Select Board Meeting ~ November 14, 2017

2017-11-14 · Select Board · 2:36:27 · watch on YouTube →

The board worked through a full agenda: a petition from Country Lane residents to have their road rebuilt, a presentation from a community planner on what planning services could look like for Durham, two requests from the Royal River Conservation Trust at Runaround Pond, the opening of bids for a new rescue unit and a new fire engine, a property tax abatement, reports from the fire chief and the road commissioner, and the town office renovation. Roads took up much of the evening. The chairman told residents the town has between eight and nine miles of roads needing a full rebuild and that the board will bring bonding options, with tax impacts, to the April town meeting; the road commissioner later put the rebuild list at 11.8 miles and said contractor quotes cut his estimate to about $3 million. The board approved the consent agenda, a crosswalk and culvert at the new trail crossing on Runaround Pond Road, replacement of a broken gate with removable bollards keyed to the fire department, and an abatement recommended by the assessors' agent. It also set town office hours for Christmas week and gave the administrator a limit of about $25,000 for the office renovation. Planning for the fire chief's replacement filled much of the second half, with a goal of finalising an interview committee at the November 28 meeting.

What was discussed

1. 0:04
   Public comment: petition to rebuild Country Lane

   The chairman first moved public comment back to its usual place on the agenda, since the planner who had been bumped up no longer had a scheduling conflict. Mike Rio presented a petition asking that Country Lane be reconstructed and repaved, saying it was last paved about 30 years ago with little maintenance since, and comparing home density of about 12.5 homes per mile on Cedar Pond Road with about 32.5 per mile on Country Lane. Joe Crowley said the road was built badly from the start by the original developer, that a school bus turnaround required at the end was never built, and that the town did not press the developer to meet the ordinance.

2. 5:26
   Board's answer: the rebuild backlog

   The chairman said the town has somewhere between eight and nine miles of roads needing a complete rebuild, on top of two to four miles a year of maintenance work that keeps other roads from reaching that state. He said the road commissioner is preparing a prioritised long-term plan, that the board will bring options and their cost to taxpayers to the April town meeting, and that there is no mechanism by which a petition moves a road to the front of the line.

3. 10:33
   How road work is paid for and done

   Asked why Cedar Pond Road appeared to be paved twice, the chairman explained chip seal and cold mix as processes rather than a single layer of hot top. He described two separate buckets: maintenance paving of three to five miles a year out of the annual budget, and full rebuilds, which are bonded projects as Runaround Pond Road was.

4. 16:02
   Country Lane right of way and winter plowing

   A resident said the travelled way was built off the right of way and over private land, so vehicles cut across her property on the curve and break down the pavement edge, and that the plow turnaround leaves her clearing about eight feet of road herself each winter. She said she is a widow and getting older. The board agreed to send the road commissioner to look and consider guideposts to keep traffic on the pavement; a resurvey of the road was raised but not pursued.

5. 21:12
   Ben Smith on what a town planner does

   Ben Smith, a community planner who studied at the Muskie School of Public Service at USM and has worked in the field for 12 or 13 years, was invited to describe what planning services could look like for Durham. He said a planner's main role is to look at issues across departments and over a longer time frame, covering development review and planning board support, ordinance and policy work, long-range plans, grant writing and project management. The chairman said he met several planners at the MMA convention and that a town can contract for planning services rather than employ a planner.

6. 26:52
   Planner and code enforcement officer

   Asked how the two roles differ, Smith (?) said code officers are focused on building code and inspections within a building envelope, while ordinance work and development review are the natural line for a planner. He said a planner is qualified to write most ordinances, with review by the code officer for enforceability and outside legal review for more technical ones such as growth impact fees.

7. 31:52
   Comprehensive plan

   The board set out where Durham's comprehensive plan stands: the inventory and analysis chapters are under way, and the vision work is largely done through a facilitated public meeting run by Craig Freshly (?), a townwide survey and visits to churches, the fire department and other groups. Another round of public outreach is planned on goals and strategies, with the aim of a plan ready for the town to vote on at the April 2019 town meeting. Smith (?) said the future land use map should be built on that public vision.

8. 36:56
   How a contract planner would be paid

   Smith (?) described the arrangement he has with Lisbon: a set price for the year rather than an hourly rate, with a statement of work, on the assumption that some weeks run 10 or 15 hours and others only a couple. He said that arrangement has been in place there for four to six years, and that a narrower scope and budget is the alternative if the town wants one specific project or ordinance.

9. 42:12
   Growth, tax base and rural character

   Smith and the board discussed the pressure growth puts on services, schools and open space, and the wish for something that pays a fair amount of tax without demanding many amenities. Board members said residents want the town to keep its rural character and scale while accepting some commercial development, and that growth will happen whether or not the town plans for it.

10. 47:21
    Royal River Conservation Trust: crosswalk at Runaround Pond

    A representative of the Royal River Conservation Trust asked permission for a ladder-painted crosswalk and signs at the new trail crossing on Runaround Pond Road, rather than at the break in the guardrail near the bridge, which he called too fast and blind. He said the trust would pay, that sight distance at the new crossing is about 500 feet with 400 on the short side, and that he had already met with town staff, the road commissioner and the fire chief. The road commissioner said a short culvert and gravel would be needed so the ditch bank does not cave in.

11. 52:30
    Broken gate to be replaced with bollards

    The trust also asked to replace the broken gate at the recreation area with one or more removable bollards, described as an 8 by 8 post on a pin with a lock, so the fire department can still get through. The stated purpose was to discourage illicit use of the area and show that it is being watched.

12. 57:46
    Storm blowdowns on the new trail

    The trust representative said the windstorm brought down about a dozen significant trees across the new trail and around 50 blowdowns on a section that had to be rerouted onto state land, and asked for help clearing it. The board agreed to advertise for volunteers with chainsaws, with the trust representative available to show them the work directly, and returned to the idea of reviving a recreation or conservation committee, which the trust offered to help get started. The chairman also asked the trust for a list of contractors, donors and volunteers so the board can recognise them.

13. 1:02:56
    Fire apparatus bids opened

    Bids for a new rescue unit and a new fire engine, due that day, were opened and read aloud at the table by the fire chief, from vendors including Greenwood, Minuteman Fire and Rescue, PL Custom, Professional Vehicle Corporation and Pierce. Base prices read into the record for rescue units ran from about $190,000 to about $220,000; other figures in the recording are garbled. Board members said the opening only has to be public rather than done at a board meeting, and asked for a different process next time.

14. 1:08:06
    How the bids will be compared

    The chief said he writes the RFP loosely so it does not become vendor-specific, which leaves room to go back to a vendor about options or costs. He said he would build a comparison sheet with the requested items line by line, showing what each vendor met or offered instead, and would return with that sheet and a recommendation in about a month.

15. 1:13:20
    Septic tank waste disposal agreement

    The town received a letter from the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority asking Durham to sign an agreement for management of septic tank waste, something the town has paid $250 a year for. Rob Pontau said Brunswick will take any and all of it and charge at the gate, and offered to provide a letter saying so. It was explained that the requirement comes from the state-mandated shoreland zoning ordinance, which requires a written contract with a receiving facility before a campsite permit can be issued; the board's view was that it should not sign if it is not legally required to.

16. 1:13:20
    Abatement on the Waltman (?) property

    In its assessors' session the board read a letter from the assessors' agent, Donna (?), recommending an abatement after an interior inspection. The garage was reclassified as a barn and the living space listed as unfinished as of April 1, 2017, reducing the assessed value by $63,800 and the tax by about $1,226.

17. 1:18:26
    Fire chief's report: per diem staffing

    Fire Chief William St. Michel said per diem staffing is working well, with coverage now beginning on Saturdays and Sundays, and that it has improved response times and morale because calls are no longer going out unanswered or referred to the next town. He said about 11 people came in between per diem staff and new members, so membership applications are on hold while the department works out what it needs, and that the arrangement is sustainable as long as wages stay competitive.

18. 1:23:33
    Ladders, locks and a radio grant

    All ladders passed testing. A locksmith is due the following Wednesday to fit keypads and rekey some doors at the station. Final approval came through that day for a 2017 Homeland Security grant for 10 portable radios at about $4,200, fully funded with no match, paid up front and then reimbursed; the board noted it has to accept the grant.

19. 1:23:33
    Personnel policy and part-time benefits

    The chief said the town attorney was satisfied that different pay rates under genuinely different job descriptions are fine, but flagged the benefits threshold: the policy sets 28 regularly scheduled hours for a four-day week and 35 for a five-day week, so a part-timer holding two or three job descriptions could argue the hours accumulate into eligibility. He said this currently limits employees who would willingly work more hours, and that he and Ruth Glaeser are drafting wording to bring back to the board.

20. 1:28:34
    October 30 storm

    The chief credited the department for covering the October 30 storm while he and another senior officer were away. Form 7s with preliminary damage figures have gone in toward a disaster declaration; some areas did not meet the threshold but the town is still in the request, and reimbursement was described as 75 percent federal, 15 percent state and 10 percent local. He said he will write an emergency response flowchart and bring it to the board for approval.

21. 1:33:36
    Fire chief hiring: the interview committee

    With eight or nine applications in hand, the board began working out who should sit on the interview committee and how the department should be represented. The chairman said Rick (?), a budget committee member who is also on the Lewiston fire department and lives in the Patriot Way neighbourhood, had expressed interest. The chief said outside members on such committees are usually a chief or administrator from another department, and asked how the department's own representatives should be chosen.

22. 1:38:37
    A previous hiring committee as a model

    The chief described a committee he recently sat on: six members, two from inside the department, himself as the only outside chief and three from the municipality, using scoring sheets built from the job posting to decide who to interview. He said that search ended without a hire. The board asked for a copy of the scoring sheet, and a board member said the board's own experience in evaluating applicants should not be underestimated.

23. 1:43:48
    Committee makeup and next steps

    The board settled on a committee of about five or six: two selectmen, the chief, one or two members of the fire department and one person from outside, ideally someone who has been in a leadership role. The chief will ask the department to choose its own two representatives rather than appoint them, and board members will approach chiefs in nearby towns. Names are due by the November 28 meeting, when the committee and the schedule are to be finalised.

24. 1:49:14
    Score sheets, applications and the chief's absence

    The chief said he deliberately set no closing date for applications so a strong late candidate would not be shut out. The board asked him to get an electronic copy of the score sheets from the earlier search, take a first pass at adapting them to Durham's job posting and circulate them for comment before the November 28 meeting. He also told the board he goes in for surgery on December 1 and expects to be out about two weeks.

25. 1:49:14
    Road commissioner's paving report

    Calvin Beaumier reported that All States (?) has finished shoulders on Cedar Pond, Stackpole and Bowie Hill, and that paving on Bowie Hill is done. Asked about the transition from Cedar Pond Road to Country Lane and a dip near the end of Cedar Pond Road, he said the contractor will patch it but that a proper fix will probably wait until spring.

26. 1:54:23
    Contractor punch lists and retainage

    Board members pressed on how the town holds a paving contractor to a punch list after paying in full, and asked whether the town holds a retainer or a warranty period. The commissioner said he could not explain the dip, since the screed should have shown it at the centre line, but that the contractor has committed to fixing it. The board said retainage is something to look at in future contracts.

27. 1:54:23
    Rebuild list now 11.8 miles

    The commissioner said the rebuild list has grown to 11.8 miles, but that figures from contractors using the same methods as Runaround Pond, Bowie Hill and Rabbit Road cut the estimated cost by about half, into the $3 million range, against the generic $100-per-foot price used before. He also said he is keeping storm cleanup hours separately in case reimbursement comes through.

28. 1:59:30
    Justifying the list to voters

    Selectmen (?) said asking town meeting for a bond of about three and a half million on the commissioner's judgement alone would not satisfy voters, and asked for the RSMS condition survey behind the list. The commissioner said RSMS records condition and prints maps but does not say what a road needs, and that he decides treatment with engineers and contractors; he has begun moving his spreadsheet data into it. The discussion compared grind-and-inject rebuilds with full box cut reconstruction and recalled the Runaround Pond and Rabbit Road work at roughly $1.1 million for about 3.9 miles.

29. 1:59:30
    Request to hire a full-time plow driver

    Calvin Beaumier asked permission to make Brian Wilson, a part-time plow driver of about three years, a permanent full-time employee replacing David Kennedy. He said the pay would be about a dollar more than Wilson gets now and within the existing range; the board declined to say the figure aloud, noting it becomes public once decided.

30. 2:04:42
    Prioritised road list requested

    The board asked the commissioner to send his spreadsheet and to put the rebuild list in priority order with reasons, so it can run timetable and bonding scenarios and work out the tax impact before bringing options to the town. Traffic volume, speed limit and whether a road is a through route were raised as factors alongside condition. The commissioner said Davis and Shiloh were next in his plan, with Old Brunswick Road and finishing Bowie Hill also raised, and noted that a compressed schedule would mean hiring out ditching the town crew could not do.

31. 2:10:02
    Intersection safety and the town's traffic light

    The board discussed rumble strips on the approach to a stop sign and doubted they would help, since the crashes there mostly involve drivers pulling out rather than running the sign; the sign had already been moved back after consultation with DOT. The commissioner said that when residents asked him to fix the blinking light after the storm he found the light belongs to the town, not the state, and had to get DOT and CMP to deal with it.

32. 2:10:02
    Town office renovation plan

    Ruth Glaeser walked the board through the renovation: keep the conference room tables but replace the chairs and the side table, swap a file cabinet for a bookcase, move the copier into the front office, add a corner desk in her office and a wraparound desk in the second office for the code enforcement officer and the assessor, and move the files into the storage room. The accordion curtain comes down and the room's lockable door stays.

33. 2:15:26
    Renovation costs and finishes

    Furniture was put at about $12,000 to $12,500, priced off the state purchasing contract, with carpet estimated around $3,500 and a floor cleaning and waxing quote to be sought for the tile. The board debated carpet tiles against glued-down or roll carpet and came down on heavy commercial carpet, and leaned toward hiring a painter rather than paying town crews overtime to paint. Moving the copier frees room in the kitchen for a table and two chairs so staff do not have to eat at their desks.

34. 2:20:45
    Renovation budget

    Painting the whole interior was put at five to six thousand, or about seven with the doors. The budget committee had set aside $30,000 for the renovation plus $5,000 for paint, and the board framed the result as meeting the office's needs without moving walls or adding windows and coming in around $10,000 under that.

35. 2:20:45
    Christmas week office hours raised

    Ruth Glaeser asked to close the office on the Monday and Tuesday of Christmas week. Board members resisted closing three business days in a row, since the office is already closed Wednesdays, and asked about trading Wednesday for Tuesday. She also asked to close early on the Friday when the books are closed, and noted the Friday before Christmas is busy with hunting licence sales.

36. 2:25:50
    Heating system and maintenance contracts

    The board's view was that the heating system does not need replacing now and that the town should take a preventive maintenance agreement with the gas service provider already working on it, at about quarterly intervals. The heat had failed the day before because an access door with a magnetic switch was left open; the service call was $85. Generators were mentioned as needing the same treatment, and someone said the unit had not been serviced in ten years.

37. 2:31:02
    Renovation spending limit and colours

    The board set working figures of about $13,000 for furniture, $5,000 for carpet and $6,000 for painting, and told the administrator to come back if the project runs past $25,000. A colour board was reviewed, with a lighter cream for the walls and the next shade for trim, and a note that the cream reads yellow on video.

38. 2:31:02
    Ridge vent contractor mix-up

    B&W, hired at the previous meeting to replace the whole ridge vent, had already measured the roof and picked up materials when the job was called off, because the fire chief had separately arranged someone else while he was away. Board members said arranging that work was not the chief's job and that communicating it would have avoided the problem. The materials were put at two or three bundles, around $300, and expected to be used anyway.

What was decided

• 0:04
  Amend the agenda to move public comment back to its original spot, after item four, because Ben Smith was present and no longer had the other engagement for which he had been bumped up. The minutes record the motion as made by Kevin Nadeau.outcome unclear
• 21:12
  Accept the consent agenda as presented. Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Richard George; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 52:30
  Approve improvements to the crosswalk and the culvert installation on Runaround Pond Road in accordance with the Royal River Conservation Trust's proposal, sited as the trust and the road commissioner work out in the field. Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 52:30
  Allow the Royal River Conservation Trust, working with the fire chief and the road commissioner, to replace the broken gate with one or more removable bollards at the same location, with a lock and key kept by the Durham Fire and Rescue Department. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 1:13:20
  Take no action on the fire apparatus bids that night; the bids go back to the fire chief, who will return in about a month with a comparison sheet and a recommendation. Agreed in discussion rather than by motion.tabled
• 1:13:20
  Go into the assessors' section to consider an abatement. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 1:18:26
  Accept the assessors' agent's recommendation and grant the abatement on the Waltman (?) property, a reduction of $63,800 in value and about $1,226 in tax. Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Mark Blake; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 1:18:26
  Move out of the assessors' section and resume as selectmen. Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George; the minutes record it carried 5-0.passed
• 2:04:42
  Hire Brian Wilson, a part-time plow driver of about three years, as a permanent full-time employee replacing David Kennedy, at about a dollar an hour more and within the existing pay range. Moved by Richard George and seconded by Mark Blake; the recording garbles the call for the vote and the town's minutes do not record this motion.outcome unclear
• 2:25:50
  Set town office hours for Christmas week: closed Monday and Tuesday, open Wednesday and Thursday, and closing early, around 1:00, on Friday the 29th when the books are closed. Staff may swap and work Tuesday instead of Wednesday if they prefer. Agreed in discussion; no formal vote was taken.passed
• 2:31:02
  Give the town administrator a green light on the office renovation with working figures of about $13,000 for furniture, $5,000 for carpet and $6,000 for painting, and a direction to come back to the board if the total goes above $25,000. Agreed in discussion; no formal vote was taken.passed
• 2:36:16
  Adjourn. The motion was made and seconded, but the recording ends with the vote call garbled, so the result is not audible.outcome unclear

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 20180118112548.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.

• go into Executive Session — Pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. 405(6)(F)- Confidentialcarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

• exit Executive Sessioncarried 4-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

• approve abatement in the amount of $1,400 for 2015 and $1,400 for 2016 at 6:25 pmcarried 4-0

  Moved by Richard George, seconded by Mark Blake

• Public Comment back to its original spot on the Agenda, due to Ben Smith being present without previous engagement constraints. Public Comment: Members of Country Lane spoke, and presented a petition to the Selectmen to …

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

• Accept the Consent Agenda as Presented. Selectman _carried 5-0

  Moved by Mark Blake, seconded by Richard George

• Approve improvements to crosswalk, and the culvert installation in accordance with Royal River Trust and what the Road Commissioner agrees oncarried 5-0

  Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Mark Blake

• allow Royal River Trust, with the Fire Chief and Road Commissioner, to replace the current broken gate with one or more removable bollards, and that the removable bollards have a lock that the Fire Department can accesscarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

• go into Assessment Sectioncarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Mark Blake

• accept the Assessors recommendationcarried 5-0

  Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Mark Blake

• move out of Assessor’s Sectioncarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Richard George

Worth knowing

• 5:26
  The chairman told Country Lane residents the town has between eight and nine miles of roads needing a complete rebuild, that a petition will not move a road to the front of the line, and that the board will bring bonding options with their tax impact to the April town meeting.
• 1:02:56
  Bids for a new rescue unit and a new fire engine were opened at the table. Base prices read into the record for rescue units ran from about $190,000 to about $220,000; engine figures are garbled in the recording. The chief will bring a comparison sheet and recommendation back in about a month.
• 1:54:23
  The road commissioner put the rebuild list at 11.8 miles and said quotes based on the methods used on Runaround Pond, Bowie Hill and Rabbit Road cut the estimate by about half, into the $3 million range. Selectmen (?) said they need a documented priority order before asking voters for a bond.
• 2:25:50
  Town office hours for Christmas week: closed Monday and Tuesday, open Wednesday and Thursday, closing about 1:00 on Friday the 29th. The board asked that the schedule be posted on the door and the website well in advance.

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: 4 passages of motion language, against 12 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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