extension.umaine.edu/home-and-garden-ipm/fact-sheets/common-name-listing/emerald-ash-borer/

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDACF/bulletins/2e1a007

Road Encroachment Notice: November 11, 2021

Please visit the Governance Minutes page for an important message regarding village streets and roads.

The Winter Parking Ban within the limits of the Northport Village Corporation takes effect on November 15, 2024 and runs through April 15, 2025.  

Parking on all Village roads and streets is prohibited between the hours of 7:00PM and 7:00AM.  

During a snow event requiring plowing, parking is prohibited during all hours on Village roads and streets.  

Authorization has been given for all vehicles so parked to be removed and put into storage, and all expenses will be charged to the owner.  The Northport Village Corporation will not be responsible for any damages to vehicles so removed.  

The NVC Parking Ordinance is available here.

Thank you!