Select Board Meeting ~ May 13, 2025

2025-05-13 · Select Board · 2:28:39 · watch on YouTube →

Select Board meeting of May 13, 2025, with Heather excused. The fire chief recognised two members of the department, one named rookie of the year and both newly qualified as EMTs after a six month unpaid course. The bulk of the meeting was a workshop on the town centre facilities study that GPCOG carried out under a grant, which drew 350 survey responses; the board agreed unanimously that the fire station no longer works as a meeting space and that the answer is an expansion of the town hall containing both a public meeting room and more staff offices, leaving the Eureka Center as a community space. The board approved a $66,370 replacement pickup for public works and rejected the town attorney's monthly retainer agreement after finding that in-person attendance at meetings falls outside its scope. The town manager reported that a 2022 payroll report was never filed with the Social Security Administration, exposing the town to a potential $83,000 penalty, and that the town will need a tax anticipation note of $2,630,000 in place by July 1.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 3:41
   Opening and public comment

   Joe called the meeting to order with a quorum, noting Heather was excused, and there were no amendments to the agenda. Mark Blake of Stackpole Road (?) said no select board member and no town manager attended the town's trash pickup day, which he said had always drawn at least one in past years, and that showing up would teach them something. He also questioned why oversized items such as full size couches, recliners and an eight foot rabbit cage are accepted whole when roadside recyclables must be cut down, because the crew were struggling to lift them after the rain and injuries eventually cost the town; he thanked Calvin for feeding the crew.

2. 8:52
   Minutes and fire department recognitions

   The previous meeting's minutes were approved. The fire chief then presented Martin Kruse (?), a year with the department, with his anniversary badge, pinned on by his wife Renee, and announced the members had voted him rookie of the year for 2024; the chief noted he came from Hamburg, Germany and bought on Matty Lane off Bowie Hill.

3. 8:52
   EMT recognitions

   The chief explained that Lisbon EMS (?) offered free EMT training and that Kevin Merrill and Martin Kruse (?) took it on: six months unpaid, every Monday night for four hours and every Saturday for six or seven, from October through the holidays. The class had a 50 percent dropout rate and a 25 percent failure rate on the national exam, with 80 percent required to pass, and both men qualified. The chief added that Kevin Merrill, previously recognised for his response to the Lewiston shooting, recently spent 40 minutes on the phone persuading a friend in Florida to go to hospital rather than board a cruise, which saved his life, and that both had been out on a medical call at 2am that morning.

4. 14:37
   Town centre facilities study: scope and the intersection

   Christine Egan (?), executive director of GPCOG, and senior planner Christian Rodman (?) presented the study done under a grant with an advisory committee and George Thebarge. The scope began with safety at the intersection of Routes 9 and 136 and expanded to the fire station, Eureka Center, town hall and little league field. The intersection did not come back as a high crash location, so MaineDOT will not fund a major realignment, but it drew up a paint scheme intended to make drivers approach in a T formation; Jerry had sent that drawing to the regional engineer that day.

5. 20:04
   Public engagement and survey results

   The advisory committee, appointed by the select board last year, oversaw a public survey, a stakeholder meeting and a public visioning session at which residents drew their own ideas. The survey drew 350 responses, which GPCOG (?) said was a rate they had never had for a town of Durham's size. Most residents use the town office several times a year but many have never used the Eureka Center or the fire station, and on spending, opposition and support were close, with a large group answering unsure because they had not been told what the improvements were or what they would cost.

6. 25:10
   What residents said about each building

   On the fire station, people said meetings should not be held there: executive sessions can be overheard, there is no way to lock the public out of the equipment and the pharmaceuticals, parking is inadequate, and the breakdown and cleaning falls on the firefighters. On the Eureka Center, residents valued it for weddings and dances but the second floor is unusable, it is cold, has no AV or internet, and the structural pillars block sight lines; the parking is an undefined dirt area with no curb cut and no lighting. On the town office, there is nowhere to lay a large document flat, several staff share offices, the server room and storage have been used for voting with security concerns, and there is only one entrance.

7. 30:52
   Concept sketches and the ideas that ranked highest

   Three advisory committee members' drawings were shown: Julia, an architect, Neil Barry of the budget committee, and Patrick Bole (?), an engineer. Ideas included a stone or sign identifying the town centre, connected shared parking serving all three facilities, moving the Eureka Center back off the intersection onto a new foundation, playgrounds, a basketball court, picnic pavilions and a coffee shop. Tallied up, expanding the town office was the top idea, followed by shared parking, moving or reorienting the Eureka Center with a full renovation, a defined driveway off Route 9, squaring off the intersection and adding a crosswalk. Sketches from a 2006 expansion discussion were shown to make the point that this has been talked about for a long time.

8. 47:04
   Workshop: the intersection

   Members were lukewarm about paint alone, saying snow, salt and drivers parking on top of it would defeat it, and asked about flexible posts or small islands instead. Calvin, the road commissioner, said that when he squares off at the stop line to see both ways, another driver goes around the inside of him and they both end up turning left. The board agreed Jerry should ask MaineDOT two questions: whether they would do more than paint, and whether they would pay for it.

9. 52:20
   Workshop: is a different meeting space needed

   All four members present answered yes. The requirements they set out were recording, screen and wall presentation, good internet, clear line of sight, and accessibility, and they added security: a locked front door, a second means of egress, separation of the public space from the staff work area so a room can be used without access to the rest of the building, protection against a vehicle being driven into it, and cameras. All four also answered yes to whether staff need more office space.

10. 57:39
    Workshop: town hall expansion or the Eureka Center

    The board was unanimous in preferring an addition to the town hall containing both offices and a meeting space, and in leaving the Eureka Center as a community and fellowship building. Members said the Eureka option would run into cost quickly: the foundation has sand and water flowing under it, the pillars could only be removed with expensive steel beams, using the second floor would require an elevator, and moving the building is not cheap. Joe (?) said what he hears about Eureka is that people got married or met someone there, not that they filed their taxes there, and Deb (?) noted the town office site is flat with land around it, which makes an addition straightforward.

11. 1:08:30
    Workshop: design guidance

    Members asked for individual offices for full-time staff, a break room where more than one person can sit and eat, a waiting area with some privacy for people queuing at the counter, and a flexible meeting room somewhat larger than the fire station room. They asked that it be plain rather than architecturally ambitious, energy efficient, with a security barrier between public and staff space, and designed for the town as it will be around 2050 rather than today. Jerry (?) said eight people had been queuing at the counter that day with nowhere to sit.

12. 1:13:54
    Workshop: other priorities

    Ideas the board wanted on the table were a community centre with a gym, raised by basketball parents who cannot get enough gym time and who play Durham teams' games in Freeport and Pownal; walking paths and Nordic ski trails through the tree line; a formal shared parking arrangement with defined access; a fenced dog park, the nearest ones being in Brunswick, Auburn and Bath; picnic tables and pavilions; a community garden; disc golf posts; outdoor exercise equipment; and a welcome sign or stone. Members distinguished the high-cost items from things like picnic tables and paths that could be done cheaply as placeholders for later.

13. 1:24:41
    How any of it would be paid for

    Christine Egan (?) said federal funding has been drying up, there has never been much money for community facilities, and this would be self-funded by Durham with the voters approving it. Joe (?) asked about impact fees; she said the legislature is looking at clarifying them, they would need to be specifically quantified and would require a lawyer and a specialist. She raised a tax increment financing district as an alternative if economic development happened near the site, while Christian Rodman (?) cautioned that no mechanism is a magic wand and that funding this level of investment would require dramatic growth. Fundraising and sponsorship were seen as workable for benches, picnic tables and paths but not for the town hall, which would need a bond.

14. 1:29:51
    Next steps on the study

    GPCOG's grant is finished, so the town will have to fund the next stage. Christine Egan (?) summarised the direction: ask DOT what it will do at the intersection and what it will pay for; treat expanding the town hall to include a meeting space and staff offices as the highest priority and get cost estimates; and commission a master plan for the wider area with phasing and a funding plan, taking in the parking, paths and possible community amenities. No vote was taken because the item was a workshop, and members noted the recording lets those who could not attend weigh in before a decision is made.

15. 1:29:51
    Public works pickup truck bids

    Calvin brought back three bids on a replacement pickup. The existing 2015 truck follows the plough trucks through the winter checking material application, so it takes the worst of the salt and calcium; it is rusting through the cab corners and front fender and has electrical problems, and repairs would cost more than the trade-in value. The preferred bid, from O'Connor, is $800 above the low bid because the low bidder's truck is in Bangor while this one is in Augusta, and totals $66,370 including $7,495 of outfitting for studded snow tires, graphics, radio, strobe, blade and other equipment. Members asked why not the higher bid with the dual battery and were told the middle bidder has upsized the alternator, and that a retrofitted battery tends to cause trouble later.

16. 1:40:47
    Town attorney retainer agreement

    Jerry (?) recommended against signing the $1,250 a month retainer, saying usage varies between about $800 and $3,000 a month, there is no good history to budget from, and the budget carries the retainer for 18 months with no cushion. Reading the scope, members found that in-person attendance at meetings is expressly out of scope, only remote attendance is covered, and that beyond that it is routine work and two trainings a year. Josh, who had argued for the retainer during the budget process, said the missing in-person attendance changed his view, since the attorney has been to about six meetings in eleven months at $265 an hour plus travel.

17. 1:56:50
    Vote on the retainer, and town manager's report

    The board voted to reject the retainer agreement and asked that the possibility of the attorney joining meetings remotely, in a way that works with the live stream, be explored, several members saying that would change their view. The town manager then reported that a Google search bar has been added to the town website and that the ARPA reporting is complete, with every dollar obligated; the board asked for a summary to show residents where the money went, one member noting ARPA is not free money but tax money returned to the community.

18. 2:02:24
    County budget committee representative

    No resident applied by the deadline to represent Durham on the Androscoggin County budget committee, which meets three times a year. Deb agreed to stand and the board nominated her, with members noting the value of spreading regional representation around.

19. 2:02:24
    Bulky waste day figures and a new hire

    The bulky waste day drew 250 household participants including 18 who came back for a second load, against a town population of about 4,200 and a $10,000 budget line, and members discussed whether to track or charge in future, since there is no way to tell residents from non-residents without checking licences. A $10 charge was introduced this year for items needing refrigerant removal, which after paying the contractor left under $100. Public works has hired Ron Bergens (?) as a truck driver, starting the previous day.

20. 2:07:50
    Eureka internet, Trio migration and general assistance

    A quote of $2,578 has come in to extend internet to the Eureka Center with two boosters, a one-off cost with no monthly fee, which could come from building reserves; the board asked for it on the next agenda rather than voting on a fiscal item that had not been posted. Migrating Trio to the new server will cost $1,250, which was not budgeted. General assistance requests are running well ahead of the previous two years, with almost $800 spent against a $1,000 budget line; the state reimburses 70 percent, a person may apply every 30 days, and the programme is mandated by state law.

21. 2:18:00
    Unfiled 2022 payroll report and the tax anticipation note

    The town manager reported that the W-3 covering 2022 payroll was never submitted to the Social Security Administration, and that the potential penalty is $83,000. He said the office found no correspondence from the IRS or Social Security, filed the report within three or four days of receiving the letter, and sent an abatement request explaining the staff turnover; payroll is now handled by an outside payroll system so it cannot recur. He also reported the town cannot get through the year without a tax anticipation note, because the change of fiscal year moved tax due dates to October 15 and April 15 while the county payment and two bond payments fall in September. The application will be for $2,630,000, with interest only on what is drawn, expected at 5 to 6 percent and not budgeted, and it must be in place by July 1 because funds only run to the end of July.

22. 2:23:18
    Reports, consent agenda and upcoming meetings

    Joe (?) said he had received a formal complaint at 6pm from a former fire chief about using the fire station for meetings, and asked for it to be circulated for discussion at the next meeting. Deb (?) reported the solid waste committee is down to four members and is waiting on applicants to add a member and an alternate, that Casella came to discuss the pay as you throw programme, and that the website has been updated with disposal options. The consent agenda was approved; upcoming meetings listed were the RSU5 board on May 14 at 5:45 followed by the tri-town meeting at 6:30 with check-in from 6:00, the Conservation Commission on May 21, the town office closed for Memorial Day on May 26, and the next select board meeting on May 27 at the fire station. The meeting adjourned at 8:55.

What was decided

• 8:52
  Approve the minutes of the previous meetingpassed
• 1:29:51
  Agreed by consensus, with no vote taken because the item was a workshop: ask MaineDOT what more than paint it will do at the Routes 9 and 136 intersection and what it will pay for; make an expansion of the town hall containing both a public meeting space and staff offices the highest priority and get cost estimates; leave the Eureka Center as a community space; and pursue a phased master plan for the wider area covering parking, paths and community amenitiespassed
• 1:35:30
  Approve the preferred bid for a 2025 public works pickup truck at $66,370 including $7,495 of outfitting, from O'Connor rather than the low bidder $800 cheaper in Bangorpassed
• 1:56:50
  Reject the town attorney's monthly retainer agreement and continue on the hourly rate, while exploring whether the attorney can attend meetings remotelypassed
• 2:02:24
  Nominate Deb to represent Durham on the Androscoggin County budget committee, no resident having applied by the deadlinepassed
• 2:07:50
  Put the $2,578 quote to extend internet to the Eureka Center on the next meeting's agenda rather than voting on it without noticetabled
• 2:23:18
  Approve the consent agendapassed
• 2:23:18
  Adjourn the meeting at 8:55passed

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.

Worth knowing

• 2:18:00
  The W-3 covering the town's 2022 payroll was never filed with the Social Security Administration, and the potential penalty is $83,000. The town manager filed it within days of receiving the letter and has asked for abatement, citing staff turnover; other towns making the same mistake have been assessed $25,000. Payroll is now handled by an outside system.
• 2:18:00
  Durham will apply for a tax anticipation note of $2,630,000 to cover the gap between August and October created by the fiscal year change, which moved tax due dates to October 15 and April 15 while the county payment and two bond payments fall in September. Interest is expected at 5 to 6 percent and was not budgeted, and the note must be in place by July 1 because town funds only run to the end of July.
• 20:04
  The town centre survey drew 350 responses, close to 10 percent of a population of almost 4,000, which GPCOG (?) said it had never achieved for a town this size. Support for spending on improvements was close to opposition, with a large group answering that they could not decide without knowing what the improvements were and what they would cost.
• 57:39
  The board agreed unanimously that the fire station no longer works as a meeting space, chiefly because executive sessions can be overheard and the equipment and pharmaceuticals cannot be locked away from the public, and that the answer is an addition to the town hall holding both a meeting room and staff offices. Renovating or moving the Eureka Center was judged prohibitive once the foundation, ADA compliance, an elevator and steel beams to remove the sight-line pillars were counted.

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: 5 passages of motion language, against 8 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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