ROCKLAND, Maine — The Maine Lobster Festival and a city committee are at odds on how many days the organization can use the waterfront parks this summer.
Brian Plourde, the president of the Rockland Festival Corporation, said he was concerned with the obstacles being put up for the annual festival, which brings thousands of people into the community and pumps an estimated $5.2 million into the local economy.
The festival president said Monday he was informed within the past week that the Rockland Harbor Management Commission was not in support of the application filed by the non-profit festival corporation for use of Harbor Park and adjacent Buoy and Mildred Merrill parks.
The festival had made its annual request to the commission to use the parks for 14 days. He said he had not been informed that the commission was going to take up the matter last week and had not been invited to attend.
Melissa Maker, the chair of the commission, said the board was “absolutely not” opposed to the festival using the parks but had concerns about the length of time the group would be using the city-owned land. Particularly, she said the amount of setup time seemed excessive.
The festival has rented the parks for 14 days during the past several years. That time frame runs from the Wednesday before the festival to the Tuesday after it ends. The festival this year runs from Wednesday, Aug. 3 through Sunday, Aug. 7.
“When it’s being used, that means it is being taken away from the taxpayers,” Maker said.
Plourde said the 14 days being sought by the festival is the same as it has in past years. He said that that time is needed for the festival to be set up. He said the tent company comes in first and sets up the tents. The electricians then arrive and hooks up power for the vendors and the festival. The carnival and then the vendors come in and set up their booths.
The commission will meet with Plourde to try to reach an agreement, both parties said.
Plourde said he was concerned with the way the festival is being treated. During the past two years, the City Council has rejected requests to waive the fees for use of the parks. Last year, the Festival paid $14,250 to the city for the 14 days.
The festival is also spending $15,000 in each of the next three years to upgrade the electrical system at Harbor Park.
He said these expenses come on top of the festival spending $73,000 last year to repay the state sales tax that had not had been collected on the sale of souvenirs such as T-shirts. In addition to the unexpected sales tax costs, the festival last year also had to pay for disposal of the gray water created with the cooking of lobsters and washing of dishes. In the past, festival organizers simply allowed that water to be dumped go on the ground, but the city and Maine Department of Environmental Protection said the gray water needed to be contained and then disposed of properly at the city’s sewage treatment plant.
“We’re a non-profit organization. What profit we do make we give back to the community,” Plourde said.
He acknowledged that when the festival is ongoing, it limits access for boaters who want to use the public landing. But festival volunteers work with boaters to allow them access during setup, and during the five days of the festival volunteers will escort people who want to get to the docks get to and from their boats.