Select Board Meeting ~ April 18, 2017

2017-04-18 · Select Board · 1:55:17 · watch on YouTube →

A regular Select Board meeting with four of the five selectmen present. Alan Stearns of the Royal River Conservation Trust asked for and received three votes: permission to install a brass plaque at the Runaround Pond recreation area, a statement of support for the Trust's continued work in town, and permission for the Trust to spend a $5,000 Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund award on improvements to the town's boat access point. The longest item was the code enforcement position, where the board could not agree whether to advertise before settling the hours and job description; the motion to post it failed and the matter was tabled, tangled up with what happens to the shared road commissioner post when Pownal withdraws at the end of June. Road commissioner Calvin Beaumier reported that the 2017 paving bid came in below expectations and that the town had won both stream crossing grants it applied for, which will need a special town meeting to appropriate the town's roughly $76,720 share. The board also authorised a streaming contract, an IT request for proposals, a committee appointment and the cemetery mowing contract before going into executive session on personnel matters.

What was discussed

1. 0:07
   Call to order and consent agenda

   The chairman opened with a quorum of four of the five selectmen and the Pledge of Allegiance. There were no amendments to the agenda and no public comment. The consent agenda was accepted as presented.

2. 0:07
   Royal River Conservation Trust: the new parcel

   Alan Stearns said the Trust had closed a few weeks earlier on a parcel across the pond from the Runaround Pond boat ramp with half a mile of shoreline. The seller, who had owned it with her late husband John, asked that he be honoured as part of the transaction. Two years of earlier purchases from Duncan Chesley and the Coulsons (?) had set the stage for it, building a contiguous block of mostly wet land kept open for habitat, hunting and winter trails.

3. 0:07
   Proposed plaque at the recreation area

   The Trust proposed a brass plaque honouring John and other landowners and donors, sited on the back face of a ledge near the picnic area rather than out on a snowmobile trail. Stearns said the plaque had not been ordered in case the board had concerns, and asked for a vote before going further.

4. 5:10
   Installation and a public event

   Asked whether public works would be involved, Stearns said the Trust would pay for the plaque and install it with bolts and epoxy. A gathering was planned for a month or two later, mainly as an excuse to work on the trails and pick up litter, with a short ceremony.

5. 5:10
   Request for a statement of support

   Stearns asked for a written motion of support, useful in grant applications, saying the Trust works only with willing sellers, has no offers on the table, and expects perhaps a parcel every year or two around Runaround Pond. He described good working relationships with the snowmobile club, Maine Forest Yurts and other neighbours. A member of the comprehensive planning committee said preserving open space, natural resources and recreation had come up repeatedly in the survey and public meetings, and that nobody had said otherwise.

6. 10:46
   The $5,000 Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund award

   The Trust received $5,000 from the state's lottery-funded outdoor heritage programme to improve a town boat access point, with Durham in mind when it applied. The list included a broken gate, a kiosk for notices, some trail work and the recreation area sign, whose paint is flaking and boards rotting. Because the money has not been appropriated, the Trust will spend it directly and account to the town rather than the town accepting and appropriating it.

7. 10:46
   Tax-acquired property

   Ruth Glaeser brought the letter to the previous owner, the foreclosure sale notice and the minimum bid figure for a property acquired in December, which is occupied. A member asked to hold it until the board reviews its process, noting a previous sale had brought in considerably more than the amount owed and there had been questions afterwards about what to do with the surplus.

8. 15:53
   Town Hall Streams contract

   The 12-month contract is $3,000, or $250 a month, against $4,000 for the arrangement it replaces. It provides live streaming on the internet and the channel plus playback, tied to the new website. Members questioned the storage terms, which say material is available for five years with unlimited usage, and whether the clause allowing authorised persons one digital download means the town gives up rights; the town also burns each meeting to disc as it is recorded.

9. 15:53
   Code enforcement position: the options

   The town has an interim code enforcement officer and no decision on the position. Ruth Glaeser had set out five scenarios. A member suggested advertising generally for a code enforcement officer and planner and seeing what the applicant pool produced, rather than narrowing the posting.

10. 21:22
    Sharing with Pownal, and combining posts

    Pownal currently shares a code officer with North Yarmouth and had asked what sharing with Durham would look like; the estimate was about 50% more than Pownal now spends, so it was thought unlikely. The chairman said he was seriously interested in combining code enforcement with the road commissioner post, since that role will shrink when Pownal steps away and the town already has someone on staff certified in codes, but that Department of Labor questions had to be answered first.

11. 26:31
    How many hours the job needs

    Code enforcement had been 32 hours over four days, which the town treats as full time with benefits, and members doubted anyone good would come for less. Todd Beaulieu said code and planning together would need at least 32 hours given where the comprehensive plan stands and the state of the ordinances.

12. 26:31
    Whether to fix the hours before advertising

    One member argued strongly that the board should settle the hours first, citing hiring processes where the job changed shortly before interviews and applicants' time was wasted, and the reputation that creates. Others said the board owes an applicant nothing until an offer is made, and that a semi-retired candidate wanting 15 or 20 hours might never apply to a narrow posting.

13. 26:31
    The job description

    The only description the town holds is the one for the previous code officer, Paul, covering meetings, ordinance work, E-911 addressing and no planning. The town has never had a planner. Ruth Glaeser offered to merge examples of code and planning descriptions and bring one back in two weeks.

14. 31:56
    What a planner would actually do

    Members worked through the distinction: the comprehensive planning committee, with GPCOG under contract, produces the vision; the planning board originates ordinance changes; the code officer administers ordinances already passed. The planner's role was placed on the implementation side, putting meat on the bones of what the comprehensive plan says.

15. 31:56
    Contracting the planning work

    It was noted that most towns this size have a code officer and contract planning support from GPCOG or the regional council, buying as much or as little time as they want. GPCOG bills by the hour, from about $30 to $75 depending on the level of planner. The view that emerged was to hire a code officer now and revisit whether to contract or employ a planner once the comprehensive plan is done.

16. 37:05
    Whether 32 hours is needed for code alone

    One member said his thinking had changed over the past two or three months and he was no longer certain the code work fills 32 hours, wanting to dig into it further and noting some of it would have to be discussed in executive session. Others pointed to more energy code work, blower door tests other towns require, and signs of increasing building activity.

17. 42:12
    What the 60/40 split with Pownal means

    A member wanted it on the record that the 60/40 arrangement was a pay-scale split based on miles of road, not a fixed division of hours; a week could be 30 hours in Pownal and 10 in Durham or the reverse. Another (?) replied that over a full budget year the work ought to come out near 60/40 if Durham pays 60% of the cost.

18. 47:49
    Linking the code post to the road commissioner post

    The chairman argued the two questions are deeply linked: the budget will not carry a full-time road commissioner and a full-time code officer, and Pownal has been clear it intends to withdraw unless its town meeting votes otherwise, leaving about two months to decide before the end of June. Options (?) raised were dropping the budgeted fifth public works employee and making the road commissioner a working position, or a part-time road commissioner without benefits, which would in all likelihood mean a new road commissioner.

19. 53:24
    Health insurance and the salary figures

    A member recalled telling the budget committee the board would review the health insurance percentage formula before hiring new employees, which has not been done. The road commissioner's salary is budgeted as Durham's 60% share of a total of roughly $57,000; about $105,000 covers the salaries as budgeted, and a full-time code officer with a planner would come to about $129,000.

20. 58:56
    A combined post with a part-time assistant

    A member worried that splitting one person twenty hours as road commissioner and twenty as code officer shortchanges both jobs. The alternative floated was a full-time combined post with one set of benefits, plus a per diem part-time assistant code officer if more time proves necessary, as Bowdoinham does.

21. 58:56
    Department of Labor and where to advertise

    The road commissioner is salaried as a supervisor and therefore exempt from overtime; whether adding code duties changes that has not been resolved. MMA gave no clear answer and going direct to the Bureau of Labor was suggested. On advertising, MMA's listing is the town's main resource; a Portland paper-and-online package was quoted at about $450 and Tri-Town, which had been reasonable, no longer exists.

22. 1:04:08
    Posting motion fails; item tabled

    A motion to let the AA/TA put out a posting, with the hours added, was made, seconded and defeated. One member who voted against said he did not like putting out something squishy; another said he disagreed strongly and considered it common practice. The item was tabled to the next meeting, when more information may be available and the fifth selectman can weigh in.

23. 1:04:08
    IT request for proposals

    The town has been limping along with a selectman doing much of the IT work and before that the public information technician. The RFP seeks contracted hours rather than an employee, to review what the town has and make recommendations; a server is expected to be needed this year and is in the budget.

24. 1:09:43
    Audit recommendations

    Two recommendations came back this year. Segregation of duties, difficult in a small office, is being addressed by a selectman reviewing and signing off any manual general ledger postings; the board agreed these would also go into the consent agenda so all members see them. The second was payroll documentation, now in place, and the auditors also want a formal health insurance policy in the personnel policy setting the 80/20 split, targeted for May 31.

25. 1:09:43
    Telecommunications Committee appointment

    Alden Allen, the assistant public information technician who records the meetings, applied to join the Telecommunications Committee and was appointed.

26. 1:09:43
    Road commissioner's report

    The crew is in full patching season, working almost non-stop, and has been tidying the grounds and the fire station. Clearing tree damage from the January storm with heavy wet snow is expected to take a couple of weeks.

27. 1:15:28
    2017 paving bid

    The paving RFP was opened April 6 as a combined bid with Pownal, totalling about $470,000 for both towns. Despite liquid asphalt rising, chip seal came in at 227 against 232 last year and cold mix at 55.33 against 58. Durham's roads are Cedar Pond, 1.83 miles, and Stackpole, 1.6 miles, just under four miles against a target of four to five a year on a ten-year cycle covering 46 to 47 miles. About $75,000 is expected to be left, going either to Bowie Hill or Country Lane off Cedar Pond.

28. 1:15:28
    Maintenance versus rebuilds

    Calvin Beaumier said the roads being paved are preventive maintenance on surfaces still salvageable, and that Bowie Hill is beyond fixing and needs full reconstruction. He acknowledged this is hard to explain to residents who see bad roads passed over while others are surfaced, and said he is looking at whether leftover money can buy a shim on the worst stretch.

29. 1:20:29
    Long-term road plan

    Asked for a five-year plan, Beaumier said three years is about the practical limit before it changes. Next year is expected to be Davis and Shiloh. He has a program that assigns priorities and lists what each road needs and when, much of it saying now; the list had been handed out at a budget committee meeting and members asked for it again.

30. 1:20:29
    Grinding roads back to gravel

    Asked whether the worst roads should be returned to gravel, Beaumier said roads that go that way often never come back, that gravel costs more to maintain than pavement, and that Bowie Hill in particular would turn to soup if its remaining binder were removed, since there is water on both sides and nowhere for it to go.

31. 1:20:29
    Why no road bond this year

    The crew is committed to finishing the Runaround Pond and Rabbit Road projects and would not have time for a major rebuild; doing last year's work in-house saved roughly 40% against contracting it out. For next year the suggestion was a single bond covering a couple of years of work rather than bonding annually.

32. 1:25:42
    Stream crossing grants

    The town applied for two smart stream crossing grants and won both, which the road commissioner said he had not expected; the state scored the applications near the top of the list. The request submitted was $195,000 against a $95,000 award, and the engineer now puts the town's share at about $76,720, with a suggestion to ask the town for $100,000 and return the balance to roads. The crossings would be concrete with an open live bottom for fish passage, must be done within about two years with quarterly reports, and the grant money is paid up front rather than reimbursed.

33. 1:30:49
    Funding the crossings and a special town meeting

    The town's share would come from the public works capital project fund as an appropriation rather than being raised, which requires a special town meeting; it need not happen before tax commitment but should be soon. Engineering at $16,720 has to be done before a final figure or a bid is possible, so it would be paid from the road commissioner's professional development budget and reimbursed if the article passes. A timeline was to be sought from Shannon, and an evening rather than a Saturday was preferred.

34. 1:35:51
    Welcome sign

    The first hand-carved sign, with gold leaf lettering, goes on the state-owned land straight ahead as you cross the bridge from Lisbon, with further signs planned at the Auburn, Freeport and Pownal entrances on major state routes. The board agreed the bottom should read incorporated 1789 rather than a settlement date, Royalsborough dating from around 1770. A proof will be emailed before the sign is ordered.

35. 1:35:51
    Line striping and training

    The GPCOG line striping bid went to the same Massachusetts firm as last year, at just under 8 cents a foot against 7 cents, with work to follow final paving on Runaround and Rabbit. Beaumier's application for a public works leadership class was apparently never received and the class filled; a crew member is on the waiting list, and other training will be done by webinar, possibly shared with town staff and the fire department.

36. 1:40:54
    Road postings

    The road commissioner planned to pull the postings at the end of the week, later than Freeport and others. His reasoning was that snow still lying in shaded ditches means there is frost in the ground.

37. 1:40:54
    Building permits on substandard roads

    The interim code enforcement officer reported repeated requests for building permits on roads that do not meet standard, including Bowen Road and the old Snow Road, with some applicants told by his predecessor that there would be no problem. The ordinance requires a road brought up to 28 feet of gravel, or about 20 feet for a single back lot.

38. 1:40:54
    Discontinued and abandoned roads

    The discussion turned to the two forms of discontinuance: by town or county vote, and by abandonment through 30 consecutive years without public funds. Roads discontinued before 1967 retain no public right of way unless the record says so; after 1967 a public easement is retained automatically, and after 1970 a utility easement as well. Many of Durham's were discontinued by county commissioners before the town's select board took that role.

39. 1:46:13
    Road records at risk

    The road records are a single file in the code officer's desk drawer, not in the fire safe, handed over by his predecessor. A long-serving former town clerk who retired around 1999 had compiled much of the research, including newspaper articles from the 1930s and 1950s, and had already traced who owned what. Members suggested scanning the file and keeping copies at the town office; a wider document scanning project has never been funded.

40. 1:46:13
    Cemetery mowing contract

    The cemetery committee approved its annual mowing contract that day and the AA/TA (?) asked for authority to sign. A member had questioned mowing appearing to happen on Memorial Day weekend, and the contract specifies a date before the 25th.

41. 1:51:26
    Goal setting workshop

    A member asked how the board should approach setting two or three big projects for the year. A workshop was preferred over a regular agenda item, and one was set for April 25 at 6:30.

42. 1:51:26
    Upcoming meetings and bulky waste day

    Selectmen's meetings were announced for May 2 and May 16 at 6:30, the comprehensive plan committee for May 1 at 6:30 and the planning board for May 10 at 7:00. Bulky waste day is Saturday May 20 from 9 to 3; clear bags are available at the town office for roadside cleanup, with the bags collected by Pine Tree Waste. Members discussed the identification check at bulky waste day, saying nobody had had to be turned away.

43. 1:51:26
    Executive session

    The board moved into executive session on personnel matters concerning raises. The motion is cut off on the recording; the town's minutes record it as carried 4-0.

What was decided

• 0:07
  Approve the consent agenda as presented. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau.passed
• 5:10
  Authorize the Royal River Conservation Trust to install a brass plaque on town-managed land at Runaround Pond, commemorating the landowners and donors who have helped protect the pond and its surroundings between 1975 and 2017. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu; carried 4-0.passed
• 5:10
  Encourage the Royal River Conservation Trust to continue conserving strategic parcels of land near Runaround Pond. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu; carried 4-0.passed
• 10:46
  Allow the Trust to spend the $5,000 Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund award in goods and services on minor projects at the Runaround Pond recreation area, and direct the AA/TA to oversee the work and send a thank you. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake; carried 4-0.passed
• 10:46
  Hold the tax-acquired property sale rather than put it out to bid, so the board can review how it handles foreclosure sales and any surplus over the amount owed.tabled
• 15:53
  Authorize the AA/TA to sign the Town Hall Streams contract, contingent on her being satisfied that rights to the recordings still remain with the town. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:04:08
  Allow the AA/TA to put out a posting for the code enforcement position, at 20 to 32 hours a week as the minutes record it (the range discussed on the recording was 20 to 30), contingent on the selectmen having no issues with the current job description. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Todd Beaulieu. The motion did not carry.failed
• 1:04:08
  Hold the code enforcement position over to the next meeting, when more information on Department of Labor rules and the road commissioner post may be available and the absent fifth selectman can take part.tabled
• 1:04:08
  Authorize the AA/TA to put the IT support request for proposals out to bid. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:09:43
  Include the AA/TA's manual general ledger postings in the consent agenda so all selectmen see them, in addition to the one member who currently reviews and signs them.passed
• 1:09:43
  Appoint assistant public information technician Alden Allen to the Telecommunications Committee. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:25:42
  Send a letter to Allstates accepting their paving bid, so the work can be scheduled for the year. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Todd Beaulieu; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:30:49
  Allow the road commissioner to go ahead with the engineering on the stream crossing project, at $16,720, ahead of a special town meeting to appropriate the town's share. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:35:51
  The new welcome sign will carry the wording incorporated 1789 at the bottom rather than a settlement date, with a proof to be circulated before the sign is ordered.passed
• 1:46:13
  Allow the AA/TA to sign the cemetery mowing contract approved by the cemetery committee that day. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake; carried 4-0.passed
• 1:51:26
  Hold a workshop on board goals for the coming year on April 25 at 6:30.passed
• 1:51:26
  Go into executive session on personnel matters concerning raises. Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Mark Blake; carried 4-0 per the minutes. The recording cuts off partway through the motion.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_4-18-171.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 as presentedcarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• authorize the Royal River Conservation Trust to install a brass plaque on Town-managed land at Runaround Pond, and to commemorate and applaud the Selectmen's Minutes 4-4-2017 page 1 of 5 leadership and generosity of land…carried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• encourage the Royal River Conservation Trust to continue to conserve strategic parcels of land near Runaround Pond, working with willing landowners, and consulting with Town staff, Town committees and local businesses, a…carried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• allow the Trust to spend $5,000.00 in goods and services and to direct the AA/TA to oversee the work and send a thank you to the Royal River Conservation Trust from the Town when the work is donecarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

• authorize the AA/TA to sign the contract contingent on her being satisfied that rights still remain with the Towncarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• allow the AA/TA to put out a posting for 20 to 32 hours a week contingent that the Selectmen have not issues with current job descriptionfailed

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• Authorize the AA/TA to put the RFP out for bidcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

• Appoint Assistant PIT Alden Allen to the Telecommunications Committeecarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• send a letter to Allstates accepting their bidcarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• Allow the Road Commissioner to go ahead with the engineering on the projectcarried 4-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• allow the AA/TA sign the Cemetery Mowing Contractcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, |M.R.S.A., ss. 405 (6)(A) – Personnel Matters – Raises preceded by a brief recess at 8:25 p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Mark Blake

• set pay rates as listed and agreed uponcarried 4-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Kevin Nadeau

• Adjourn at 9:00p.mcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

Worth knowing

• 1:04:08
  The motion to advertise the code enforcement position failed. Members were openly split on whether it is proper to post a range of hours before deciding what the job is, one calling it common practice and another saying it puts out bad vibes. The decision is tied to the road commissioner post, which the board has about two months to resolve before Pownal withdraws at the end of June.
• 1:15:28
  The 2017 paving bid, made jointly with Pownal, came to about $470,000 for both towns. Durham gets Cedar Pond, 1.83 miles, and Stackpole, 1.6 miles, with roughly $75,000 expected to be left for another road. Chip seal and cold mix both came in below last year's prices despite liquid asphalt rising.
• 1:25:42
  The town won both stream crossing grants it applied for, worth $95,000, which the road commissioner said he had never expected. The engineer puts Durham's share at about $76,720, which will require a special town meeting to appropriate from the public works capital project fund.
• 1:46:13
  The town's records of discontinued and abandoned roads amount to one file in the code enforcement officer's desk drawer, not in the fire safe. Much of the research in it was done by a former town clerk who retired around 1999, and members agreed it should be copied and scanned before it is lost.

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: 5 passages of motion language, against 17 decisions summarised.

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