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Hancock County commissioners approve contracts, procurements, personnel actions and budget transfers at Jan. 21 special meeting
Summary
At a Jan. 21 special meeting in Ellsworth, Hancock County Commissioners unanimously approved a series of agreements, property purchases, sole‑source facility procurements, personnel actions and reserve transfers, authorized a bid solicitation for AEDs and moved into an executive session on union negotiations.
Hancock County Commissioners met in a special session in Ellsworth on Jan. 21, 2026, and unanimously approved a range of contract, procurement and personnel measures, along with several year‑end and reserve fund transfers.
The board accepted the agenda and approved the minutes of the Jan. 6 regular meeting. Commissioners also recognized Lori Whitney for five years of service as a Deeds Specialist and presented her with a certificate of appreciation.
Among the formal approvals, the commissioners authorized two 2026 Regional Animal Control Officer agreements with the towns of Gouldsboro and Trenton. The board also approved two airport purchase and avigation‑easement transactions: $26,400 for Parcel #3 (John Reeves) and $28,600 for Parcel #2 (Clifford O’Sullivan LLC), and authorized the chair to sign the documents.
Tim Richardson, the jail administrator, reported that Corrections Officer Travis True had been working out of classification since Nov. 22, 2025 while another officer was on military leave and had submitted a resignation. The board approved a 60‑day extension of True’s out‑of‑classification status, effective Jan. 14, 2026, to allow time for recruitment or for True to rescind his resignation.
The sheriff’s office transfer of forfeited assets ($820) in the case State v. Jacob T. Murphy was approved, and the board authorized the Sheriff’s Office to issue a request for bids to purchase Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) that had been budgeted for 2026.
The commissioners approved transferring ownership of K‑9 Finn from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office to Finn’s handler, recorded in the minutes as Deputy Travis Frost.
Facilities Director Dennis Walls explained that a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) intended for the Emergency Operations Center could not be purchased under the EOC contract because it did not meet Build America Buy America (B.A.B.A.) guidelines. The board accepted Hamden Electrical’s sole‑source quotes to provide, install and warrant the UPS ($32,684.00) and a standby generator ($38,963.00) to be paid from Community Benefit Funds, and approved Change Order #1 for the E.L. Shea Hancock Site/EOC project.
On personnel and policy matters, the board designated the County Administrator to authorize a $50 monthly cell‑phone reimbursement for employees whose duties require the use of a personal phone for work and approved proposed changes to Section XX (Travel and Subsistence Reimbursement) of the Hancock County Personnel Policy.
Financial actions included approval of twelve 2025 end‑of‑year departmental reserve fund transfers and an I.T. reserve funds transfer to cover 2026 payroll and expenses for Banyon Jarvis.
Before adjourning, the commissioners voted to enter executive session under MRSA Title 1 §405(6)(D) to discuss union contract negotiations; the minutes record entry at 9:32 a.m. and exit at 12:12 p.m. No public action resulting from the executive session was recorded in the minutes. The meeting adjourned at 12:14 p.m.
Motions throughout the meeting were recorded as moved by Commissioner Clark and seconded by Commissioner DiBella unless otherwise noted; recorded votes on the motions cited in the minutes were unanimous (3-0).
