Announcements

Some Bayside residents have responded with feedback about the Board of Overseer’s recent request of the Town of Northport to install permanent stop signs at certain locations. Additionally, the Board requested that the town consider the seasonal installation of speed humps borrowed from the state Department of Transportation as an experiment to address speeding concerns.

Our earlier communication to the village on this matter stressed three important points:

1. The roads in question (Broadway, George, Bluff, and Shore) are town roads.
2. Speed humps were part of the request to the town as a seasonal experiment. Standard stop signs would be more permanent.
3. The town Select Board will decide on whether to act on our request.

Additionally, the town and the Board of Overseers anticipates that no final action on this matter will happen without a full process of consideration — including gathering and analyzing traffic data, consulting with the DOT, weighing what other towns do to address traffic calming, and providing for public input on any final plan.

Reminder: The Board of Overseers, and the Safety Committee of the board, do not have a role in approving or implementing any installation or changes in the traffic patterns on town roads — including those roads mentioned above.

What’s more, our request is in response to many Baysiders who have long urged that something more be done to address traffic patterns — notably speeding — on key roads in and out of Bayside. However, and to repeat: Town roads are managed by the town — and any changes to town roads will be made based on decisions by Northport Select Board.

We copy below, links to the feedback that has been received on this topic to date. If you would like to add your voice to the mix, please email Alyssa Haywood, Office Manager, at: officemanager@nvcmaine.gov.

You might also choose to email the Northport Town Administrator, James Kossuth, at: administrator@northportmaine.org.

Michael Tirrell, Safety Committee Chair & Overseer

Feedback from Lisa Brita

Feedback from Jen Lannan

Feedback from Mike Lannan

Feedback from Don Knott

Feedback from Dan Webster

The Northport Village Corporation Nominating Committee announces the opening of the nomination process for election of certain Officers and Overseers of the NVC as well as for the Moderator for the Annual Meeting (to be held on August 11, 2026).

Eligibility: Nominators and nominees for election must be at least 18 years of age, reside in the geographic limits of Bayside and is a registered voter in Northport or own property within the boundaries of the NVC, and/or occupy property under a lease in perpetuity from the Northport Wesleyan Grove Campmeeting Association.

 The Committee is looking for nominees for the following roles:

Moderator: The election of a Moderator to preside at the Annual Meeting is the first order of business at the Meeting. The Moderator regulates the business of the meeting and decides questions of order, is the chief election officer in charge of the polls and makes the declarations of every vote, and may prescribe rules of procedure (though such rules may be altered at the meeting). Nominations for Moderator are currently being sought. 

Overseers: The seven Overseers (the Board) are the general municipal officers and have charge over the management and affairs of the NVC, including financial. Board meetings are held once a month, usually on a Sunday morning, but additional meetings are added as necessary. Overseers usually chair or serve on various committees such as Communications, Finance, Governance, Infrastructure, Personnel, Safety, Tree, Utilities, and Waterfront Safety. Term of office: 3 years. Nominations for two Overseer positions for three-year terms are currently being sought. 

Treasurer: The Treasurer is the chief financial officer of the NVC whose responsibilities include the receipt and recording of all monies acquired by the NVC, the dispersion of monies as directed by the Overseers, and accounting of those transactions. The Treasurer reports regularly to the Board and to the NVC at its Annual Meeting. Term of office: 3 years. Nominations for Treasurer are currently being sought. 

Procedure for Nomination: Any eligible person may nominate himself or herself or any other eligible person for any available position by contacting the Nominating Committee (see below). During July and August, the Nominating Committee may also search out eligible candidates. Therefore, the Nominating Committee would appreciate being notified by those who wish to run for election or who wish to nominate others as soon as possible. The Committee will contact those nominated by others in order to ascertain their acceptance of the nomination.

Please refer to the NVC By-laws for additional information about the responsibilities of the open positions.

 Anyone interested should contact the Nominating Committee.   Nominations and questions should be submitted via email to office@nvcmaine.gov.  Please put Nominating Committee in the subject line. Or feel free to reach out directly to any member of the committee: Blair Einstein, Bill Cressey, Judy Metcalf, Joe Reilly, and Amanda Hickman.

The names of verified nominees will be announced at the Annual Meeting. In addition, at the Annual Meeting, any eligible person may nominate himself or herself or any other eligible person for any available position. Seconds are not required.

Our Village runs on volunteer energy and talent.  Please consider getting involved in one of the Committees.  Committees are formed in early fall by the President and Committee Chairs.  Anyone interested can reach out to the NVC President, Janae Novotny (president@nvcmaine.gov)

The issue of speeding in the village is a significant concern to many people. And where speeding patterns typically play out is on town roads including Broadway, George Street, Shore Road, and Bluff Road. For background, town roads are those that generally run north-south and they are the responsibility of the town. Village roads generally run east-west and are managed by Bayside.

The Safety Committee met recently to discuss research that Steve Kazilionis has done, including his discussions with a Department of Transportation traffic expert. Steve explained best practices for dealing with speeding – more specifically, the ways that Maine communities are attempting to calm traffic with stop signs and speed humps.

According to the DOT expert Steve consulted, stop signs are not allowed as single-purpose tools to address speeding along stretches of roads. They are effective, however, at calming traffic at intersections.

Steve also briefed the Safety Committee on the DOT expert’s suggestion that speed humps be installed in a couple of locations as an experiment. The DOT provides speed humps on loan and could be removed after the summer season. 

At the July 13^th Overseers Meeting, the board approved the Safety Committee’s recommendations that standard stop signs be installed at key intersections – on Broadway (perhaps at Pleasant Street & Park Row); on George Street at Sea Street; and on Bluff Road at Main Street.

The Overseers also recommended, pending town approval, that speed humps be tried as an experiment in two locations: on Boadway as cars enter the village and on George Street, prior to Griffin Street. Exact locations would be finalized later.

The formal request for the above-mentioned standard stop signs and speed hump experiments on town roads was made by Janae Novotny at last night’s meeting of the Northport Select Board. It’s important to note here that this request is the start of a process. 

The town board agreed to study the issue further, including by consulting with the DOT, and perhaps requesting a DOT traffic study on traffic volume and speeding at various locations. The Select Board also is interested to learn about what other Maine towns do to address traffic calming. 

Last, though not least: Please expect a means for public input on this issue before any final recommendations or a vote by the Northport Select Board.

Look for further updates as this process unfolds.

Michael Tirrell, Overseer and Safety Committee Chair

There will no lifeguard coverage in Bayside on Tuesday, July 14.

Please make a note and take extra precautions when using the waterfront.

Lifeguard coverage resumes on July 15.

A recent incident speaks to why parking — and importantly, NO PARKING — is a critical issue in Bayside.

Some days ago, there was a car accident in Bayside. Two emergency vehicles — a fire truck and an ambulance — could not get through to the location due to cars parked in no parking areas. They managed to reach the site after re-routing.

It’s been a few years since the village revised its parking ordinance and clearly stipulated where parking is — and isn’t — allowed. The primary reason for the careful review was a concern about safety vehicles being able to reach the site of a fire, car accident, or any incident that could be a matter of life and death.

Ask yourself a simple question next time you look to park: Can I park here legally, or would my decision to go ahead regardless of the rules potentially threaten someone’s life or safety?

It’s that simple. And if you need to know more about parking in the village, please go here.

If you need a quick primer on where you can and can’t park, please check this out, with map included.

The Donuts & Dialogue event that was originally scheduled for July 25 has been moved to July 18 at 8:30AM.

The public is invited to attend.

The session on the 18th is an open forum for villagers to raise questions on issues of their choice. Please plan to attend if you have something you would like to address, an issue you need clarified, or if you would benefit from knowing what other folks are curious about.

Donuts & Dialogue events are designed for Baysiders to discuss topics of interest and to ask questions, as well as get important context around work the Overseers and/or village committees are undertaking.

The full roster of Donuts & Dialogue events is now set and the dates are below.

The Donuts & Dialogue events are designed to focus on issues of critical importance to the village and provide a open-ended forum for village residents to raise questions and provide feedback to the Board of Overseers and members of committees who are not Overseers.

Here is the schedule for 2026 events:

July 5th @ 8:30AM: Budget — a review and discussion of the 2027 budget.

July 18th @ 8:30AM: Open Forum — an opportunity for villagers to bring topics, questions, comments etc of their choice.

August 8th @ 8:30AM: Capital Improvements — a review of upcoming and near-future improvements to village infrastructure and more.

All Donuts and Dialogue events are held upstairs in Community Hall. Please come along!