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OUR TOWN & RESOURCES >> HISTORY A Short History of Sorrento, Maine By: Sam Younger Sorrento faces the magnificent landscape of Acadia National Park along the rocky shores of Frenchman Bay. For generations, close-knit groups of people have enjoyed living and vacationing on this small peninsula in Maine. One theory says the native Wabanaki people called this place Waukeag for the seals that frolicked in its waters and with whom they shared the bounties of the sea. When colonists displaced the indigenous tribes, they named their settlement New Bristol in honor of the bustling maritime port west of London. During the American Revolution, volunteers of local men led by Captain Daniel Sullivan made numerous incursions against the British along the Maine coast. In retribution, Sullivan was kidnapped and his homestead opposite Mount Desert Island was burned to the ground. After American independence, his heroism was honored when the town was renamed Sullivan in 1789. Many of the men who served in his brigades continued to live on Waukeag Neck with their families on points of land that jutted into the bays where they farmed, fished, and cut lumber. But year-round life along the scenic but isolated coast of Down East Maine was never easy. In the late 19th Century, another type of American began to visit, drawn to the area from the crowded cities by the fresh sea air and beautiful landscapes. One of these early “rusticators” was Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University. After spending a summer camping on Calf Island, Eliot made an offer to the Bean family to purchase their homestead on Waukeag Neck. While his effort was unsuccessful, another investor named Charles H. Lewis presented Captain Elijah Doane with a suitable offer in 1886 to buy his point of land. Lewis then succeeded in purchasing the Bean family farm, which lay opposite Dram and Preble Islands along what was then called Point Harbor. Lewis incorporated the Frenchman’s Bay and Mount Desert Land and Water Company to pursue his dream of building a new resort to attract some of the well-to-do travelers who were flocking to Bar Harbor. When a friend suggested that the views from the property were reminiscent of the sweeping mountain vistas he had encountered along the Bay of Naples in Italy, Lewis chose to name his new development Sorrento. Within a short time, however, another investor – Frank Jones a powerful New Hampshire Democratic politician and the largest ale brewer in the US – took control of the stock in the land company. Jones built summer cottages for his family and a six-story, 100-room hotel with long piazzas overlooking the harbor. In 1893 his wife Martha Jones gifted the community a handsome library designed by the Boston firm of Ball and Dabney. Then in 1895, Frank Jones successfully lobbied the Maine legislature to incorporate the land on the peninsula as the Town of Sorrento, an independent village separate from Sullivan. While Sorrento was a lively summer resort during the late 1890s it never became as prominent as the Gilded Age resorts of Bar Harbor or Newport, and its cottages were never quite as large. The people who traveled by railroad and steamship from the cities along the East Coast were lured to vacation in Sorrento by promotional materials that advertised its clean pine-scented air, healthy pristine waters, temperate weather, and quiet atmosphere. One of those cottagers was Eva Cochran, the heir to a large New York-based carpet empire. Eva and her family loved spending summers at her modest cottage designed by Frank Hill Smith named “Tassletop.” She donated a silver cup awarded to the winner of the Maine State tennis championship held at the hotel, and to support the spiritual life at the resort, Eva commissioned Rotch & Tilden to design an intimate chapel that was consecrated as the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in 1890. After Frank Jones died in 1903 his family began to divest themselves of their property holdings in Sorrento and a series of new owners tried to attract buyers to the small town. These efforts were largely unsuccessful and in 1927 an investor from Harlem in NYC named John Nail won the rights at auction to buy 1200 plots in Sorrento. Unable to raise the funds needed to make the purchase, however, Nail’s dream of establishing the first Black-owned resort for African Americans faded. In the 1940s Eva Cochran’s granddaughter Alexandra Ewing Stone was able to purchase the tracts of land previously owned by Jones from the family of Northeast Harbor businessman Merrit T. Ober. Descendants of Eva Cochran continue to spend their summers in Sorrento and have given much to the community including the picturesque Blink Bonnie Golf Links. But Sorrento has always been so much more than a summer resort. Generations of residents dedicated their lives to the town, raised their families here, and made this special place their home. Many earned their livelihoods fishing in the bay, like the Wests and Trundys, or constructing houses like Ed Hale and his nephew Clif. Today, others carry on those trades as well as a host of new occupations their ancestors could not fathom. Over the years, the contributions of the full-time citizens who volunteer countless hours supporting the town, together with summer people fortunate to spend vacations (or eventually retire) in this lovely spot, combine to make Sorrento a truly unique community.

TOWN GOVERNMENT >> TOWN OFFICE & DEPARTMENTS >> FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Department Fire Chief/Road Commissioner/Public Safety Officer: Joey Clark 207-812-2208 terms expire 2025 firechief@sorrentomaine.org BURN PERMITS You are required by Maine law to have a permit to burn, even for a small pile of grass clippings or leaves. A Forestry Warden will be called if you burn without a permit, possibly resulting in you being summonsed to court and fined. Traditional hand-written burn permits are still available, but the state online system allows permits to be acquired 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the state, provided that the fire danger is not high. For more information, call 207-287-4989. The person who signs the fire permit is responsible for the fire. Do not leave any fire unattended. To obtain a burn permit online contact: visit www.maineburnpermit.com. Or you can contact: Joey Clark, Fire Chief 207-812-2208 Brian Clement, Deputy Chief 207-460-4772 Mike Parker, Asst. Chief 207-460-7340 Chris Eklund, Asst. Chief 207-610-2794 Craig Clement, Chief Engineer 207-460-8851 Required for burning: **at least two adults to attend the burn, **some form of water supply and hand tools must be on hand, **and it is recommended you have a cellular phone or other communication device to call for assistance should the fire escape. YOU are responsible to see that the fire is out before leaving. NOTE: BURNING TRASH IS ILLEGAL!! State Laws (12 MRSA 9321-25) governing the backyard burning of household trash are enforced by the Maine Forest Service. If you think someone is burning trash please call (207) 973-3700 immediately! 24 hours/day, 7 days a week.

RECREATION & FACILITIES >> HUNTING & FISHING Hunting and Fishing in Sorrento Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Conservation The towns of Ellsworth, Franklin, Hancock, Lamoine, Sorrento, Sullivan, and Trenton act collaboratively as stewards to preserve, protect, manage, and enhance the shellfish resources and ecological well-being of the Frenchman’s Bay Region and to ensure a sustainable harvest of shellfish and opportunity for those who make their living on the tide. Recreational shellfish licenses are available for sale at the Sorrento Town Office. Commercial harvesters licenses must be purchased at the Franklin Town Office. Funds generated from license sales and town contributions pay for the enforcement of the Frenchman Bay Regional Shellfish Ordinance (FBRSO). Conservation Warden Michael Boucher, (207) 479-0620, enforces the ordinance on the flats. For more information: https://www.franklinmaine.com/frenchmans-bay-shellfish/ The regional shellfish committee may close flats for conservation purposes. The state also closes them for pollution. Harvesting is not permitted on closed flats. The State of Maine DMR closures and FBR Conservation Closures are available at https://www.maine.gov/dmr/fisheries/shellfish/closures Hunting and Fishing in Sorrento Recreational/commercial fishing and hunting require licenses. Information can be found at the Town Office and permits can be applied for online. https://moses.informe.org/cgi-bin/online/moses_v3/index Saltwater fishing: https://www.maine.gov/dmr/fisheries/recreational https://www.maine.gov/dmr/fisheries/commercial Inland fishing: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing-boating/fishing/licenses-permits/index.html Hunting: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunting-trapping/hunting/laws-rules/licenses-permits.html

HOME >> NOTES FROM THE CHAIR October 2025 - Notes from the Chair 2 (long!) years ago I was elected to the Sorrento Select Board, and as Chair. I would like to report what Many Volunteer Hours has helped the Select Board accomplish in the past 2 years: 1) Town Website: up and running for over a year now. 2) Town Audits: finally up to date! The most recent audit, (for FY 2024 which ended June 30, 2025) is being worked on as I write this. 3) Overdue Townwide Revaluation: completed. 4) Town Comprehensive Plan: Hancock County Planning Commission’s draft of the full document has been reviewed by our Comprehensive Plan Committee, and is now back with HCPC. They will send it to the State for approval. After that, we schedule a Special Town Meeting to see if the Town will vote to approve it. Having a State and Town approved Comp Plan helps guide the Town’s future by providing a long term community vision, legal protection for land use ordinances, and makes the Town eligible for state and federal funding. This has been a long process with a lot of public input, hundreds of hours of volunteer time, and thousands of dollars of your tax money. So not to pass a State approved Comprehensive Plan would be a colossal waste of your tax dollars, and of your neighbor’s time and energy. 5) We are trying New Ideas: - 2 Free metal pickup days this summer, (1 in July and 1 in August), thanks to Danny Carter, were well received. We can consider doing this on a more regular basis. -Bulky Trash Day 2025 at the Town Center, staffed by volunteers, with more free metal pickup, cost the Town less than $1,300 this year, versus over $12,000 last year! -And, for what we believe is the first time in Sorrento history, your property Tax bill may now be paid in 2 installments (first half due 9/30/25 and 2nd half due 3/31/26). 6) We have a volunteer Climate Resilience Committee. Thanks to them and help from Hancock County Planning Commission the Town has received one Community Action Grant, and they are applying for another CAG for the Town for the benefit of our Community Building. 7) Ocean Avenue! The extreme weather events of January 2024 (called the January Storms) necessitated Major repairs and reconstruction of 4 areas of Ocean Avenue. This work finally began this summer. Very good progress is being made thanks to Walsh Engineering, Whitcomb Construction, and oversight and help from Rick Knowlton. We are told that FEMA and MEMA have obligated the funding for this huge project. The Town has a line of credit to pay the bills and we expect 90% reimbursement, eventually. The Town is responsible for 10% of the total cost. We acknowledge that the residents of Fuller Road and part of West Shore Road have had to tolerate the daily very loud banging of boulders being unloaded at the sand/salt shed and then reloaded to be taken downtown. And all the residents who live along Ocean Avenue have had to listen to the very noisy daily work in progress. And we acknowledge that the increase in dump truck and other construction vehicle traffic on East Side and West Shore roads, and downtown, has been daunting all summer. Thank you All for your patience and forbearance. The project is progressing, looking good, and the end of this work is in sight! June - 2025 - Notes from the Chair Summer is here! One thing that means is More Traffic on our narrow roads. PLEASE drive mindfully! Just because the speed limit says 40 mph in many places, it really is OK to drive, say 35, or even 30 mph instead of 40. We have to share the roads with walkers and runners and bikers and strollers and dogs and children... so Please be careful out there. Thank You! On Monday, June 16th, we concluded Annual Town Meeting, which began with the municipal election on June 10th. Our Fire Chief and Road Commissioner Joey Clark was re-elected, and we elected a new Select Board member: Sue Macey. We thank Diana Gazis for her term on the Board. We passed a Budget for the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year. You can read the details elsewhere on the website. We plan to commit taxes early in August. Then, for the first time in our Town’s history our taxes will be due in 2 installments: half due Sept 30, 2025, and the other half due March 31, 2026. Of course you are welcome to pay it all in full in September! Our 2024-2025 fiscal year ends June 30th, and 2025-2026 begins July 1. Our Town Audits are (finally!) up to date and our Auditor, Jim Wadman, gave us a clean bill of health. He suggests getting the books from this year to him by the end of August and he can start the 2025 audit then. We have one Bulky Trash Day planned for this year: Saturday, August 9th from 8-3. We are trying something different this year: It will be held in the Town Center parking lot and you must Pay before disposal. There will be 2 Free Metal-Only Pickup Days this summer: Tuesday, July 15, and Tuesday August 5th. Please put Any Metal items at the end of your driveway by 8 a.m. This includes things as small as Clean soup can and as large as an Appliance. The full list of what Will and will Not be picked up will be Posted in the July Newsletter coming your way on July 1st. We understand that our Ocean Avenue repair work has been approved by FEMA (with the Walsh Engineering Plan) and the money is obligated and in the pipeline. We have a contractor Whitcomb, lined up to do the work, beginning in August. (Many thanks to Rick Knowlton for his help with All the above.) Also! The work on Ocean Avenue means parts of that road will be CLOSED. And that means CLOSED to Everyone except the working vehicles. No walking, running, biking or non-working vehicles may pass through. Please respect the signs that say Closed. This is for your Safety. Thank You! Meanwhile, may we all have a Good and Healthy Summer. Whether you are a seasonal visitor or get to live here year-round, Sorrento is a beautiful place to spend some time. April - 2025 - Notes from the Chair April is National Volunteer Month! And as you know, Sorrento functions better because of the kindness of our Many volunteers. We, the Select Board, are grateful for each one of them. Here below are the things that Volunteers do to help our little Town: - Serve on the Fire Department - Serve as Ballot Clerks and Election Warden - Serve on Town Committees: Budget, Planning Board, Comprehensive Plan, Community Building, Town Buildings, Shellfish, Roads Group, Harbor, Board of Appeals, Climate Resilience and SALT (Schoodic Area League of Towns). - Work at the Pollinator Meadow Project - Helped get the CB backroom ready for renovations - Built 1 and donated 2 Little Free Libraries - Helped with Eagle Scout project to build and give a games lending and food pantry shed to Town - Help with the municipal sewer system - Help with our FEMA needs - Organize and participate in Earth Day roadside cleanup - Organize and participate in Halloween Trunk or Treat - Organize and participate in Christmas cookie giveaway - Serve as local Health Officer - Host Friday morning coffee hour - Work on fundraising - Maintain town website And all of those who do receive regular town paychecks Also go above and beyond their hours and job descriptions to “do what needs to be done” for Sorrento. Thank You! January 10, 2025 Notes from the Chair: It is one year since sections of our Ocean Avenue were hit hard by the first of the January Storms! Since then we have contracted with Walsh Engineering to design the plan for Shoreland Stabilization, and we’ve been working with FEMA and MEMA (who have to approve everything so we can get 90% reimbursement after all the repairs and mitigation is done). Walsh is applying for the necessary permits this month and if you live within 1000 feet of Ocean Avenue you will soon receive a notice. Then the bidding process begins, and then the repair work can start (depending where we are in the queue with other Towns that also need work from available contractors). We appreciate that everyone is still driving mindfully on the one lane and damaged parts of Ocean Ave. and your patience will continue to be needed all spring/summer as this work progresses. In other Town news: our audits are getting done! The fiscal year 2023 (which ended June 30, 2023) is finally finished and a few copies are available for you to look at in the Town Office. Please do not take one home! Now our Auditor is working on FY 2024 (year ended June 30, 2024) and that will finally bring us up to date. This audit should be completed much faster because of TRIO. As you know, Annual Town Meeting begins with Town (municipal) elections. This year the election is scheduled for June 10, 2025, which is the same date as our State election. Nomination papers will be available from the Town Office by March 10, 2025 so you can run for office! Papers must be returned to the TO by April 9, 2025. This year we will be electing 1 Select Board member, Fire Chief, Road Commissioner, and Public Safety Officer. If you are interested in running for the Select Board, I encourage you to attend our twice monthly meetings (usually 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 7 pm, unless holidays, weather, or illness/injury intervenes). And you can always ask me what the job entails. I can tell you that it helps to really care about Sorrento, and you can make between 2 and 12 dollars per hour! (That depends on how much time you give to the job.) You will not get a designated parking space at the Town Center, nor at the Town Harbor parking lot (only the Clerk and the Harbormaster get those). At the very least the Select Board is responsible for all Town assets, and must be careful stewards of the taxpayers money. You will have to deal with all kinds of people and personalities, and most of them are friendly and appreciate the work we do. If it turns out you are the only one on the ballot for any office, please do Not assume that you will win! In a Municipal election write-in candidates do not have to declare their candidacy. Even if you do not want to run, registered voters can write you in, and you might win. If you want to run for office it is worth campaigning, to let the voters know who you are. Stay tuned for more good news coming soon! And may this New Year be a Healthy and Peaceful one for all of us in our little Town. May 15, 2024 , From where I sit this is a banner day! If you are reading this, you know our long awaited Town of Sorrento website has finally come to fruition! We had one hired consultant, Diana Zenzano, (mostly paid for by donations), and Hundreds of Hours of Volunteer Labor. Neither the consultant, nor the volunteers were available to work on the website consistently, so there were many long gaps, and it all took much longer than we had hoped, and it is still a work in progress. Nonetheless, here is what we have now. A Thousand Thanks to those who put in the most time: Ann Hoffner, Darla Crocker and Daphne Preuss. And thanks to Sam Younger, Wendy Worrell, Gianna Settin, Crosby Noyes, Matt Gurin, Rob Wilpan, Mike Gurtler and Marc Perry. And thanks for photos from: Trina Wellman, Lisa Heyward, Ted Preuss and Lucian Sharpe. Your generous volunteering is one of the many reasons I love Sorrento! And apologies if I forgot to mention someone. Please let me know. As of now, small changes can be made in-house. Bigger things, like taking credit card payments, will have to come about in Phase 2. If you want new content, or re-worded content, please write it up and email to: Webmaster@sorrentomaine.org for review, and the Select Board will consider the changes. Meanwhile, please enjoy your tour through the website for Our Town of Sorrento! Sincerely, Hilly Chair of the Sorrento Select Board

TOWN GOVERNMENT >> MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT >>SELECT BOARD MEETING 2023 2023 1-04 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 1-18 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 2-01 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 2-15 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 3-01 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 3-15 Select Board Meeting AMENDED.pdf 2023 4-19 Select Board Meeting-AMENDED.pdf 2023 5-3 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 5-17 Select Board Meeting-AMENDED.pdf 2023 6-14 Select Board Meeting-AMENDED.pdf 2023 6-21 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 8-9 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 8-16 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 8-23 AGENDA Special Selectboard Meeting final update.pdf 2023 8-23 Kathi Moore Statement.pdf 2023 8-23 RW Statement.pdf 2023 8-23 Sorrento Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 8-30 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 9-6 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 9-20 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 10-4 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 10-18 Select Board Meeting.pdf 2023 11-01 Select Board Meeting.pdf

TOWN GOVERNMENT >> TOWN OFFICE & DEPARTMENTS >> ANIMAL CONTROL Animal Control Animal Control Officer : Pepper Mitchell (207) 664-3261 animal.control@sorrentomaine.org The animal control officer is responsible for handling Domestic animal complaints and issues. They enforce the Animal Control Laws of the State of Maine and the Town of Sorrento Animal Control Ordinance. They will respond to complaints about loose or stray domestic animals, and will deliver captured animals to the animal shelter (Small Animal Clinic, 9 Toothaker Lane, Ellsworth 207-667-2341). Dog Licenses See Town Clerk under Town Office & Departments https://apps1.web.maine.gov/online/dog_license/faq.html Lost & Found Pets See Lost & Found under Our Town & Resources Wild Animals: For issues with wild animals, please read the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife information provided at this link to determine what you should do. https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/avoid-resolve-conflict/index.html