Select Board Meeting ~ September 20, 2016

2016-09-20 · Select Board · 1:52:07 · watch on YouTube →

A full Select Board meeting on September 20, 2016 with all five members present, chaired by Jeffrey Wakeman. The first hour went to two public hearings: annual junkyard and automobile recycling licences, presented one by one by codes official Paul Baines with a photo survey of each yard, and the general assistance ordinance appendices for 2016-2017. The board then went into assessor's session for two tree growth items, took the consent agenda, appointed Pam Bosarge to the Comprehensive Plan Committee and the election wardens, and permitted the Girl Scouts to garden at town property. It locked in propane with Down East at $1.16 a gallon for three years and left the heating oil open to Dead River if the two contracts can be split. Fire Chief William St. Michel obtained authorisation for the fire station paving and concrete work within stated limits, asked the board to post an assistant chief position that would also carry the assistant EMA director role, and opened a longer discussion about establishing what the town expects of its fire and rescue service, given that 60 to 70 percent of calls come on weekdays when volunteers are at work.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Before the meeting

   The recording opens with informal talk among those present, including a member suggesting the board look at new rules for public comment, having served on a board that took public comment at the end.

2. 0:02
   Call to order

   Jeffrey Wakeman called the meeting to order, noted all five selectmen present, and led the pledge of allegiance. No public comment was offered.

3. 0:02
   Junkyard hearing opens: Larry Emerson

   Paul Baines opened the licence hearing with his usual photo survey of each yard, saying things are static across the junkyards. Larry Emerson's yard is full, which is normal for the time of year because he brings a crusher in before the snow. Baines recommended the licence be conditional on his reinspecting after the crusher has been through, as last year.

4. 5:27
   Reclassifying Emerson as a recycle facility

   From discussions with Randy McMullen (?) at DEP, Baines said Emerson should properly be licensed as a recycle yard rather than a junkyard, because he pulls cars for parts, takes cars in from around the area, has them crushed and ships them out. He proposed licensing him as a junkyard this year and as a recycle facility next year, which means a three-year review cycle and a somewhat higher permit fee. Screening and oversight would be unchanged, with annual checks that material is moving through rather than accumulating for three years.

5. 5:27
   How to take the votes

   Members were unsure whether to hear all the applications and then decide, or vote on each in turn. They settled on voting on each as it came up, with public comment invited before each vote.

6. 5:27
   Ken Carl (?)

   Last year's licence was conditional on removing a list of items, which Baines said had been done. He brought an additional list of material to be removed during this licensing cycle, to be attached as this year's conditions and to govern next year's renewal, the aim being to ratchet the yard back down over time to something reasonable.

7. 5:27
   Troy and Lisa

   Baines said the two had spent two or three years clearing underbrush and organising the yard, describing it as a bit like whack-a-mole because material has to be shifted to clear each area. One small portion behind the garage remains. They have plans for a structure to do full-time restoration work on old muscle cars, and he recommended reissuing the permit.

8. 10:49
   Alvin Dennison

   Baines said Dennison has probably the cleanest yard of the group, well organised, well screened and imposing on nobody, and that he hopes to start moving material out this year after illness in the family. His recommendation was simply to keep him rolling along.

9. 10:49
   John's yard and the fence

   Nothing had changed at John's, where Baines said 99 percent of the contents are old electric motors with the oil drums cut in half as state law requires, making it the most benign and the most recyclable pile in town. Asked about the screening fence, he said the front section could use work; members said neighbours had asked about it, and the board added its repair as a condition of this year's permit. Baines noted the material has been there longer than the neighbours have and that the real risk with junkyards is contamination near wells.

10. 16:16
    General assistance ordinance appendices

    The chair opened a second public hearing on appendices A through D for 2016-2017. These are the state figures, which the town may replace with its own; Durham has always adopted the state's. A member asked whether accepting the state guidelines is what secures state reimbursement; nobody present was certain, and the question was left to be answered for future reference.

11. 16:16
    Assessor's session

    The board went into assessor's session, which the minutes time at 6:44 p.m., and dealt with two supplemental tax items on the assessor's recommendation before coming out again at 6:47 p.m.

12. 21:34
    Spirit of America ceremony

    Under correspondence, the Spirit of America awards ceremony was the following evening at 6:30 at the county courthouse, and someone was needed to represent Durham. A member volunteered and was advised to be ready with a few words about the recipient. Members complained about the short notice, nine days from the notice being sent, and asked that this be fed back to the administrator.

13. 21:34
    Website RFP

    A draft was on the table but the member who had reworked it had not been able to review it and the person best placed to advise was not present. The item was held over to the next meeting.

14. 21:34
    Comprehensive Plan Committee appointment

    One application had come in, from Pam Bosarge, who was said to have significant experience with comprehensive plan work in Cumberland.

15. 21:34
    Girl Scouts gardening at town property

    A Girl Scout troop that meets at the Eureka wanted to plant a garden. Rather than start a new one, they were happy to take over tending an existing flower bed set up by a committee member, and to plant something around the flagpole, which has nothing around it. Because it is town property the committee brought it to the board rather than simply agreeing.

16. 21:34
    Renting the hall to community groups

    The Eureka committee proposed offering the hall, now that it has a kitchen, to groups such as a school class, the fire department explorers or a scout troop for a supper or breakfast, in return for 10 or 15 percent of the profit. The obstacle discussed was insurance: scout groups carry their own umbrella cover, but nobody knew whether school groups, booster clubs or church groups would be covered, and the standard rental insurance fee of around $150 would eat a small group's margin.

17. 26:39
    A use policy for the hall

    Members suggested the committee write up a short policy for groups using the hall for that purpose, covering the occupancy limit and similar points, to be given to groups before they use it rather than after they rent. The committee said an existing document could be tweaked to serve. Someone was to ask whether RSU coverage would extend to school groups, which travel for field and camping trips.

18. 26:39
    Eureka Center report

    Two air conditioners were coming over from the fire department, subject to Paul Baines checking the building has the capacity to run them. A Daisy troop now meets twice a month, a mothers' group will meet Sunday evenings after Columbus Day, and two rentals have been requested. Work continues on the generator, and the cribbage group is starting its third year with twelve players that week.

19. 26:39
    Election wardens

    The chair put forward a warden and two deputy wardens for appointment, one of them Jill Toher.

20. 26:39
    Heating fuel quotes

    Ruth Glaeser had gathered prices and contract terms from several suppliers. The complication raised was that the town does not own its propane tanks, so switching supplier means the new company swapping the tank out; members thought this was usually done at no charge but were not certain for tanks of that size. Only the public works garage burns number two oil.

21. 32:06
    Weighing the fuel options

    The board compared a three-year propane lock against cheaper single-year offers, noting propane's volatility and that the PUC has been increasing storage capacity in Maine, which suppliers may be pricing in. The town burns five to six thousand gallons of propane, well above the roughly 2,000-gallon commercial threshold where the rate ratchets down, and expects 2,000 to 2,500 gallons of oil at public works this year against under 2,000 last year. Members recalled number two oil at around $4 a gallon four years earlier.

22. 37:16
    Splitting the contracts

    The three-year lock on number two oil from the second supplier was only three or four cents a gallon more, and the incumbent could not offer a three-year lock on oil at all. Members asked whether the second supplier's prices held if the town took only the oil and not the propane. It was also noted the quotes were good for 24 hours, and that the board cannot decide by email between meetings, so the motion was framed to cover both outcomes.

23. 37:16
    Service contracts

    A member asked who the town uses for heating repairs and whether a service contract would be worth having, noting some homeowners have found them beneficial and that the alternative supplier offers one too. It was left as something to ask about.

24. 42:37
    Disposing of the trailer

    Members inspected photographs of a trailer the town owns and agreed it is not worth much, with daylight visible through the trim, water damage inside and a doubtful roof. Some old records and maps stored in it would be removed. Members said that although someone had expressed interest, transparency requires an open bid rather than a private offer, and that the buyer should bear all removal costs including disconnection. Viewing would be by appointment on a set date, since the site is behind a locked gate, and the advertisement would go on MMA and the town website rather than a paid newspaper notice.

25. 47:48
    Code enforcement report

    Paul Baines reported working with the Historic District Commission, which is assembling volunteers to survey historic structures. The written survey from Maine Historic Preservation needs architectural knowledge to complete, so he put together a simplified pictorial survey based on published work that lets a volunteer check off features such as roof pitch and narrow down the architectural period and likely date.

26. 47:48
    Driveway entrance permits and new code books

    Baines and the road commissioner are coordinating entrance permit requirements for new homes and driveways on town roads, with a consent agreement being worked out with one contractor and repairs due on Sandhill Drive damaged by equipment during house construction. He warned the town must buy a full set of new code books this autumn, everything but the electrical code being revised, together with training, and said the budget line can be reduced next year in consequence. A group purchase is being negotiated through the state building officials' association.

27. 47:48
    The gazebo and the land behind it

    Looking at the maps with Ruth Glaeser, a member found the town owns a separate strip running down the bank behind the gazebo, and suggested filling the gully with good material coming from ditching to create more level ground for gatherings and better accessibility. Baines said whether that is possible turns on three tests under NRPA; if it is only drainage a culvert could carry it, and if wetland is present 4,500 square feet can be filled without a permit and more by permit by rule.

28. 52:55
    Whether the gazebo is historic

    Baines said there are photographs from the 1800s showing a gazebo in that spot looking like the present one. Members agreed that although probably no original material survives, it is the right structure in the right place. He offered to contact Jill Johansson (?), who does accessibility work, for attractive ways of making the structure accessible.

29. 52:55
    What happened to the money spent on it

    Kenneth Scribner said that some years ago the town raised $10,000 in each of two years, $20,000 in all, and that when the gazebo was taken down only six two-by-sixes from the floor were kept. Baines answered that the parts that have rotted are the post bases, which were not replaced, and that the deck, framework and roof are sound, so what it needs is new posts.

30. 58:00
    Why the repair has not happened

    The gazebo is roped off and unusable. Money is in this year's budget for it, but nobody has been willing to take the job on: the posts are rectangular rather than turned, and the roof structure has to be supported while they are removed and replaced. Members discussed filling the bank behind, reorienting the steps or opening the back so the flags become the backdrop and the larger area becomes the activity space.

31. 58:00
    Fire department: testing and equipment

    William St. Michel reported the annual testing finally complete, calling it a repetitious exercise that serves nobody and takes about 100 man hours a year, which he intends to find an alternative to. Ladder testing scheduled for the 9th had been cancelled because truck 24 would not start and was rescheduled for Thursday the 22nd, the same day as the Maine EMS inspection of Rescue 25.

32. 58:00
    Homeland Security grant air conditioners

    Four air conditioners approved under a 2015 Homeland Security grant have been bought at about $1,800, less than the award, at 100 percent reimbursement once the invoices are paid. Two are allocated to the community center as a cooling and short-term shelter and two to the fire station. He had heard nothing on the 2016 grant for incident response software, which has moved to the state for review.

33. 1:03:06
    The fire station concrete contractor

    Days after the board approved Rick (?) for the concrete work at the station, a contractor the chief had spoken to earlier telephoned wanting to know why, gave a verbal price and has still not sent a written quote despite follow-up calls and texts. The chief said the interaction was not good on either side, and that the alternative would need the trucks moved out for a week and a single pour, which he cannot accommodate for six apparatus. He recommended sticking with the contractor already approved.

34. 1:03:06
    Paving and the catch basin

    The paving quote came in at $30,000, with a separate $3,500 for the catch basin beside the road and its cover. Around $6,000 was quoted verbally for the earthwork, cutting the pavement and setting seven bollards. Members and the road commissioner questioned what the $3,500 actually buys, since the basin is full of water and nobody knows what is under the homemade cover of landscape blocks; the basin does not drain, apparently because a finger drain across the field filled in over the years.

35. 1:08:06
    Who does the catch basin

    Calvin Beaumier said he would open the basin up, cut the pavement and see what is there so the contractor could price it properly, having done similar work rebuilding tops and cones in Lisbon. He agreed he did not have time for the wider job by the garage but would take this piece, with the chief pressing to get the project moving before the paving plants close.

36. 1:08:06
    The fire station floor

    The chief told the board that he had told a contractor he had the floor job, believing the board had approved it, and had since been unable to find any approval in his reports, in the minutes or in any of the fire department segments of the videos since April 5. He asked the board to approve the $2,860 repair now to put it right.

37. 1:13:13
    Assistant chief in place of assistant EMA director

    The assistant EMA director is stepping down for personal reasons. Rather than replace that post, the chief proposed posting an assistant chief who would also fill the assistant EMA director role, as a transition and mentoring position, with applicants making a case by letter of interest and expected to meet or nearly meet the chief's job description. He would expect it usually to be filled from one of the two deputies or the assistant EMA director, and said none of the three currently wants to go further.

38. 1:13:13
    No guarantee of succession

    Members said carefully that the town cannot hire on the assumption the person automatically becomes the next chief, since positions must be posted publicly, and that this should be made clear. The chief agreed, saying the value is in grooming someone to be a fire chief whether or not in Durham. The role would carry the same stipend as the deputies and remain a volunteer position with hourly pay.

39. 1:18:47
    The corporation's bylaws

    The chief said the assistant EMA director had been voted by the department, as the deputies are, and that he had put his proposal to the fire corporation's annual meeting where it was not well received. He said the board had asked two or three years ago for the corporation's bylaws to be brought in line with the town's job descriptions, that this has not happened, and that in his own view the town of Durham takes precedence even though he is a corporation man.

40. 1:18:47
    What the town expects of its emergency services

    The chief said he needs to know what the community expects when it dials 911, in staffing and in time, before he can say what the department can provide and set out the steps and costs of getting from one to the other. He said he could configure it around his own expectations but knows they are not shared, and asked the board for advice rather than an answer that night.

41. 1:23:54
    How to ask the town

    Members doubted a public meeting would draw many people and suggested a table at the polls or an electronic survey, worked up with Shannon (?), linked from the newsletter and the town website. They cautioned that the wording of questions shapes the answers, and that people cannot answer in a vacuum: they need to see the options, from the present arrangement through contracting out transport to fully staffed 24-hour paid cover, and what each costs.

42. 1:23:54
    Expectations and reality

    A member said that living in the country he does not expect a city response and accepts 15 or 20 minutes as his own choice. The chief agreed but said many people who move to town assume the station is staffed or that the town has law enforcement, and that the point of a survey is as much to make people think about their expectations as to record them.

43. 1:28:57
    Why daytime staffing is the problem

    The chief said 60 to 70 percent of calls come in daytime, primarily on weekdays when volunteers are at their paid jobs, with weekends producing bursts of three, four or five calls in a couple of hours. The fire service draws on construction workers and hands-on trades, so an improving economy leaves fewer people available; he called Durham's status as a bedroom community strike two and its housing costs strike three.

44. 1:28:57
    Liability and staffing a rescue call

    Asked about liability if a response cannot be provided, the chief said a response is always provided even if not within three minutes. Calls go through two tones and, failing staffing, to a second-due service from a list, a mechanism he is working to close any holes in. A rescue cannot go out with fewer than two, and depending on where a patient is, on a narrow winding stairway for instance, three or four may not be enough.

45. 1:34:07
    Closing the fire discussion

    The chief said he did not expect answers that night and asked members to think about it and advise him at a future session, since otherwise he would structure the proposal around his own expectations. In passing he corrected the record on his own office: he is treasurer of the Maine Fire Chiefs Association, not president, the president being the chief of Brunswick. Truck 24's starting fault turned out to be a lawnmower battery used to isolate the control module.

46. 1:39:50
    Road commissioner: the town sign

    Calvin Beaumier had set granite posts and produced a photo simulation of a new town sign, which printed orange but is intended to be gold inlay. The sign was quoted at about $2,500 by the company that did the public works sign, plus two granite posts, putting it nearer $3,000 or more, and it would need to stand around six feet clear of the snowbank. Members suggested adding the incorporation date and asked where the money would come from, since it was not budgeted; the road commissioner said he might have enough in his sign budget and would otherwise put it in next year's.

47. 1:45:00
    Roof contract and road work

    The roofer had agreed to the quoted figure and would come to go over it, and his references from public works directors and school administrators were all good. Holes had opened in a road where the pipes had no bottom and gravel was running down between them, which the road commissioner thought was triggered by vibration when it was shimmed for chip sealing; an engineer had been out and a report was awaited before any cost could be given.

48. 1:45:00
    Paving decisions on Runaround Pond Road

    The second coat on Runaround Pond Road would go on next spring. The road commissioner wanted to let the surface sit to see whether it moves, so that any settlement can be covered by the second coat, and said the price is locked so there is no risk of an increase. A member pressed that the cheapest time is now and that he did not want to be told next year the money had run short.

49. 1:50:01
    New fire truck and meetings

    The new fire truck was expected in about a week, with the ladder built inside and out, and members asked whether that should be specified on the trucks the town is keeping. The board looked for a time to meet its attorney before the end of the following week and settled on Tuesday at 6, subject to the attorney's availability, with one member unable to make a 9 a.m. meeting on the 30th. Regular select board meetings were set for Tuesday October 4 and Tuesday October 18 at 6:30.

What was decided

• 5:27
  Grant Larry Emerson a conditional junkyard licence on the code official's recommendations, the condition being reinspection after the crusher has been through and the material moved on. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0. The reclassification to a recycle facility is proposed for next year and was not voted on.passed
• 5:27
  Grant Ken Carl (?) a conditional junkyard licence on the code official's recommendations, with the new list of material to be removed forming this year's conditions and governing next year's renewal. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 10:49
  Grant Troy and Lisa a junkyard licence on the code official's recommendations, with no added conditions. The motion was made and seconded and the chair called for those in favour, but the recording carries no statement of the result before the board moved to the next applicant.outcome unclear
• 10:49
  Grant Alvin Dennison a junkyard licence as recommended by the code official. Moved and seconded; the chair declared it carried.passed
• 10:49
  Grant John a junkyard licence with the additional condition that the screening fence be repaired and brought back to the state screening standard, raised after neighbours asked board members about it. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 16:16
  Approve the general assistance ordinance appendices A through D for 2016-2017 as presented, adopting the state figures. Moved by Michael Stewart, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0. The transcript does not carry the result, and a member's question about whether adopting the state figures is what secures state reimbursement was left unanswered.passed
• 16:16
  Go into assessor's session under Title 36 M.R.S.A. section 841, and come out of it again. Both (?) moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, the first seconded by Mark Blake and the second by Joshua Libby; the minutes record both carried 5-0, entering at 6:44 p.m. and leaving at 6:47 p.m.passed
• 16:16
  Approve a supplemental tax for a tree growth penalty on map 3, lot 14, in the amount of $3,395.60, on the assessor's recommendation. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby; the minutes record it carried 5-0 and identify it as the penalty to the Estate of Manfred K. Mayer (?) recommended by Donna Moore Hays, CMA.passed
• 16:16
  Approve a second supplemental bill on map 2, lot 28, in the amount of $157.60. The transcript runs this straight into the motion to leave assessor's session without stating a result, but the minutes record it as the supplemental bill to Durham Friends Meeting for the withdrawal of half an acre, moved by Joshua Libby, and carried.passed
• 21:34
  Approve the consent agenda as presented, which included a Boy Scout permit. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 21:34
  Hold the website RFP over to the next meeting so that the member who reworked it can review it and the person best placed to advise can attend. Agreed without a motion.tabled
• 21:34
  Appoint Pam Bosarge to the Comprehensive Plan Committee. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 21:34
  Permit the Girl Scouts and Brownies to garden at the Eureka Community Center and River Park, taking over the existing flower bed and planting around the flagpole. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 26:39
  Appoint the election wardens as listed by the chairman: a warden and two deputy wardens, one of them Jill Toher. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 42:37
  Take the propane for all town buildings from Down East at $1.16 a gallon on a three-year lock, and take the number two oil for the public works garage from Dead River if that supplier's three-year price holds without the town also having to move the propane contract; failing that, take both from Down East. Moved and seconded; the chair declared it carried.passed
• 42:37
  Put the town's trailer out to bid, as is and where is with no minimum, the purchaser to bear all removal costs including disconnection and to remove it within a set time frame. Moved and seconded; the chair declared it carried.passed
• 1:08:06
  Authorise the fire chief to complete the fire station project short of the line striping, within the figures given: up to $6,000 for the earthwork, pavement cutting and seven bollards, $30,000 for the paving and up to $3,500 for the catch basin repair, on top of the $4,400 concrete apron already approved, with anything beyond those figures to come back to the board. Moved and seconded; the chair declared it carried.passed
• 1:08:06
  Approve the repair of the fire station floor at $2,860, the chief having been unable to find the board's earlier approval in the minutes or in any recording since April 5. The motion was made and seconded and the chair called for those in favour, but the recording carries no statement of the result; the discussion continues instead about the missing approval.outcome unclear
• 1:13:13
  Post internally for an assistant chief who would also fill the role of assistant EMA director, in place of replacing the assistant EMA director alone. The motion was made and seconded and the chair called for those in favour; the recording then carries only the word 'motion' before the chief thanks the board, so the result cannot be reported here.outcome unclear
• 1:50:01
  Adjourn. Moved and seconded; the chair declared it carried.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_9-20-20161.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.

• Grant a Conditional Junk Yard License based on the Code Official's recommendationscarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• Grant a Junkyard License based on the Code Official's recommendations with the additional Condition that the fence be repaired and screening be brought “back up to snuff”carried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Grant a Conditional Junk Yard License based on the Code Enforcement's recommendationscarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the General Assistance Ordinance Appendices A-D, for 2016-2017 as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Michael Stewart, seconded by Mark Blake

• the Board into Assessor's Session pursuant to Title #36, M.R.S.A., ss. 841 at 6:44 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Mark Blake

• Approve the Tree Growth Penalty per the recommendation of Donna Moore Hays, CMA, to the Estate of Manfred K. Mayer, Map #3, Lot #14 in the sum of three thousand three hundred-ninety five ($3,395.60) dollars and sixty cen…carried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the issuance for a Supplemental Bill to Durham Friends Meeting for the withdrawal of one-half (½) acre from the Tree Growth Program, Map #2, Lot #28, per the recommendation of Donna Moore Hays, CMA, in the amount…carried

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Joshua Libby

• the Board out of Assessor's Session at 6:47 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• Approve the Consent Agenda as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake

• permit the Girl Scouts and Brownies to garden at the Eureka Community Center and River Parkcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake

• Appoint Pam Bosarge to the Comprehensive Plan Committeecarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Approve the Appointments as listed by Chairmancarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• contract with Downeast Energy for propane at $1.16 for three years and Dead River for #2 oil at $1.77 if three year pricing is available on #2 oil. If three year pricing is not available, the Board directs AA/TA Glaeser …carried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• advertise the trailer sale with the understanding that it is sold as is and that all removal costs will be paid by the purchasercarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Mark Blake

• Authorize the Chief to spend up to $6,000.00 for cutting, $30,000.00 for paving and up to $3,500.00 for the catch basincarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Joshua Libby

• put out internally a posting for Assistant Chief and Assistant EMA Directorcarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Michael Stewart

• have the Chief work with the PIT to get the survey out to the townspeoplecarried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Mark Blake

• Adjourn at 8:20 p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

Worth knowing

• 42:37
  The board locked in propane with Down East at $1.16 a gallon for three years for all town buildings, and left the heating oil for the public works garage open to Dead River if the two contracts can be split. The quotes were only good for 24 hours and the board cannot vote by email between meetings, so the motion was written to cover both outcomes. Members recalled number two oil at around $4 a gallon four years earlier.
• 52:55
  The town raised $10,000 in each of two years, $20,000 in all, to rebuild the gazebo, and it is now roped off and unusable. The parts that have rotted are the post bases, which were not replaced at the time. Money is in this year's budget for the repair, but no contractor has been willing to take it on, because the roof has to be held up while the posts are changed.
• 1:08:06
  The fire chief told the board he had given a contractor the fire station floor job in the belief the board had approved it, and could not find that approval in his own reports, in the minutes or in any of the fire department segments of the recordings since April 5. He asked for approval of the $2,860 repair to put it right; the recording does not carry a result for that vote.
• 5:27
  The codes official recommended that Larry Emerson's yard be licensed as an automobile recycle facility rather than a junkyard from next year, having discussed it with DEP, because he takes cars in, pulls them for parts, crushes and ships them out. That means review every three years instead of annually and a higher permit fee, with the same screening and oversight and an annual check that material is moving through.

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: 10 passages of motion language, against 20 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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