Maine Lobster Festival loses $14K city subsidy
The Maine Lobster Festival will have to pay $14,250 in fees to use Rockland public property for the first time in the festival’s long history.
The Bangor Daily News reported that the Rockland City Council on Monday voted against a proposal to waive fees for using the city’s waterfront parks, with one councilor saying there is an opportunity cost for the city letting the festival use that property for seven days. Another said it will help the city steer clear of the politics created by waiving fees for certain groups.
The Maine Lobster Festival, which runs from July 30 to Aug. 3, is a “huge economic generator for this area,” said Eric Hebert, the one city councilor who argued for the waiver. “I look at this waiver as an investment in that economic generator.”
The festival may risk losing hundreds of volunteers without the waiver because of more festival revenue going to the city, Maine Lobster Festival President Chuck Kruger told the City Council. He said Rockland is lucky to have three major festivals in the summer, which helps drive the city’s tourism industry. Kruger added that the Maine Lobster Festival will have to reduce its annual contribution to city projects because it has already created its 2014 budget.
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