February 23, 2021 ~ Select Board Meeting

2021-02-23 · Select Board · 36:15 · watch on YouTube →

A regular Select Board meeting held over Zoom. Nancy Weed (?) presented Region 10's proposal to become a four-year technical high school at Brunswick Landing and answered board questions about how a magnet school would be funded and whether Durham would see a separate bill. The board approved the town-wide informational mailer about the April secret ballot and authorized the town administrator to send it. Calvin, the road commissioner, reported on salt use and the plan to post the roads on March 1, presented a redrafted vehicle weight posting ordinance that the board referred to the town attorney rather than adopting, and reported that Durham had won two stream crossing grants. Kevin Nadeau gave an update on the town manager search, and the board accepted the consent agenda and went into executive session on personnel matters.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Call to order and roll call

   Kevin Nadeau opened the meeting in the virtual Zoom format and called the roll so listeners could confirm each member was audible. Richard George, Todd Beaulieu, Rob Panto (?) and Kevin Nadeau answered; Mark Farren (?) was excused for a work commitment. No amendments to the agenda and no public comment were taken up.

2. 0:02
   Region 10 technical education presentation

   Nancy Weed (?) described Region 10's vision for a four-year technical high school at Brunswick Landing, which she framed as an economic development project tied to the redevelopment there rather than only an education change. She said she had sent a packet in advance and was there to share information and hear feedback, and that legislation would be needed because Region 10 is set up by statute.

3. 5:41
   Magnet school versus charter school

   A board member asked whether the school would sit under the current RSU or be a separate charter-type entity. Nancy Weed (?) said the plan is a magnet school rather than a charter, on the Department of Education's advice, with the same cooperative board drawn from RSU 5, SAD 75 and Brunswick, and that a magnet school has an admissions process and must define its governance and goals in detail.

4. 5:41
   How a magnet school would be funded

   The board pressed on whether money follows the student. Nancy Weed (?) said funding follows the child for a charter school but a magnet school is a separate line of state money, and that she could not answer in more depth; she offered to get written clarification on what it would mean for the town's finances.

5. 11:01
   Whether Durham would get a separate bill

   A board member said he expected residents to react with "here comes another school bill" and wanted factual information ready. Nancy Weed pointed to the existing magnet schools in Limestone and Searsport, which receive a block of state money and do not send separate bills to a student's home town, though she acknowledged subsidy for a student who leaves RSU 5 would not follow into RSU 5.

6. 11:01
   Timeline, legislation and feasibility study

   Nancy Weed (?) said the proposal is at an early stage. A legislative document to study a four-year technical high school model had been approved the previous year but was derailed by a wrong date in it and by COVID; she said she would forward the new LD once numbered, and Region 10 also intends to commission its own feasibility study.

7. 11:01
   Whether the part-time hybrid model would continue

   Asked whether students would still be able to split time between their town high school and the technical school, Nancy Weed (?) said the vision is a full four-year school for grades 9 through 12, with seniors possibly taking a course at another technical school such as Bath. She said the part-time model carries a stigma and that a school of their own would give students ownership and more training time.

8. 16:13
   Town-wide informational mailer

   The board reviewed the draft mailer prepared by the town administrator on the upcoming secret ballot town meeting. Kevin Nadeau had asked that the call-in phone number for the public hearing be added alongside the Zoom link, along with a pointer to budget meeting recordings on the town web page; both changes had already been made.

9. 16:13
   Mailer printing quotes and postage

   Quotes had been requested for six, seven and eight page versions. The eight-page version came in cheaper than seven, which the board attributed to it being two sheets folded rather than something requiring a cut, and the board settled on the eight-page option.

10. 16:13
    Road commissioner report: winter operations

    Calvin (?) reported the town was fighting every-other-day storms and was running about 100 tons ahead of last year on salt, roughly 1,400 tons against 1,300. He said Freeport, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Brunswick and Pownal were all planning to post their roads on March 1 and that Durham would do the same, a little later than usual because of recent cold weather; he had already posted the notice on Facebook and residents were calling about waivers.

11. 16:13
    Vehicle weight posting ordinance draft

    Calvin walked the board through his marked-up draft of the vehicle weight posting ordinance. He had added Metal Road, Rabbit Road and Plummers Mill Road, inserted the word "legal" before gross registered weight because vehicles are not always registered at the weight they should be, corrected a typo reading "property noticed" to "properly noticed", and changed "selectmen" to "select board" with a new 2021 date.

12. 21:35
    Ordinance referred to the town attorney

    Calvin (?) said no attested or signed copy of the existing ordinance can be found, so in his view what the town has is not enforceable, and suggested adopting the new version and signing it that night. Kevin Nadeau declined to adopt it at that meeting and asked that the town attorney, Jack, confirm the state regulations give the board power to set the ordinance without a town meeting and that the wording is sound, with a vote to follow at a later meeting.

13. 21:35
    Paving invitation to bid

    Calvin (?) said he had finished revising the paving contract documents and wanted to send out the invitation to bid, describing it as substantially the same as last year's. The board noted it had already authorized going out to bid, and Rob Panto (?) said he had looked the documents over and had no concerns.

14. 21:35
    Two stream crossing grants awarded

    Calvin (?) reported that both grants the board had authorized him to apply for back in November had been awarded, one for Swamp Road and one for Quaker Meeting House Road. He asked for authorization to begin the permitting and design work, which would follow the same path as the Auburn Pownal Road project through an engineer, the Army Corps of Engineers and DEP.

15. 26:36
    Grant amounts and the town's share

    Calvin (?) said both grants are non-matching at $125,000 each, up from $95,000 each last time, against cost estimates of $165,000 and $170,000, with the town paying whatever the difference turns out to be. The board discussed taking the town's share from capital rather than calling a special town meeting, and noted roughly $98,000 sitting in the bridge account that a warrant article proposes moving into the public capital fund.

16. 26:36
    Grant deadlines and out-of-pocket engineering risk

    Rob Panto (?) asked about the spending timeline; Calvin thought it was one year to get the work out and completion by the following year but could not give exact dates. The board established that the town might be on the hook for engineering costs before it knows the final construction price, and asked Calvin for a one-page written timeline of the key grant dates before proceeding.

17. 26:36
    Urgency of the two crossings

    Asked how pressing the work is, Calvin (?) said Swamp Road floods every year, sometimes two or three times, forcing the road to be blocked and traffic detoured several miles, so it should be done sooner rather than later. Quaker Meeting House Road he described as something that will have to be done eventually but not immediately. Both sites were described as critical salmon habitat, and in-stream work is only allowed between July 15 and September 30.

18. 31:43
    Town administrator report

    The town administrator said she had not managed to prepare a written report and had nothing pressing to raise.

19. 31:43
    Town manager search update

    Kevin Nadeau confirmed David Barrett of MMA is available on Tuesday the 9th at 6:30, the board's regular meeting time, and that the agenda that night will be cut back to critical business only such as approving the warrant. Around 40 applications had been received and MMA was asked to forward roughly the top 15; each board member is reviewing the packets independently and choosing a top six, to be compared with Barrett in executive session with the aim of leaving that meeting with a first-interview list.

20. 31:43
    Consent agenda

    Kevin Nadeau moved to accept the consent agenda as presented. There was no discussion and the board voted by roll call.

21. 31:43
    Announcements and meeting dates

    The next meetings were given as Tuesday March 9, then the regular meeting on March 23. A public hearing on the referendum secret ballot town meeting was set for Tuesday March 16 at 6 PM, earlier than the usual start, with in-person voting on April 6 and absentee ballots expected to be available around the end of the following week.

22. 31:43
    Executive session

    Kevin Nadeau moved that the board go into executive session under 1 MRSA section 405(6)(A) for personnel matters, covering the town manager search and the appointment of residents who had expressed interest in serving on the citizen panel that will interview the finalists.

What was decided

• 16:13
  Approve the town-wide informational mailing regarding the upcoming secret ballot as presented, in the eight-page version, and authorize the town administrator to mail it out. Moved by Kevin Nadeau and seconded by Rob Panto (?); the town's minutes record it as carried 4-0.passed
• 21:35
  Do not adopt the redrafted vehicle weight posting ordinance at this meeting; instead have the town attorney confirm the board can set it without a town meeting and that the wording is sound, then review and vote at the next meeting or the one after.tabled
• 21:35
  Send the paving contract documents out as an invitation to bid, the board having already authorized going out to bid and Rob Panto (?) having reviewed the documents without concerns. No formal vote was taken.passed
• 26:36
  Hold off on authorizing design and permitting for the Swamp Road and Quaker Meeting House Road crossings until Calvin produces a one-page written timeline of the grant deadlines, engineering dates and funding steps.tabled
• 31:43
  Accept the consent agenda as presented. Moved by Kevin Nadeau and seconded by Richard George; the town's minutes record it as carried 4-0.passed
• 31:43
  Go into executive session under 1 MRSA section 405(6)(A) for discussion of personnel matters. Moved by Kevin Nadeau and seconded by Richard George; the town's minutes record it as carried 4-0.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_2-23-21_final.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 town-wide informational mailing regarding the upcoming secret ballot as presented and to authorize Town Administrator Ruth Glaeser to mail the pieces outcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, no seconder recorded

• accept the Consent Agenda as presentedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• the Select Board into Executive Sessioncarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

Worth knowing

• 16:13
  Durham planned to post its roads on March 1, in step with Freeport, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, Brunswick and Pownal. Salt use was running about 100 tons ahead of the previous year, roughly 1,400 tons against 1,300.
• 21:35
  The road commissioner told the board no attested or signed copy of the existing vehicle weight posting ordinance can be found anywhere, and that in his view the town's current ordinance is therefore not enforceable.
• 26:36
  The two stream crossing grants are $125,000 each against cost estimates of $165,000 and $170,000, leaving the town to cover the gap, and the town may have to pay for engineering before it knows the final construction cost. In-stream work is only permitted between July 15 and September 30.
• 31:43
  Around 40 people applied for the town manager position. MMA was asked to forward roughly the top 15 resumes, each board member is independently picking a top six, and the finalists will also be interviewed by a panel of residents.

Elsewhere

← 2021-02-09 Select Board2021-03-23 Select Board →All meetings