Select Board Meeting ~ May 16, 2017

2017-05-16 · Select Board · 2:18:41 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met with four of five members present, the day after Chairman Jeffrey Wakeman submitted his resignation. The board accepted the resignation and then set a compressed schedule to fill his seat, and a budget committee vacancy, at a special election on June 13, using a Title 30-A provision that shortens the normal 85-day timeline to 24 days. It approved a job description for an acting code enforcement officer to be advertised at up to 32 hours a week, rejected all bids on an IT services RFP as far above what the town had expected to spend and directed that the RFP be rewritten, and voted to sell a tax-acquired property as is. Longer discussions covered whether the budget committee should help build a townwide capital improvement plan, whether a town of Durham's size still needs its own electrical inspector, and whether sale proceeds above the minimum bid on a foreclosed property should go back to the former owner. The road commissioner reported on the paving and ditching schedule, a free topsoil offer from RSU 5, beavers blocking culverts since March, and two non-matching $100,000 grants for Auburn Pownal Road culverts that will require a special town meeting the board declined to schedule until engineering figures are in. The board voted at 8:22 p.m. to enter executive session on a personnel matter; the recording continues past that point and later picks up an unrelated gathering.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Call to order, attendance and consent agenda

   The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the chair noted that four of the five selectmen were present. After public comment the consent agenda was moved, seconded and approved with no further discussion and no opposition recorded.

2. 0:02
   Public comment on ditching prices

   A resident returned to a subject he said he had raised before, presenting current bid sheets dated April 20, 2017 from Lisbon showing ditching at about $2.94 to $2.95 a linear foot, with some bids in the threes and fours. He said the town's own crew costs $5.61 per foot and asked the board to consider bidding out the ditching left to do on Runaround Pond Road. The board thanked him and said it would take the matter up with the road commissioner later.

3. 0:02
   Budget report: mislabeled line

   A budget committee member asked why two lines appeared and what a figure of roughly $64,000 was for. Staff confirmed it was a copy-and-paste error: the line reading total public works fund should read total fire, and covers the additional EMS staffing approved as a separate warrant article at town meeting.

4. 5:22
   Budget report questions and insurance handouts

   The board confirmed that unspent EMS coverage money returns to undesignated funds rather than to a capital reserve or the fire department. Employee salary lines were running at 24 to 25 percent, but the road commissioner's line showed 40.85 percent because the Pownal reimbursement had not been posted; Durham pays 60 percent of that salary and Pownal reimburses the balance, billed through March 31 with April still to invoice. A question on the building security premium was answered by saying the Union Church account is billed separately, and Ruth Glaeser said she had emailed and printed health insurance comparisons for the board.

5. 10:40
   Employee health insurance cost share

   Mark Blake said the comparisons would be worked through over the course of the summer rather than settled in one meeting, and that Durham sits in the middle of comparable towns, not at the top or the bottom. He said a 75/25 split had been looked at in past years and does not change the position much, and that the aim is to stay competitive enough to avoid turnover.

6. 10:40
   Code enforcement pay not budgeted

   Milton Simon asked why no money was allocated for code enforcement. The board confirmed Calvin Beaumier is handling those duties on top of his road commissioner salary, and that Jeffrey Wakeman had discussed offering additional money but never brought it to the board.

7. 10:40
   Budget committee vacancy and the election timetable

   Terry Kirk said the budget committee is a member short and asked whether the seat could go on the June ballot rather than wait, noting he had earlier been told the board would wait until November because of the posting requirement. The board explained that RSU 5 and the state pay for the June 13 election unless the town adds a municipal race, but that Wakeman's resignation the previous day forced a municipal election anyway, so the budget committee seat would be added. A Title 30-A provision allowing the timeline to be shortened was cited; the section numbers are garbled in the recording.

8. 10:40
   Budget committee role in capital planning

   John Simoneau said he had watched the video of the board's goals meeting and disagreed with the suggestion that the budget committee should stay out of capital planning. He volunteered to serve on a committee looking at road bonds, public works, fire department and municipal building capital needs, and suggested a joint workshop, saying that adds more value than reviewing small line items.

9. 16:24
   Offer of an outside briefing on the CIP process

   A selectman said a Durham resident who is a former town manager of New Gloucester had offered to come to a future meeting and explain informally what a capital improvement program and process would look like, with pros and cons. The board discussed putting him on a future agenda.

10. 16:24
    Fairness of pooling department reserves

    The board discussed that the fire department has been building its capital fund for years and that pooling it into a single town fund could be seen as unfair. One member replied that it is not the department's money but the taxpayers', and that a CIP process is a way of prioritizing spending. A conflict-of-interest question that had been raised about budget committee involvement was dismissed by members who said they could see no conflict where it is all town money, but agreed to check.

11. 22:16
    Effect of pooling on department budgets

    Terry Kirk argued that if departments could no longer draw on their own capital funds for trucks or building payments, their operating budget requests would rise. The board agreed it was a real consideration, said the town voted to dedicate some of those funds and would have to vote again to change them, and that the work could take past the next town meeting. Members said they wanted the budget committee involved, noting past committees had been capped at seven or nine members.

12. 22:16
    Propane contract

    Asked whether propane is put out to bid annually or bought at market price, staff said the town has a three-year contract. The supplier was first said to be CMP and then corrected to Down East; the per-gallon price is garbled in the recording.

13. 22:16
    Resignation of Chairman Jeffrey Wakeman

    The board announced that Jeffrey Wakeman had resigned because his job will take him away from town far more often and he felt he could not give the position the time it needs. Members said they had tried to talk him out of it, thanked him for his years of service and as chairman, and accepted the resignation with regret.

14. 22:16
    RSU 5 referendum warrant taken out of order

    The board took the RSU 5 countersignature item out of order so that visitors could leave. Becky Foley and Michelle Lickteig attended in case the board had questions, and members signed the referendum papers; one member noted he had asked earlier what happens if the board declines to sign.

15. 27:36
    Board working agreement

    The posted working agreement was described as a reminder to be civil, dating from several years back when Barry Baldwin was on the board. A member asked whether meetings have an official ending time; the answer was no, and the board noted it has not been holding to one.

16. 27:36
    Acting code enforcement officer job description

    Ruth Glaeser described the changes she had made: adding the historic district commission, making the position the local health officer, and adding the comprehensive plan committee as needed, plus leading work to improve town ordinances once the comprehensive plan is done. Members noted the description says the position must be reappointed by the selectmen annually, which staff said is true of other appointments as well.

17. 32:41
    Hours, advertising and committee attendance

    The board agreed to advertise the position at up to 32 hours a week rather than 40, noting the office position had been 28 hours before moving to 32 around 2012, and that hours would vary with workload. It agreed to post on the town website and the state employment site but not in the newspaper because help-wanted advertising is expensive. On committees, members said the officer should attend the planning board and appeals board, the comprehensive plan committee as needed, and the historic district commission only when it has business before it.

18. 37:42
    Electrical inspector certification requirement

    A long discussion followed on whether the job should require electrical inspector certification. Members and Calvin Beaumier said towns of Durham's size rarely have their own electrical inspector, that the state inspects commercial work and a master electrician signs off residential work, and that requiring the certification could rule out otherwise good candidates. The land use ordinance was read aloud, listing the National Electrical Code, the life safety code, the Maine uniform building and energy code and the state plumbing code, and a 1970s town ordinance was cited as appointing an electrical inspector annually.

19. 43:18
    Homeowner wiring and CMP hookups

    Terry Kirk pressed the question of who a homeowner doing his own wiring calls for sign-off. Calvin Beaumier explained the two forms used, that CMP inspects the meter and socket on residential service, and that CMP will connect if he calls it in as the town's inspector; without a town inspector a homeowner would have to hire a master electrician. Members noted a town under 4,000 people is not required to adopt codes at all, and that only life-safety issues give the code officer leverage on do-it-yourself work.

20. 48:37
    Conclusion on electrical inspection and job description vote

    Members concluded that changing the arrangement would be a step backwards and that it has not created a hardship, so the town would keep doing electrical inspections as it does now. On the job description, they relied on existing wording to the effect of certified or able to be certified rather than rewriting the electrical requirement, approved it, and then moved to have Ruth Glaeser advertise it as presented.

21. 48:37
    Tax-acquired property: proceeds above the minimum bid

    The board took up whether money received above the minimum bid on a tax-acquired property should go back to the former owner. Staff said doing anything with proceeds above the minimum bid would have to go to town meeting. Members noted the idea had been raised before as a way to let people who fell on hard times start over.

22. 53:49
    Foreclosure process and notice

    Staff explained the sequence: a lien is filed 8 to 12 months after taxes are due, it is an automatic foreclosure lien, and the property forecloses 18 months after the lien, giving an owner roughly two and a half years with certified notice and a right of first refusal. The minimum bid covers the outstanding taxes; if it is not met the property is not sold, or the board may accept less and the town takes the loss. Members observed that a bank must return surplus above the mortgage and asked whether a town should profit from someone's hardship; staff said a former town official had tried to get legislation passed on the point.

23. 58:52
    Deed type, liability, and the vote to sell

    The board discussed that the town issues a quitclaim deed, warrants nothing, and carries no liability, and that tax-acquired title clears automatically after 15 years under a law passed some years ago. Ruth Glaeser said most towns keep the surplus but some return it because they do not think the town should profit from the sale. The board then moved to turn the property over as is and put it out to bid, leaving the surplus question for another time.

24. 58:52
    IT services RFP: bids came in high

    Ruth Glaeser reported that all bids on the IT RFP came back very high, the lowest monthly contract being $1,287. She said she had wanted a review of the town's IT systems, which have not been examined in about a year and a half, plus a plan to let staff maintain them with outside emergency backup, and had expected something closer to $400 a month.

25. 1:04:33
    IT bids: scope mismatch, rejection and rebid

    Ruth Glaeser said bidders had priced a full takeover of the town's IT services rather than the advisory arrangement she intended, and that the RFP may not have been clear; the board compared the bids with estimates Josh Libby had obtained, one from the same company, and the low bidder was named in the recording as Michael Door (?). Terry Kirk noted that on the solid waste bids the town had been told it could not go back and renegotiate, and was told the remedy here is to reject all bids and start again. The board moved to reject the current bids, then moved separately to have Ruth Glaeser send out a new RFP covering IT work for the whole town rather than just the town office.

26. 1:09:35
    Advertising costs and the shortened election schedule

    A question about where advertising costs come from was answered: the telecommunications budget, with the telecommunications committee offering to fund any eventual award. On the special election, members noted the statute says selectmen may call one rather than shall, and that the usual secret ballot procedure would apply. Shannon Plourde explained that the shortening provision compresses an 85-day process into 24 days, giving 10 days to take out nomination papers and gather at least 25 and no more than 100 signatures, then 14 days of absentee voting instead of 45, and that it only works if the vacancies are announced that day or the next.

27. 1:14:49
    Special election separated from the special town meeting

    Members were confusing two items, and Ruth Glaeser explained they are separate: the June 13 special election to fill the selectman and budget committee seats, and a special town meeting to appropriate money for culverts. A member asked to get back to the agenda, saying the discussion had gone off on a tangent. The calendar was then confirmed: papers due May 26 by close of business at 1:30, absentee voting from May 27 through June 9, voting June 13 at the school from 8 to 8 alongside the RSU 5 referendum and a state referendum question, with notices posted Thursday in three conspicuous places.

28. 1:19:53
    Special election authorized, with an objection

    A motion was made to proceed with a special election on June 13 for the vacant selectman seat and the budget committee seat, with nomination papers available immediately. Milton Simon said he wanted to go on record that fewer and fewer people go through the process, that gathering 25 signatures takes time, and that in his 19 years he thought this window was rushed and unfair to potential candidates. Other members replied that people had already expressed interest in the budget committee seat and that waiting until November or holding a separate election would cost the town money.

29. 1:19:53
    Auburn Pownal Road culvert grants

    Calvin Beaumier reported the town had been awarded both of the smart stream crossing grants he applied for, $100,000 each and non-matching, for culverts on Auburn Pownal Road. Awards came later than expected, after town meeting. The town's share would be roughly $70,000 taken from public works capital rather than raised, which requires a special town meeting.

30. 1:24:58
    Culvert project cost and decision to wait

    Members questioned the $270,000 total estimate, which came from the engineer and has not been bid; Calvin Beaumier said the crossing is effectively a bridge with concrete wing walls requiring the stream to be dammed and diverted. Engineering was being paid from the professional services fund, put at $20,000 to $25,000 and included in the $270,000, to be reimbursed if town meeting funds the project. The board decided not to set a special town meeting date until the plans and numbers are in, noting the work cannot be done until after July because of fish spawning.

31. 1:30:18
    Free topsoil offer from RSU 5

    Calvin Beaumier said the RSU 5 transportation director had called offering free topsoil stripped from a soccer field for a new track, two or three loads each to Durham and Pownal, if the towns truck it themselves. He suggested the town might also ask to buy more at a reduced rate.

32. 1:30:18
    Beavers blocking culverts

    Beavers have been plugging culverts on a road the recording renders as Peter Road and Peterbail Road, and crews have been going out twice a day with a loader and dump truck since March to let the water down. Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, consulted through a licensed trapper named Carl, asked the town to wait at least two more weeks because of young beavers; the plan is to install a siphon pipe as was done in Pownal so the beavers need not be killed. A selectman pressed for the pipe to go in immediately on cost grounds; another cautioned against setting a precedent of responding to individual complaints, and the road commissioner said IFW will supply a sketch and that beavers often rebuild.

33. 1:35:25
    Public works crew report

    Crews continued cleanup, patching and shoulder work, and graded Snow Road and New Gloucester Road. Calvin Beaumier said he was in the fourth day of a public works leadership course, was behind on his own schedule, and had worked the weekend to reconcile the bonds and coordinate the upcoming paving.

34. 1:35:25
    Stackpole Road trees and bulky waste day

    The road commissioner will meet Barry Baldwin Monday about trees in the ditch line and large dead trees on Stackpole Road that need to come out before paving. On bulky waste day, the facility is being set up and workers are wanted; last year vehicles blocked residents' driveways, so signs have been made, vehicles will be kept back about 25 feet, and the board agreed to notify the state police, who are on duty this month.

35. 1:40:49
    Paving and ditching schedule

    Cedar Pond and Stackpole will occupy the crew until about June 26, driven by a July deadline for cold mix, which must sit 30 days before chip seal, and by the rule that chip seal cannot go down after September 1. The crew will then return to Runaround Pond Road for about three weeks and afterwards to Quaker Meeting House Road. A cross pipe on Cedar Pond that appears unnecessary will be removed or reset, and a separate pipe that heaves every year still needs fixing.

36. 1:40:49
    Gazebo, town sign, construction activity and the parade float

    Work on the gazebo has started, with rotten boards sistered and about a foot of material added, to be painted white and finished before Memorial Day; loads of brick left in the road had to be barricaded. The sign company got back to the town on the Welcome to Durham sign, and asked about codes the answer was four to six house lots under construction. Ruth Glaeser told the newer board members that the town always has a float in the Memorial Day parade and that select board members are invited to ride on it.

37. 1:45:50
    Town administrator report and town news

    Ruth Glaeser said GPCOG is holding training on the 31st and wanted two voting members from Durham; nobody was available, so she will go. The Runaround Pond sign is being handled by Allan (?), who will also send invitations to the event, and a selectman asked that staff-prepared documents carry a footer showing who prepared them and the date. Announcements followed: regular meetings Tuesday May 30 and Tuesday June 13 at 6:30; bulky waste day Saturday the 20th from 9 to 3 at 1099 Royalsborough Road; the RSU 5 annual budget meeting at Freeport High School Wednesday May 24 at 6:30; the RSU budget referendum June 13 at the Durham Community School from 8 to 8 alongside the town's special election, with nomination papers available now; and a plant sale on the 21st.

38. 1:45:50
    Executive session

    The board moved to go into executive session at 8:22 p.m. on a personnel matter and asked that the recording be stopped.

39. 1:56:07
    Recording continues past the executive session vote

    The recording was not stopped and continues through informal conversation into a discussion of how public works performance reviews should be handled. Members said the employee's direct supervisor, who works alongside him most of each day, should write or at least sign off on the review, that conversations about conduct should happen and be documented before they reach a review, and that a review should hold no surprises. The road commissioner said he had already had the foreman read a review and agree with it, and would add a signature line.

40. 2:17:05
    Unrelated later recording

    The last portion of the recording is not the select board meeting. It captures a separate gathering working through a survey of historic houses, with a list of names, locations and map and lot numbers, photographs taken on a second round, and an assignment to cover houses from the 1900s.

What was decided

• 0:02
  Approve the consent agenda as presented; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard Georgepassed
• 22:16
  Accept the resignation of former Chairman Jeffrey Wakeman, effective May 15, 2017, with great regret; moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeaupassed
• 22:16
  Involve the budget committee in developing a townwide capital improvement plan, with a possible joint workshop. Members agreed in discussion; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 32:41
  Advertise the acting code enforcement officer position at up to 32 hours a week, posted on the town website and the state employment site but not in the newspaper. This was settled in discussion; no separate vote is audible on the hours or the placement.outcome unclear
• 48:37
  Leave the town's electrical inspection arrangement as it stands rather than dropping the requirement or changing the ordinance. This was a conclusion reached in discussion; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 48:37
  Approve the acting code enforcement officer job description as presented; moved by Todd Beaulieu, seconded by Kevin Nadeaupassed
• 48:37
  Give Ruth Glaeser permission to advertise the code enforcement officer position as presented, without changes. The motion was made and seconded and a vote was called, but the recording does not state the result.outcome unclear
• 58:52
  Turn the tax-acquired property over as is for the purpose of selling it, putting it out to bid; moved by Richard George, seconded by Todd Beaulieu. The separate question of whether proceeds above the minimum bid should go back to the former owner was left undecided and would require a town vote.passed
• 1:04:33
  Reject all bids received on the IT RFP and have the RFP re-sent for IT services for the town as a whole; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu. The recording contains two separate motions, to reject and to re-advertise; the minutes record them as one.passed
• 1:19:53
  Proceed with advertising that nomination papers are available to fill the vacant selectman's seat and a budget committee seat, with a special election on June 13; moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard Georgepassed
• 1:24:58
  Do not set a date for the special town meeting on culvert funding yet; wait for the engineering plans and figures and take it up at the next meeting. The board agreed in discussion; no motion was made and no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 1:45:50
  Enter executive session pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), personnel matters; moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau. The recording gives the time as 8:22 p.m.; the town's minutes record the motion as being made at 6:10 p.m.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from select_board_minutes_5-16-17.txt. It owes nothing to the recording or to a model: the clerk typed it, with the vote. Where the summary above claims a decision this list does not carry, the summary is the part to doubt.

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A., ss. 405(6)(A) – Personnel – Personnel Matters at 6:10 p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• Approve the Consent Agenda as presentedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• accept the resignation of former Chairman Jeffrey Wakeman effective May 15th 2017 with great regretcarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• approve the job description as presentedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Todd Beaulieu, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• turn over as is for the purpose of selling the propertycarried 4-0

  Moved by Richard George, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• reject all bids and re-send RFP for IT for the Towncarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• proceed advertising that nomination papers are available to fill the vacancies for one (1) Selectmen's position and one (1) Budget Committee member to be voted upon during the June 13th 2017 electioncarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• Adjourn at 8:47p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

Worth knowing

• 0:02
  A resident brought current April 20, 2017 bid sheets showing ditching at about $2.94 to $2.95 a linear foot and said the town's own crew costs $5.61 a foot, asking the board to bid out the remaining Runaround Pond Road ditching.
• 1:19:53
  Milton Simon objected on the record to the compressed election schedule, saying candidates get 10 days to gather at least 25 signatures, that it can take time to get them, and that in his 19 years of doing this he considered the window unfair to residents who might run.
• 1:24:58
  The town has two non-matching $100,000 grants for Auburn Pownal Road stream crossings, but the engineer's estimate for the whole project is $270,000, leaving about $70,000 to come out of public works capital by special town meeting vote. The figure has not been tested by bids, and the board declined to set a meeting date until it has plans.
• 58:52
  Every bid on the town's IT RFP came back far above expectations, the lowest monthly contract at $1,287 against roughly $400 a month the town had in mind, because bidders priced a full takeover of town IT rather than advisory support. All bids were rejected and the RFP will be rewritten.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 3 passages of motion language, against 12 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

← 2017-05-02 Select Board2017-05-30 Select Board →All meetings