Select Board Meeting ~ September 13, 2022

2022-09-13 · Select Board · 1:37:35 · watch on YouTube →

A regular select board meeting given over largely to reports and to working out a process for the town's remaining ARPA money. Two residents opened public comment with a proposal to bring back Old Home Days as a three-day town-sponsored event, and were asked to come back with a detailed written proposal. Planning Board chair John Talbot briefed the board on the Celebration Tree Farm application, the Deer Creek subdivision, and two ordinance articles being drafted for the April town meeting: one responding to the state's affordable housing law, one on roads to back lots. On ARPA the board reached consensus that the roughly $300,000 remaining should go to town capital needs and that requests from non-profits would not be considered at this stage, with public input sessions to start at the October 11th meeting. The board approved a consent agenda with the BYOB permits pulled out for discussion, then approved those permits separately, and went into executive session on a personnel matter at 8:10 p.m.

What was discussed

1. 0:10
   Agenda amended

   The chair removed the assessors' session, saying the town needs clearer information from the assessors' agent about what is going on and that the town manager would get it. An executive session for personnel matters was added at the end at the town manager's request.

2. 0:10
   Public comment: reviving Old Home Days

   Two residents, working from a flyer from 1979 found at the AmVets, proposed bringing back Old Home Days as a three-day event on the field between the Eureka Center and the town hall, with small rides, food trucks, a parade, live bands and possibly a comedian. They want it town-sponsored with support from the AmVets, the fire department corporation and other non-profits, with proceeds split.

3. 6:01
   What the town is being asked for

   The organisers said they were not looking for town funding; the ask is use of the land and coverage under the town's insurance. Members said unbudgeted funding would have to go to the voters, and recalled that the last Old Home Days ended after the bicentennial once the fireworks it was raising money for had been held; a circus came around 2003.

4. 11:11
   What a proposal would have to contain

   The board asked for a detailed written plan covering layout, traffic, parking, food, trash and public safety, and suggested a letter to the town manager first so the town could ask its insurer what it would need. Members pointed to the Yarmouth Clam Festival and to Harrison's Old Home Days as places to learn the process, and noted MaineDOT would have to approve any parade using state roads: the old route ran from Davis Road to the school.

5. 11:11
   A note about public comment

   The chair said that with hardly anyone present the board could be relaxed about it, but that this was really an agenda item rather than a public comment, and asked the organisers to go through the town manager to get on the agenda when they are ready.

6. 11:11
   Public works report

   Calvin Beaumier reported ditching on Auburn Pownal and Stackpole roads, tree and brush cutting, crack sealing, and gravel road repair and shoulder work after the heavy summer rain. MDOT (?) told him the Tracy Brook bridge on Pinkham Brook Road is likely to go to bid in November with construction to follow, and that advance warning lights for the intersection at Route 9, Swamp Road and Plummer Mill Road are due in the last week of September.

7. 16:58
   Paving

   Crooker paved Stackpole from Route 136 up about a mile and a half and will return later this month or early next for the remainder, with prices still dropping. Next up is Bowie Hill from Stackpole to where last year's rebuild ended, over the top of the hill to Parker Schoolhouse Road.

8. 16:58
   Winter staffing and the new plow truck

   Calvin Beaumier said plough staffing is the same as last year. The new truck has a build date of October 28th, delivery to Freightliner in Portland on November 13th, then a month or two at the up-fitter in Lewiston, so mid-January is the earliest it arrives. The funds will have to be encumbered and carried over, including a $3,800 add-on that came from raised money rather than capital.

9. 16:58
   Fire department report

   Fire Chief Rob Tripp reported 34 calls for service in August, including six motor vehicle accidents, an appliance fire, a second alarm fire, a carbon monoxide incident with readings, an ambulance sent to a mass casualty incident in Sabattus, and mutual aid on a water rescue and recovery. A reported overturned canoe on the Durham side of the river turned out to be duck hunters, and brought the game warden in.

10. 22:46
    Fire department grants and budget

    Rob Tripp said the department has applied for a $3,000 grant, has three other people writing an application worth up to a quarter of a million dollars, and has a lead on roughly $5,000 with matching up to $10,000 for brush truck repair, so repair funding need not come out of capital. Against a benchmark of about 66 per cent of the year gone he is at 59 per cent spent. He thanked public works for helping with the station's septic problem.

11. 22:46
    Planning board: Celebration Tree Farm

    John Talbot said the tree farm's non-conforming use request from July was unclear, so it was continued to October while the applicants work with the town planner, the fire chief, the road commissioner and code enforcement. One of the uses proposed is weddings in the barn, which raises fire safety, road safety and parking questions. A site walk is set for October 5th at 5 p.m. with the regular meeting at 6:30 and possibly a public hearing.

12. 22:46
    Planning board: Deer Creek subdivision

    The 13-lot subdivision past the school received preliminary plan approval at the planning board's last meeting and final plans are expected within a couple of months. The board required that MDOT specifically address whether the alignment of the subdivision's road cut on Route 9 with Patriot Way opposite is safe, rather than take it on assumption; any engineering review would be at the applicant's cost.

13. 28:01
    The state affordable housing law

    John Talbot explained that on an empty lot the town must allow two units, and on a lot with a single-family home must allow up to two additional living units, subject to septic and the rest. What counts as a living unit is not defined; it could be an apartment over a garage, a tiny house or another house of up to a thousand square feet. He called the requirement muddy at best; the town planner is comparing options with MMA and other towns, and state guidance has not arrived.

14. 28:01
    Unintended consequences

    Members raised how such units would be assessed, whether a lot could be split, and what happens if someone sells a building but not the land: the answer offered being a long land lease, common in commercial work but not residential. As best the planning board can tell the law does not allow the lot to be subdivided. Durham's current ordinance does not allow an accessory apartment at all.

15. 33:15
    Roads to back lots

    The planning board decided to leave the 20-foot versus 16-foot road width question alone for now, because a back lot is a lot and could now carry three living units rather than the single house the narrower standard assumed. They want to establish what can be built there before setting the width.

16. 33:15
    Accepting private ways as town roads

    When the Southwest Bend district was eliminated the language on what would be accepted as a town road went with it, and residents at town meeting wanted something in black and white. The new draft will state that a private way cannot become a public road without a vote at town meeting: long the convention but never clearly written. The board also proposes that private road agreements go to the road commissioner, who has to enforce them, rather than the planning board, with a boilerplate agreement so applicants are not sent back to a lawyer repeatedly.

17. 38:26
    Planning board timeline

    A public comment meeting on affordable housing and roads is set for October 12th at 6 p.m. in the fire department training room, which can stream. A table is planned at the November election. The aim is draft articles by early December, a public hearing in January, and two articles ready with full notice for town meeting in April. The historic commission and conservation commission articles (resource protection maps and the historic commission's role) are on the same timeline.

18. 38:26
    Size limits on accessory units

    Asked about minimum and maximum size, John Talbot said the ordinance limit is around 1,200 square feet and an accessory unit cannot be larger than the existing house, while a state law about a year old already allows a 400 square foot tiny house on an empty lot.

19. 38:26
    Town manager's report: Efficiency Maine grant

    Jerry Douglass described a newly announced Efficiency Maine grant covering lighting, HVAC and refrigeration, with an extensive application and a deadline of August 2023. He was attending a webinar the next day. A member described a nursing home he had worked for using a consultant who did the application work and was paid out of the grant proceeds, with the town keeping the energy savings.

20. 44:03
    ARPA-funded building work and IT

    The heating and cooling work at the town office is nearly finished and the contractor expected to be done by the end of the week before moving to the fire department, with everything complete by the end of September. A contract is signed to blow insulation above. The phone switchover is set for September 21st at the town office and September 22nd at fire and public works; codes already has its new computer.

21. 44:03
    Vacancies on boards and committees

    Two budget committee members resigned after town meeting, so the board appoints replacements until the next election. There is also an alternate seat on the appeals board, at least two openings on the capital improvement committee, and a probable planning board resignation with an alternate expected to move up. The vacancies have been posted on the website.

22. 49:52
    ARPA: what other towns are doing

    Just over $300,000 of ARPA money remains. Jerry Douglass reported that the county had run a window for small businesses and non-profits to petition for funds which closed last April and may reopen, and that the municipalities and town managers he had contacted are all putting their own allocations into municipal capital needs to hold taxes down.

23. 49:52
    ARPA: whether non-profits should apply

    Members said in turn that the money should go to town needs first, that there are enough non-profits that spreading it would give everyone a dollar and help nobody, and that anything left could be considered afterwards. One member drew the parallel with the donations article, taken off the warrant for the last two budget cycles on the reasoning that taxpayer money raised for municipal functions should not be passed through to charities.

24. 1:01:05
    ARPA: the process agreed

    The chair summarised a unanimous consensus that non-profit requests will not be considered at this stage. The process settled on is to gather capital requests from department heads on the existing CIP application form, hold public input sessions for residents' ideas, publish the resulting list on the website, then hold a further session to test priorities against the money available before the board decides what goes to town meeting.

25. 1:01:05
    ARPA as a catch-up on reserves

    Members noted ARPA money cannot be put into capital reserves, but that funding actual projects from ARPA while still raising the comparable amount into reserves would be a catch-up opportunity for a town that is behind on reserves. One member cautioned that capital is about levelling the tax impact across years, not hoarding.

26. 1:06:42
    Something visible to show for it

    A member argued for at least one community project residents can see (work at the river park or Runaround Pond, a structure, bathrooms) rather than putting all of it into a plough truck or a ladder truck. Others discussed how much the river park hand launch is actually used.

27. 1:12:20
    How the warrant articles would be written

    Members discussed whether ARPA and the rest of a project's funding could be split into separate questions, and concluded it would be risky if voters approved one and rejected the other. The special town meeting used MMA's closed article wording (a fixed amount, yes or no, with no amendment from the floor) which also keeps the separate ARPA accounting clean. The money must be allocated by December 31st 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

28. 1:17:39
    First public input session

    The board agreed the first ARPA input session would be at its first October meeting, by which time department heads' CIP applications are due to the town manager. Members noted the town also needs to publicise that non-profit requests are not being taken at this stage, and expected to hear about that at public comment.

29. 1:17:39
    A survey at the November election

    The chair proposed handing voters a paper survey with their ballot, to go in the wooden Durham ballot box and be tabulated by the town clerk afterwards, as a way of reaching perhaps two thousand people. Possible questions included ARPA priorities, whether residents would favour an ordinance restricting fireworks to major holidays, and anything the planning board wanted to ask. The 2018 marijuana questions were cited as an example that came back close to fifty-fifty and told the town little.

30. 1:23:04
    Not pitting capital against ARPA

    A member said the department heads' capital requests are things the town needs regardless, and warned against a situation where those requests end up competing with ARPA interests. Members agreed the CIP process should continue as normal, with the board deciding afterwards which items to fund from ARPA and which from ordinary capital.

31. 1:23:04
    GIS mapping contract

    A contract with Spatial Alternatives for $12,500, already signed by the vendor on August 5th, was put forward for authorisation. Members questioned whether it includes the two years of service that town meeting was asked to fund, which they recalled bringing the figure to about $16,000, and asked that the language make clear the two years run from when the system is up. Jerry Douglass said he would find out from the town planner.

32. 1:28:04
    Consent agenda

    A motion to approve the consent agenda as presented was made and seconded, then a member asked to pull item 8d, the BYOB permit applications, on the basis that a consent agenda is for things that need no discussion. The motion was restated as the consent agenda minus 8d.

33. 1:28:04
    BYOB permit applications

    Three applications were before the board: Bliss Farm Inn for a harvest festival and the inn's 250th birthday on October 29th, and Durham AmVets for a cornhole tournament on October 1st to support an energy initiative and a horseshoe tournament on September 18th. Members noted two had arrived only in the last few days and suggested requiring applications some days before the meeting.

34. 1:33:53
    Questions about the form itself

    Members were unsure the state's BYOB application is the right form, since the AmVets events appear to involve selling rather than bringing your own, and the club's liquor licence covers members only rather than public events. They approved these three on the basis that both organisations have a good record, but asked for clarification of the process and suggested applicants be encouraged to attend the meeting where their permit is reviewed.

35. 1:33:53
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    The next meetings are September 27th and October 11th at the town office, with the October 11th meeting to include the first public input on ARPA projects, to be noticed in the newsletter and on the website. The board then went into executive session on personnel matters at 8:10 p.m.

What was decided

• 0:10
  Amend the agenda to remove the assessors' session, pending clearer information from the assessors' agent, and to add an executive session on personnel matters at the end. Announced by the chair; no objection was raised and no vote is audible.passed
• 11:11
  No decision was taken on the Old Home Days proposal. The organisers were asked to write to the town manager outlining what they want from the town, and then to bring a detailed proposal back as an agenda item.tabled
• 1:01:05
  Direct the remaining ARPA money (just over $300,000) to town capital needs, and do not consider requests from non-profits at this stage. Reached as a stated unanimous consensus; no motion was made and no vote taken.passed
• 1:17:39
  Hold the first public input session on ARPA projects at the October 11th meeting, with department heads' capital requests submitted on the CIP application form to the town manager during October. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 1:23:04
  Authorisation to sign the Spatial Alternatives GIS mapping contract was not given. The board wanted the town manager to establish first whether the $12,500 includes the two years of service the town voted for, and to have the contract state that the service period starts once the system is running.tabled
• 1:28:04
  Approve the consent agenda as presented minus item 8d, the applications for BYOB permits, moved by Todd Beaulieu and seconded by Joe Tomm. The minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 1:33:53
  Approve the two Durham AmVets applications and Bliss Farm Inn's application, moved by Richard George and seconded by Joe Tomm. The minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 1:33:53
  Go into executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A) for discussion of personnel matters, moved by Kevin Nadeau and seconded by Richard George. The minutes record it carried 5-0; the board went in at 8:10 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 sbminutes91322.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.

• approve the consent agenda as presented, minus (8d) Applications for BYOB Permitcarried 5-0

  Moved by Todd Beaulieu, seconded by Joe Tomm

• approve Durham Amvets two (2) applications and Bliss Farm Inn’s applicationcarried 5-0

  Moved by Richard George, seconded by Joe Tomm

• move into executive sessioncarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

Worth knowing

• 28:01
  Under the state's affordable housing law as the planning board reads it, an empty lot must be allowed two units, and a lot that already has a single-family house on it must be allowed up to two additional living units. What counts as a living unit is not defined; it could be an apartment over a garage, a tiny house, or another house of up to a thousand square feet. John Talbot called the requirement muddy at best, and the state's promised guidance had not arrived.
• 38:26
  The planning board's timetable for the two ordinance articles: a public comment meeting on October 12th at 6 p.m. in the fire department training room, a table at the November election, draft articles by early December, a public hearing in January, and the articles on the warrant for town meeting in April.
• 49:52
  Just over $300,000 of ARPA money is left, and the board reached consensus that it should go to town capital needs rather than to non-profits. The money has to be allocated by December 31st 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
• 16:58
  The new plough truck will not arrive until mid-January at the earliest (build date October 28th, delivery to the dealer November 13th, then a month or two at the up-fitter) so the town will run its oldest truck through the first part of the winter.

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 8 decisions summarised.

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