Select Board Meeting ~ April 8, 2025

2025-04-08 · Select Board · 2:05:12 · watch on YouTube →

This was the Select Board's first meeting after the municipal election, on April 8, 2025. Josh and Rebecca were congratulated on being elected, and the board elected Joe as chair and nominated Josh as vice chair. The fire chief reported a $25,897 Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation grant for a new rescue boat to replace the 2002 boat, plus $15,000 from the Maine EMS sustainability fund, and described the mutual aid response to a structure fire the previous week. Much of the meeting was planning: a review of town meeting and how to raise turnout, a decision to hold Freedom of Access training with all boards and committees on May 27, a select board goal setting workshop on June 10 and a joint workshop with all boards on June 24, and a proposal to use dedicated workshop meetings for heavy policy topics. The board made several committee reappointments but held the cemetery committee and one other over, pending a discussion of people serving on multiple committees and of non-resident members.

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. 2:29
   Election of chair and vice chair

   At the first meeting after the municipal election the board congratulated Josh and Rebecca on being elected and took nominations for officers. Joe was nominated and returned as chair, and Josh was nominated as vice chair. The chair thanked the board for the vote and noted the advice from Jerry that the previous chair opens the meeting until the new one is chosen.

2. 2:29
   Agenda, public comment and minutes

   An executive session under 1 MRSA 405(6)(F) to discuss a hardship was added to the agenda. There was no public comment and no old business. The minutes were approved, with the chair noting for the new members that the discussion stage is when corrections should be raised.

3. 7:51
   Firehouse Subs grant for a new rescue boat

   The fire chief reported the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has awarded the department $25,897 for a 14 foot rigid hull inflatable rescue boat with motor, trailer and accessories. It replaces a boat donated by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation for $7,500 in April 2002. The chief credited Captain Salvi for reapplying every quarter for three years and said the connection came through a relative of a patient the department had treated.

4. 7:51
   Boat use and other funding

   The chief said the boat covers the river from the Auburn dam to the Lisbon dam and is used two or three times a year, and that Auburn called Durham for a car in the river the previous Sunday. Other income includes just over a thousand dollars in reimbursed overtime from the Lewiston shooting response and a $15,000 cheque from the Maine EMS sustainability fund, which is allocated by call volume rather than competitively and can buy capital items such as IV pumps and a stair chair.

5. 13:08
   Structure fire and mutual aid

   Members noted a serious structure fire the previous week drew roughly eight departments, each sending two rigs, including New Gloucester, Freeport and Lisbon. The chair said this is the return on the mutual aid the town gives during the year, a point raised in the budget cycle. The chief said he met the family the day after, that donations of cards, dog food and household goods had come in immediately, and that some belongings are being stored for them.

6. 13:08
   Review of town meeting

   The chair reported positive feedback, that the meeting finished at 12:54, and that discourse was civil. One piece of feedback was to use a larger font and bigger projection after a last minute projector problem. A member relayed feedback that the text notification service should be used for road closures, fires and similar events, and the board agreed a policy on when to send texts is needed.

7. 18:45
   Turnout and how the meeting is publicised

   Attendance was put at about 120 to 124 against 164 or 165 in recent years, in a town of about 4,000. Suggestions included signs at the main intersections and at the bridge, a notice board as part of the downtown process, and childcare so both parents can attend. Members noted the meeting has been on a Saturday for about 20 years and that public hearings on the moratorium, the land exchange and other matters drew almost nobody despite texts, emails, news blasts and mailings.

8. 23:45
   Whether to change the form of the meeting

   The board discussed a hybrid model used elsewhere, with discussion at a town meeting and voting by referendum as the school budget is handled, and whether that would raise participation. One member said a written vote would reduce attendance further and deny people the reasoning behind the articles. Members noted a past referendum drew about 50 percent participation, and one asked at what point a town council form of government becomes appropriate when about 120 people out of 4,000 decide the budget.

9. 34:59
   Freedom of Access training

   The board must complete annual Freedom of Access training and has 120 days. Members wanted a single session for all boards, committees and commissions, with anyone unable to attend required to complete the Maine Municipal Association online training and submit the certificate promptly. They agreed each committee chair should be responsible for returning a roster so there is a proper record.

10. 41:12
    May 27 schedule

    The board set May 27 as the date: George presents on codification earlier in the evening, a Freedom of Access session at 6 p.m., likely at the Eureka Center, then the regular meeting at 6:30. The town attorney will be asked whether she can deliver a short presentation, expected to take about 30 minutes. All boards and committees will be invited.

11. 41:12
    Regular meetings versus workshops

    The chair proposed borrowing the legislature's model: a presentation and public comment at one meeting, then a workshop meeting devoted to a single topic. He said the previous year's long meetings often started heavy topics at 7:30 or 8:30 at night after a full day's work, and cited the permit fee discussion which stretched across several meetings. Members supported it but warned it needs planning so the non-workshop meetings do not become overloaded.

12. 52:08
    Goal setting workshops

    The board set its own goal setting workshop for June 10 and a joint workshop with all boards and committees for June 24, leaving those bodies time to meet and prepare their priorities. Members asked that the joint session be recorded or otherwise documented to avoid disputes about what was agreed. They discussed adopting a uniform template matching the comprehensive plan format, with goal, action, responsible party and a measurable check-in, and offered a blank version of the tracking spreadsheet Deb and the chair had been using.

13. 58:07
    Permit fees

    The chair said the fee schedule was largely reworked last year, moving Durham to the middle of the range for surrounding communities and producing about a 150 percent increase in revenue even though it took effect halfway through the year. Rather than reopening the whole schedule, members agreed to focus on three things: comparative before and after data, gaps such as gravel pits and solar installations, and whether a fee can be assessed for a land use ordinance violation. A member asked whether the only legal remedy for a violation is court action, or whether the code enforcement officer can assess a fee.

14. 1:09:02
    Questions for the town attorney and the assessor

    Members asked that questions for Kristen on violations and enforcement be submitted by May 13, routed through the chair and Jerry. A member also asked Donna to explain how other municipalities tax gravel pits, and whether the difference is handled through assessment or through a fee. The chair described the practice of filtering member questions through him rather than five members contacting the town manager directly.

15. 1:14:59
    GPCOG facilitated meeting

    The Greater Portland Council of Governments provides one facilitated meeting a year at no cost. Members agreed not to use it on the June 24 joint workshop, which they felt they could run themselves, and preferred to save it for a facilitated session with the budget committee before the next budget process. The chair will ask whether the annual allowance resets on July 1 and whether the facilities study session counts against it.

16. 1:25:56
    Committee reappointments and multiple memberships

    Working through the annual reappointments, members raised concern about the same people serving on three or four committees, that this makes committees top-heavy, and that some residents have been discouraged from applying because they assume the places are taken. One member said an elected official should probably not also sit on appointed boards, and that two people from the same household should not sit on the same committee. Members agreed a written policy is needed, but that it would need to be an agenda item so the public can comment.

17. 1:37:01
    Reappointments made

    The board reappointed Terry Kirk to the board of appeals, and approved slates for the conservation commission, the agriculture committee, the scholarship committee and the Eureka Community Center committee. The transcript renders most of the individual names unreliably. Members confirmed the conservation commission appointees do not sit on the agriculture committee.

18. 1:42:50
    Reappointments held over

    A member asked to hold off on the cemetery committee reappointments because of a non-resident applicant and a married couple, and on one further committee because of an overlap with another committee. The board agreed to bring those back at a later meeting. Members noted the appointments run about a year and a half, so they did not want to make them before the policy discussion.

19. 1:42:50
    Board members attending other committees

    The chair explained that all board and committee meetings are open, that a select board member attending should expect to be treated as a member of the public, and that Deb has a specific liaison role. One member said she always gives her address and states she is speaking as a resident rather than as a select board member, to keep the roles distinct.

20. 1:47:55
    Board member reports

    The chair welcomed the new member, noted how little overlap in tenure this board has, and said he would continue circulating a few meetings' agendas in advance. A member observed that this was the first time women held a majority on the board. Members thanked Jerry for how he presented the town's position at town meeting and Jessica for running two long election and town meeting days.

21. 1:58:24
    Visibility of ongoing spending commitments

    A member asked that the board find a way to make clear, when it votes during the year, which decisions create an ongoing annual cost rather than a one-time expense, giving the text messaging service and IT services as examples against the generator as a one-off. The chair said almost all costs are embedded and that going through each one would be impractical, but accepted the point about multi-year commitments. He noted the text messaging decision had been postponed once and taken over two meetings with public comment invited, and nobody spoke.

22. 1:58:24
    Consent agenda, upcoming meetings and adjournment

    The consent agenda was approved. Upcoming meetings listed were the solid waste committee on April 14 and the conservation commission on April 16, both at 6:30 at the Eureka Center, with the town office closed on April 21 for Patriots Day and the next select board meeting on April 22 at the fire station. The board extended the meeting by 15 minutes and moved into executive session.

What was decided

• 2:29
  Elect Joe as chair of the select board for the coming year. The chair afterwards thanked the board for the vote.passed
• 2:29
  Nominate Josh as vice chair. The transcript is garbled at this point and does not record the outcome of the vote.outcome unclear
• 2:29
  Approve the meeting minutes.passed
• 41:12
  Board agreed to hold Freedom of Access training at 6 p.m. on May 27, before the regular 6:30 meeting, with all boards and committees invited, and with the town planner's codification presentation earlier the same evening. Anyone not attending must complete the MMA online training and return a certificate, with committee chairs responsible for the roster.passed
• 52:08
  Board agreed to hold its own goal setting workshop on June 10 and a joint goal setting workshop with all boards and committees on June 24, with the chair to email the committee chairs.passed
• 58:07
  Board agreed not to reopen the whole permit fee schedule, and to focus on before and after revenue data, gaps such as gravel pits and solar, and whether a fee can be charged for a land use ordinance violation.passed
• 1:14:59
  Board agreed not to spend its free GPCOG facilitated meeting on the June 24 joint workshop, preferring to use it on a facilitated session with the budget committee, subject to checking when the annual allowance resets.passed
• 1:37:01
  Reappoint Terry Kirk to the board of appeals.passed
• 1:37:01
  Approve the slates of reappointments for the conservation commission, the agriculture committee, the scholarship committee and the Eureka Community Center committee.passed
• 1:42:50
  Hold over the cemetery committee reappointments, because of a non-resident applicant and two members of the same household, and one further committee because of an overlap, pending a discussion of a policy on multiple committee memberships.tabled
• 1:58:24
  Approve the consent agenda, and a following motion to extend the meeting by 15 minutes before moving into executive session.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.

Worth knowing

• 7:51
  The Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation awarded the fire department $25,897 for a new rescue boat, replacing one donated by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation for $7,500 in April 2002. The department also received $15,000 from the Maine EMS sustainability fund. The boat covers the river from the Auburn dam to the Lisbon dam and is called out two or three times a year.
• 18:45
  About 120 to 124 people attended town meeting, down from 164 or 165 in recent years, in a town of roughly 4,000. Members discussed intersection signage, a hybrid referendum format, and at what point a town council form of government becomes appropriate at that level of participation.
• 58:07
  Last year's permit fee changes produced about a 150 percent increase in permit revenue even though they only took effect halfway through the year, and Durham's fees remain below the state average. Gravel pit and solar fees were identified as gaps still to be addressed.
• 1:25:56
  The board held over the cemetery committee reappointments and one other slate because of concern about people sitting on three or four committees, a non-resident applicant, and two members of the same household. One member said residents have told her they assumed there was no point applying because the same names keep appearing.

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: 6 passages of motion language, against 11 decisions summarised.

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