Today

Once a community that Mount Desert Island natives could affordably call home, Tremont now finds itself grappling with the bittersweet reality of being “one of the most beautiful places in Maine.”

That characterization comes from Michael Chammings, who has served as the town manager of Tremont (which includes the villages of Bass Harbor, West Tremont, Bernard and Seal Cove as well as Gott’s Island) for three years.

“Houses that were purchased for $50,000 years ago are now worth $2 million,” Chammings said. “People are being forced to move inland from property they have lived on their entire lives.”

In Tremont, “inland” means closer to Route 102, a state road lined with family homes, boatyards and small businesses. The “point roads” stemming off Route 102, are the ones that lead to the water and to the large homes of summer residents, although it is difficult to tell as you drive along the main road.

Like the majority of coastal communities in Maine, the higher valuation of waterfront properties is a double-edged sword for Tremont—people sitting on more than a million dollars worth of property are often forced to sell the asset because they cannot pay the property taxes.

The tax rate in Tremont is the lowest on Mount Desert Island, Chammings said, adding that the tax rate has not increased while he has been town manager.  The valuation of property, however, has increased considerably statewide. 

Only 20 years ago, the average Tremont resident was a “year-rounder” whose household income came from commercial fishing. Now the town’s population nearly doubles in the summer months and many summer residents have decided to live on the island 12 months of the year.  The result, according to Chammings, has been a population change across the villages composing Tremont.

“There is no ‘average person’ in Tremont now,” the town manager said. “It’s a very diverse community.  If you were to write a book of characters from Tremont there would be 20 different chapters.”

The sense of community is a theme that Chammings stresses.  He said many people in Tremont volunteer for the Fire Department or to sit on one of the town’s committees. He said summer residents have been very generous with donations.  Town residents, in general, he said, care very much about the place they live in.

One of the town’s primary concerns is dealing with growth and development, said Chammings, who added that Tremont is one of the fastest growing towns in Hancock County.

According to Millard Billings, Tremont’s assessor, plumbing inspector and code enforcement officer, 150 building permits have been issued this year.

“One of the jobs we have to do is to make sure that the infrastructure and the services offered keep up with the changing demographic,” said Chammings.

One of the ways the town plans to do that is with the help of a Capital Improvement Program. The fundraising and long-range planning program was initiated a year-and-a-half ago to create “an identifiable framework” for making improvements to the town.

Of primary concern in the next few years, Chammings said, is the construction of a municipal garage to house the growing Fire Department, the town’s public safety vehicles and school buses.  He also listed road maintenance, parking and traffic as issues needing attention.

The location of Tremont—and the function of Bass Harbor as MDI’s primary commercial fishing location—pose a unique set of challenges, Chammings said.

“Public access to the waterfront is also something we plan to address,” the town manager added.  “We probably have the largest working harbor within 100 miles. We need to ensure that we can maintain a place for [commercial fishermen] to work.”