Select Board Meeting ~ October 11, 2022

2022-10-11 · Select Board · 42:43 · watch on YouTube →

A Select Board meeting held with three of the five members present: Richard George sat in for Kevin Nadeau, Todd Beaulieu was also absent, and George noted at the start that anything passed that night had to be unanimous. Most of the meeting was given to requests for the town's ARPA money: the fire chief asked for $60,000 for a used utility vehicle, $50,000 for a diesel exhaust extraction system at the station, and $100,000 toward rehabbing the Quint ladder truck, and the road commissioner asked for $150,000 toward a stream crossing project he expects to match with a state grant. Town Manager Jerry Douglass reported that the town office and fire station building work is finished and the phones have moved to Comcast, and recommended buying the office copier outright rather than renewing the lease. A public input session on ARPA spending drew two speakers, one asking for funded sheriff's patrol hours and one asking that the session be repeated at a time more people could attend; the board agreed to take more comment at its November 8 meeting. The board then took up its consent agenda and three BYOB permit applications, two for the Durham AmVets post on October 29 and one for a birthday party on November 5, before adjourning.

What was discussed

1. 0:13
   Opening, absences, and the unanimity note

   Richard George opened the meeting sitting in for Kevin Nadeau, who had a planned absence, and noted Todd Beaulieu was also out. He said the start was a few minutes late because an alarm was set off at the old Union Church and they waited for the Androscoggin County Sheriff, and that with the numbers present anything passed that night would have to be unanimous.

2. 0:13
   Public comment: trash day in the budget

   John Talbot of Durham (?) asked that, with the town hip deep in budget work, the board look at putting the trash day back into the budget. The transcript does not make clear which trash day he meant.

3. 0:13
   Fire department ARPA case: rescue transport revenue

   Fire Chief Rob Tripp (?) opened the department's ARPA request by citing the U.S. Department of the Treasury final rule allowing funds for programs, services and capital expenditures responding to the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. He gave rescue transport collections of about $43,000 in 2018, down to $30,000 when covid hit, up to a high of $45,000, and $42,000 last year, noting the town changed billing companies from Freeport to Comstar in 2019. Call volume is up 21 percent over the last couple of years and about 70 percent of calls are EMS.

4. 5:32
   Fire request 1: $60,000 for a used utility vehicle

   The fire chief asked for $60,000 in ARPA money for a used crew cab pickup to serve as a chief's car and EMS response vehicle, with money left over for striping, decals and equipment. He said he currently uses his personal truck with a stipend, and that he has checked local businesses, State Surplus and Military Surplus for a used vehicle.

5. 5:32
   Fire request 2: $50,000 for diesel exhaust extraction

   The chief asked for $50,000 for a Plymovent-type diesel exhaust extraction system, based on a quote from December of last year. He described the current setup as a three-by-three hole in the wall with a fan that pulls outside air and diesel particulates through the bay and past gear and EMS supplies, and said the sleeve system would cut it by over 90 percent. He invited the public to the station open house on Saturday.

6. 5:32
   Fire request 3: $100,000 to rehab the Quint ladder truck

   The chief asked for $100,000, put under capital rather than ARPA, to rehab the Quint ladder truck, which he said will be 29 years old against a 30-year service life, with 25,000 miles, 4,800 engine hours and 429 pump hours. The work covers lighting, hydraulics and equipment mounting and would extend the truck five to seven years or more. He said the department asked for $100,000 last year and secured about $59,000.

7. 11:28
   Road commissioner: $150,000 for a stream crossing

   Calvin Beaumier, the road commissioner, asked for $150,000 in ARPA money toward a stream crossing described as Meadowbrook Swamp Road, for flood mitigation, environmental improvement and fish passage. The total project is $300,000, with the other $150,000 from a Maine Department of Environmental Protection grant that will not be confirmed until November. He said the grant was approved last year so he expects it again, but the request is speculative until then.

8. 11:28
   Road commissioner: two further requests

   He also listed a $100,000 request handled the way it was last year to maintain the fund, and a 2008 vehicle currently carried on the CIP plan against capital funds and property taxes. He said he did not know whether the truck fits ARPA and left that to the board. This part of the recording is fragmentary and the vehicle is not clearly identified.

9. 11:28
   Town manager's report: buildings and phones

   Jerry Douglass reported the town office heat, air conditioning and blown-in insulation are done and the fire station work is complete, with Agility's final invoice being paid. The phones moved to Comcast the previous Thursday; there were issues including phones not ringing at the fire station, which are being worked through, with a follow-up in a couple of weeks.

10. 11:28
    Board and committee vacancies

    The town manager said he has received two or three expressions of interest for the budget committee, one for the Conservation Commission and one for the planning board, some arriving that day. He will bring the names and details to the next meeting for the board to decide how to fill the vacancies.

11. 17:21
    Remaining ARPA balance and computer lease

    Asked how much ARPA money is left, the town manager said he does not have the figure and will dig it out, noting the Agility invoice was around $40,000 and the Comcast invoices have not all arrived. On computers, a company is coming in on the 20th to assess what the town has before it can quote a lease price.

12. 17:21
    Copier: buy outright versus renew the lease

    The town manager recommended buying the office copier outright rather than renewing the five-year lease. He put the current lease plus the separate fax machine at roughly $5,015 a year, the purchase at about $6,354 with an annual service contract, and the saving at $14,720 over five years, and suggested using about $6,000 of ARPA money. He said the copier would replace the fax machine, that a copier's life is about 800,000 copies and the town averages about 50,000 a year. Several of the figures are garbled in the recording and do not reconcile.

13. 17:21
    Capital project requests and the codes officer

    Richard George asked whether the capital project requests in the manager's packet should also be considered for ARPA, and the manager said yes. It was noted that the person behind one set of requests, connected to codes, was not present to state his case, and that if he is seeking ARPA dollars he should attend; otherwise the request can go to the CIP committee and the annual budget. The name in this passage is not recoverable from the recording.

14. 22:30
    Public input on the use of ARPA funds opened

    Richard George opened the advertised public input session on how the town's ARPA money should be used, describing it as a chance for residents to say what they want the board to put forward for the town to vote on. He asked speakers to keep to about four minutes.

15. 22:30
    Request for funded sheriff's patrol hours

    Phyllis Brannon of Brookside Drive (?) asked that ARPA money be used to add sheriff's presence in Durham, suggesting something like four extra hours a month, citing more development, more cars and higher speeds. The board recalled bringing roughly $3,300 to $3,400 for this to town meeting three or four years ago without a warm welcome, said a contracted service should fit the funding rules, and noted deputies can be hired in four-hour minimum blocks and that Jessica has been in touch with the county about coverage for the election.

16. 22:30
    Request for an ARPA session at a different time

    A resident noted the low turnout on a Tuesday night and asked whether the ARPA public comment could also be held at another time, such as a Saturday morning. The board said it could try, that some projects such as the heating systems here and at the fire station had to be acted on quickly, and that not a dime of ARPA funds will be spent without a vote.

17. 27:43
    Consent agenda

    The consent agenda covered the minutes of the September 27, 2022 select board meeting and the September 30 and October 7, 2022 warrants, both accounts payable and payroll. A motion and second were made and the vote was called; the recording does not state the result.

18. 27:43
    BYOB permits and possible delegation to the town manager

    Three BYOB permit applications were before the board, two from the same applicant. The town manager said he has the fire chief and the codes officer review each one, and offered that the board could designate him to sign them rather than handling them at meetings. Richard George said he would not do that without all five board members present and suggested putting it on a future agenda.

19. 27:43
    Durham AmVets post on its liquor license

    Nate, from the Durham AmVets post, said the club's license renews in January and the membership is expected to vote to move up to a club-with-catering license, which would remove the need for BYOB permits altogether. He explained the downstairs lounge is always members and bona fide guests only, that upstairs BYOB events are private and the individual signing takes responsibility and carries insurance, and apologized for late submissions on celebration-of-life permits given the state's 24-hour rule. The board said it would check with codes on what is required for the license change.

20. 33:26
    Two AmVets BYOB permits for October 29

    The board took the two AmVets applications one at a time: a BYOB event on October 29, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a Halloween dance in the upstairs function hall the same day from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Nate (?) said costumes are mandatory for the dance and there will be prizes for best dressed and best couple.

21. 38:36
    BYOB permit for Sandra Moon

    A BYOB application for Sandra Moon for a 60th birthday party on November 5, 2022 from 3 to 7 p.m., with about 60 people expected. The chair corrected the location to the AmVets hall at 1049 Royalsborough. Miss Moon was not present.

22. 38:36
    Upcoming meetings and further ARPA public comment

    Select board meetings were announced for October 25 and November 8, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at the town hall, and a planning board informational meeting for October 12 at 6 p.m. at the fire station on affordable housing and road ordinances. The board agreed to hold one more ARPA public comment session at the November 8 meeting to give more notice. There was no executive session.

What was decided

• 22:30
  Agreed to put additional contracted sheriff's patrol hours on the list of possible ARPA uses and to find out what it would cost.passed
• 27:43
  Approve the consent agenda: minutes of the September 27, 2022 select board meeting and the September 30 and October 7, 2022 warrants, payable and payroll. The recording does not state the result. The town's minutes record two motions carried 3-0 whose wording was not written down; the first of those, moved by Josh Klein-Golden and seconded by Joe Tomm, falls at this point in the sequence.passed
• 27:43
  Designating the town manager to sign BYOB permits instead of the board: no motion was made. Richard George said he would not do it without all five select board members and suggested putting it on a future agenda.tabled
• 33:26
  Motion for the Durham AmVets to hold a BYOB event on October 29, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. A motion was made and the vote was called, but the recording does not state the result.outcome unclear
• 33:26
  Motion for the Durham AmVets to hold a BYOB Halloween dance in the upstairs function hall on October 29, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The recording states a 3-0 vote.passed
• 38:36
  Motion for Sandra Moon to hold a BYOB at the Durham AmVets hall on November 5, 2022 from 3 to 7 p.m. for a 60th birthday party. The chair called for a motion; the recording does not carry a second or a result.outcome unclear
• 38:36
  Agreed to hold one more public comment session on the use of ARPA funds at the November 8, 2022 meeting rather than October 25, to allow more notice.passed
• 38:36
  Adjourn. The town's minutes record this as moved by Joe Tomm, seconded by Josh Klein-Golden, carried 3-0.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 bosminutes101122approved.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.

• Motion not recorded in wordscarried 3-0

  Moved by Josh Klein-Golden, seconded by Joe Tomm

• Motion not recorded in wordscarried 3-0

  Moved by Joe Tomm, seconded by Josh Klein-Golden

• adjourncarried 3-0

  Moved by Joe Tomm, seconded by Josh Klein-Golden

Worth knowing

• 0:13
  With three of five members present, Richard George said at the outset that nothing would pass that night unless the vote was unanimous.
• 5:32
  The fire chief said the department asked for $100,000 for the Quint ladder truck last year and secured about $59,000; a used replacement ladder truck starts around half a million dollars and a new one is over a million with a two-year wait.
• 17:21
  The town manager put the copier lease at roughly $5,015 a year and said buying the machine outright would save $14,720 over five years, recommending about $6,000 of ARPA money for it.
• 38:36
  The advertised public input session on ARPA spending drew two speakers; one of them asked for a weekend session, and the board agreed to take more comment at the November 8 meeting.

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 8 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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