BAR HARBOR — The town’s debate about managing cruise ship visitation moved to Augusta Friday, where the legislature’s transportation committee heard testimony on LD 1400, An Act to Create the Bar Harbor Port Authority.
A port authority is a legal entity that the town may elect to form to own and/or operate a maritime facility at the former international ferry terminal site.
This bill in the legislature gives the town the option of a future vote on the matter.
“Right now, these passengers arrive in the most congested part of town.
The idea is to develop a pier to eliminate tendering so passengers can land more safely and have more time to spend here.” “I believe there’s some confusion that this is the only vote held,” the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Brian Langley (R-Hancock) said.
Committee members asked him to explain the arguments against that plan.
Knight said some residents would prefer to keep Bar Harbor as a cruise ship tendering port and not have a docking facility.
Paradis also addressed some of the concerns about the cruise ship pier plan in his testimony.
“There are only conceptual plans for a pier, and none are a half-mile long.
Bar Harbor has monitored water quality around cruise ships for years and found no problems.” He said all financial analysis done to date has been done using current passenger limits.