Select Board Meeting ~ August 23, 2016

2016-08-23 · Select Board · 1:03:01 · watch on YouTube →

A regular Select Board meeting with three selectmen at the opening and a fourth arriving. The American Legion presented Representative Paul Chace with its Legislator of the Year award and a blue star banner to the parents of a serving airman, read alongside a letter from the First Lady of Maine. The board approved the reworked request for proposals for solid waste and recycling collection, with amendments changing the bulky waste collection to a single annual site collection and replacing an unlimited recycling allowance with a reasonable person standard, and set an October 4 return date. It approved a $4,400 quote from Targett Concrete Floors for the apron in front of the fire station doors, and heard that the fire chief has decided not to repair a truck damaged on August 14 because it is due for replacement. Road commissioner Calvin Beaumier reported the bond-funded work nearly finished with about $30,000 left of $1.1 million, asked the board to consider posting Rabbit Road for weight against heavy logging traffic, and asked for direction on whether to plan for another road bond next year.

What was discussed

1. 0:09
   Before the meeting: the school budget

   In conversation before the meeting was called to order, members discussed a Tri-Town headline announcing a new superintendent and a new assistant superintendent. One said he had gone through the budget and could not find any reference to a $108,000 assistant superintendent in the superintendent's section, that the town had never had one before, and that he did not recall it being discussed at the town hall budget meeting.

2. 5:11
   Before the meeting: the new superintendent and the RSU

   Members reported the new superintendent had in fact sat down with all the town managers, including Durham's, and had asked about the history and was interested in making the arrangement a genuine RSU. The naming of the high school was raised as a superficial but persistent point, particularly with a large bond nearing completion.

3. 5:11
   Call to order

   The meeting was called to order with a quorum of three selectmen present and a fourth arriving, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. There was no public comment. The chairman held the consent agenda over so the American Legion presentations could be made first.

4. 10:28
   American Legion presentations

   The American Legion presented Representative Paul Chace with its Legislator of the Year award, the presenter saying his name had come up a great many times in the selection. A blue star banner was then presented to the parents of Airman Jared Clauss (?) of the US Air Force, with the presenter reading aloud a letter from Ann LePage, First Lady of Maine, thanking the family for their support and describing her work with military families.

5. 10:28
   Consent agenda

   The chairman removed the fire chief's report from the consent agenda because it contained a request the board had to vote on, moving it to action and discussion. The consent agenda was then approved as amended.

6. 10:28
   Solid waste request for proposals

   The curbside collection contract ends at the end of June next year, so a replacement has to be voted at town meeting. A reworked RFP was circulated with changes marked. One change struck the reference to semi-annual bulky waste, leaving a single collection, and removed a redundant use of annually.

7. 15:31
   Wording of the bulky waste clause

   Members argued over on-site versus single site, on the grounds that on-site could be read as curbside at each property when what is meant is one collection point in town. They settled on single site collection, with the site itself left to be determined since the RFP does not need to specify where it is.

8. 15:31
   Limits on recycling

   The clause saying there is no limit to the amount of recyclables put out at the curb was struck and replaced with a reasonable person standard. Members said one or two properties had at times put out very large amounts, an eight by ten trailer load was mentioned, which places a burden on the hauler and could affect the rate. The service is specified as residential, so commercial waste should be handled separately.

9. 20:40
   RFP timetable and the addendum

   Proposals are due back by October 4. The administrator said she would not issue it until the end of the week, so further comments could be taken. A member asked what date belonged in paragraph 17, where the effective date of the rules and regulations in addendum A had been struck out; the answer was the date of the board's approval.

10. 20:40
    Damaged fire department truck

    A truck was damaged on Sunday August 14 when it hit a rock entering a very narrow driveway. The repair quote came to about $6,635, of which the town would be liable for $1,000 with insurance covering the rest. The chief has decided not to repair it, since this is the truck already slated for replacement, a replacement voted down at town meeting, and the damage is cosmetic rather than functional.

11. 25:52
    Concrete apron at the fire station

    The chief asked the board to accept a quote from Targett Concrete Floors for the pad in front of the station doors, work that has to be done before any paving. The paving price is still being negotiated and may come in above what was allowed. The quote reflects the highway crew cutting the pavement and excavating seven and a half feet in front of the door to prepare the base, and the contractor was the low bidder on the fire station floor.

12. 25:52
    Bollards at the doors

    The chief also wants bollards set either side of the doors, steel posts filled with concrete and sleeved in yellow plastic, so that a vehicle hits those rather than the door surround. They have to go in before the concrete is poured. A deteriorated drain in the same area will be cut out and covered.

13. 25:52
    Road bond work: grades and superelevation

    Calvin Beaumier reported changes to the profile, adding eight inches of material at the bottom of a hill tapering to nothing at the top where the road sits on solid rock. He cut the superelevation on the curve by Runaround Pond Park from 8% to 6%, which also gives him ditch line before he hits ledge. Members joked that anyone needing 8% to stay on the road was going too fast.

14. 25:52
    Extending the asphalt injection

    A deteriorated section of about 600 feet before the pond was added to the asphalt injection, bringing it back around the corner, at roughly $8,000 plus about $4,000, so around $12,000. The injection was scheduled for Thursday, with the contractor already staging trailers of liquid asphalt in the sand and salt shed. Shoulder work was also done on Brickyard Hill where washouts had left the side of the road high.

15. 31:01
    A very steep road

    Beaumier has asked the paving contractor for a price on cold mix in place for a road he described as about a 13% grade, bad enough that the school bus will no longer use it and vehicles bounce trying to get up. He hoped it would hold the road for a couple of years.

16. 31:01
    Bond balance and ditching

    About $30,000 remains of the $1.1 million bond, which members noted is not much on a project that size. The rubber pads fitted to the excavator are working well. Ditching on Rabbit Road should be complete within a week, and the crew found an existing under drain set higher than the road, so it was draining nothing.

17. 31:01
    Department of Labor response

    Beaumier said the response he had intended to have ready for this meeting was not finished because staff had been out, but the work is done bar the training and he would have it complete by Thursday afternoon and in the mail before the 30th.

18. 31:01
    Posting Rabbit Road for weight

    Beaumier proposed posting the road at 23,000 lbs. While ditching he has watched a logging contractor's trucks running with 35 mats and freighted logs at over 100,000 lbs, and he has heard another company may follow doing bark mulch, stump grinding and erosion control. He said he is comfortable with the traffic on Runaround Pond Road, which has the injection plus four inches of reclaim, but not on Rabbit Road.

19. 36:05
    How a road gets posted

    Beaumier believed the selectmen can post a road without a town vote where they judge it in danger of damage, but did not have the statute with him and will email it before the next meeting. Members agreed there was no emergency given how dry it has been, and that a special meeting could be called if grooves start appearing. The 23,000 lb figure was chosen so delivery trucks, CMP vehicles and single axle dump trucks still fit; school buses are exempt and local traffic with business on the road cannot be stopped.

20. 36:05
    Traffic control at a funeral

    The crew provided traffic control for a funeral on Route 136 at Royalsborough Road, billed for the crew's time but not the commissioner's own. He described it as dangerous: mourners in walkers and wheelchairs, cars in the road and a blind crest coming from Freeport. He blocked the upper driveway with two rocks and wants it closed permanently, with everyone using the lower entrance by the power line.

21. 41:27
    Whose cemetery it is

    Members established that the site is Sylvester Cemetery, which is not a town cemetery and is not under the town cemetery committee but has its own association. The town clerk was thought to know who to contact, and the board agreed to ask before doing anything, with Beaumier saying he would block the upper driveway if the association wanted it, because someone could easily be killed there.

22. 41:27
    The Sandhill Drive culvert

    A culvert sitting in the town right of way was put in by a private contractor around 2009 when a house was built, and serves no purpose for the road, which drains away on its own. It carries water from one side of the owner's yard to the other and its height is cracking his driveway pavement. Beaumier told him last autumn he could remove it and confirmed that by email; the owner has since written back saying removal would cause other problems and wants the culvert replaced.

23. 46:34
    Why the town is not taking it on

    Beaumier said the moment the town touches the culvert it becomes the town's problem, and that putting it back would change nothing because it cannot be set lower. Members agreed the issue lies between the owner and the contractor who did the site work and set the foundation too low, and that the broken pavement is in his driveway rather than the town road. The suggested fix is a catch basin at the owner's expense piped out behind the house.

24. 46:34
    The construction trailer at the salt shed

    The trailer is no longer used and someone has approached the administrator with an interest in buying it. Members asked whether it could instead be moved to the town office for storage or working space, noting the electric heat had been found running at 80 degrees with nobody knowing for how long, and that filing cabinets and office material may still be inside. The board agreed to look at it before deciding whether to keep it or dispose of it under the town's policies.

25. 51:45
    Brown Road and Pownal

    Pownal's engineer wants to carry the project into the Durham-owned portion of Brown Road, roughly 200 feet at about $100 a foot, so around $20,000. The same question has come up with New Gloucester, where a claim that Durham had previously been paid for crossing the line could not be verified. Durham has nothing in this year's budget, so the only route would be Pownal carrying it and being reimbursed after January from next year's paving budget; final plans have not yet arrived.

26. 51:45
    Whether to plan for another road bond

    Beaumier said he needs to know whether a bond is coming so he can plan next year's work. Davis Road is about 10,000 feet and the first 2,000 feet of Bowie Hill would bring it to roughly 12,000 feet, which he put at $800,000 to $900,000. He said 8 to 10 miles of town road need rebuilding now, and members were wary of putting a million dollar bond question to voters every year, noting the current bond was set at seven years partly for that reason.

27. 56:49
    Which roads and how to choose

    Members ran through Shiloh, Meadow, Old Brunswick, Davis and Bowie Hill, each around two miles, and noted Cedar Pond falls into the shim and overlay category and could come from the regular budget. A road committee was floated. One member recalled residents being told around 2009 that further sections of Davis Road would follow in 2010 and 2011, which never happened, and said seeing the first section done again in that period was frustrating for them.

28. 56:49
    Speed on the ground surface

    Beaumier said he is already getting complaints that traffic on Runaround Pond Road is going faster since it was ground, because it is smoother as a dirt road than it was paved. Speed tables were suggested. Members noted that once New Gloucester paves from Route 231 to the town line, the route will be new all the way to Brunswick, and joked that this would be the moment to ask the state to take it over.

29. 56:49
    Administrator's report

    Ruth Glaeser reported on a convention she attended, this year on attracting millennials to town and as employees, following last year's on aging in place, and said it was useful to compare notes with other administrators. The tax due date has passed and interest is accruing, the tax anticipation note is still to be repaid, and the road bond paperwork with the Maine Bond Bank is complete with the one question they raised answered.

30. 1:02:00
    Upcoming meetings and executive session

    Selectmen's meetings were announced for Tuesday September 6 and Tuesday September 20 at 6:30 p.m., and the comprehensive plan committee for Monday the 12th at 6:30. The board then moved into executive session on personnel and the recording ends.

What was decided

• 10:28
  Approve the consent agenda as amended, with the fire chief's report removed to action and discussion because it contained a request requiring a vote. Moved by Sarah Hall; carried 4-0.passed
• 20:40
  Move forward with the request for proposals for municipal solid waste and recycling collection as amended, changing the bulky waste provision to a single annual site collection and replacing the unlimited recycling allowance with a reasonable person standard. Proposals due back October 4. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Sarah Hall; carried 4-0.passed
• 20:40
  Approve the addendum to the solid waste RFP as presented. Moved by Sarah Hall; carried 4-0.passed
• 25:52
  Approve the quote from Targett Concrete Floors for $4,400 for installing the apron in front of the fire station doors, with the highway crew cutting the pavement and preparing the base and bollards set before the concrete is poured. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Sarah Hall; carried 4-0.passed
• 36:05
  No action taken on posting Rabbit Road at 23,000 lbs. The road commissioner will email the board the legal process before the next meeting, and members agreed a special meeting could be called sooner if damage starts to show.tabled
• 41:27
  Find out who runs the Sylvester Cemetery Association and, if the association wants it, close off the dangerous upper driveway on Route 136 with two rocks so everyone uses the lower entrance.passed
• 46:34
  Take no action on the culvert in the town right of way at Sandhill Drive. The board agreed it causes the road no problem, that touching it would make it the town's responsibility, and that the matter lies between the homeowner and the contractor who did his site work.passed
• 46:34
  Inspect the construction trailer at the salt shed, including whether it is locked and what is still stored in it, before deciding whether to keep it for storage at the town office or dispose of it under the town's policies.passed
• 51:45
  No resolution on paying for the Durham portion of the Brown Road work with Pownal. Without money in this year's budget the town cannot fund it now; the possibility discussed was Pownal carrying the cost and being reimbursed after January, subject to final plans and a meeting with the Pownal selectmen.outcome unclear
• 56:49
  The road commissioner will prepare two proposals for budget time, one assuming a road bond and one without, working from the priority list of roads he supplied earlier.passed
• 1:02:00
  Enter executive session under 1 M.R.S.A. section 405(6)(A), personnel, recorded in the minutes as 7:25 p.m. Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:02:00
  Adjourn, recorded in the minutes as 8:12 p.m. Moved by Joshua Libby; carried 4-0. The recording ends with the motion to enter executive session, so this vote is not on the tape.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_8-23-20161.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 ascarried 4-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, no seconder recorded

• move forward with the RFP for Solid Waste Services as Amendedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Sarah Hall

• Approve the Addendum to the Solid Waste RFP as presentedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, no seconder recorded

• Approve the Quote from Targett Concrete Floors for installing the aproncarried 4-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Sarah Hall

• the Board will enter Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A., ss. 405(6)(A) – Personnel at 7:25 p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Adjourn at 8:12 p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, no seconder recorded

Worth knowing

• 0:09
  Before the meeting was called to order, members said they could not find any reference to a $108,000 assistant superintendent in the school budget, that the district had never had one, and that they did not recall it being discussed at the town hall budget meeting.
• 20:40
  A fire department truck damaged on August 14 was quoted at about $6,635 to repair, of which the town would pay $1,000 with insurance covering the rest. The chief has decided not to repair it because the truck is already due for replacement, a replacement voters turned down at town meeting, and the damage is cosmetic.
• 31:01
  The road commissioner asked the board to post Rabbit Road at 23,000 lbs, having watched a logging contractor's trucks running at over 100,000 lbs on a road the town has just spent bond money on, with another company possibly following. No action was taken; he will send the board the legal process for posting first.
• 51:45
  Rebuilding Davis Road and the first 2,000 feet of Bowie Hill, about 12,000 feet in all, would cost roughly $800,000 to $900,000, and the road commissioner said 8 to 10 miles of town road need rebuilding now. About $30,000 remains of the current $1.1 million bond, and members were reluctant to put a million dollar question to voters every year.

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: 2 passages of motion language, against 12 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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