Select Board Meeting ~ December 27, 2016

2016-12-27 · Select Board · 23:51 · watch on YouTube →

A short year-end Select Board meeting held with three of the five selectmen present. Before the gavel the members talked about the January 10 referendum on the athletic field and about whether Durham should follow other towns in adopting a marijuana moratorium. The published business was routine: a photo contest proposed by the telecommunications committee, a completed tax foreclosure, and department reports from the fire chief and the road commissioner. Much of the road commissioner's time went to a demonstration of the JD Link telematics system now fitted to town equipment. The administrator closed with materials left by an absent official on how a town obtains local control over retail marijuana, and with the January meeting and budget workshop schedule.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Pre-meeting talk on taxes and the January 10 vote

   Before the meeting was called to order, members discussed a large taxpayer's bill, quoted in the recording as $46,000, and said residents did not know about the January 10 referendum. One member said the project would use up savings instead of paying down the bond and that the whole thing would have to be replaced in ten years.

2. 0:02
   Pre-meeting talk on a marijuana moratorium

   One member favoured waiting to see what happens; another said that with surrounding towns adopting moratoriums Durham would stand out as the place to go. No action was taken at this point in the recording.

3. 0:02
   Call to order, quorum and pledge

   The chair noted three of the five selectmen were present, which gave a quorum, and the meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance. There were no amendments to the agenda and no public comment.

4. 0:02
   Consent agenda

   The consent agenda was moved as presented and seconded, with no discussion.

5. 0:02
   Photo contest

   The telecommunications committee proposed a photo contest with monetary prizes in three categories (Durham at work, Durham at play, and Durham in natural beauty) with first, second and third prizes, an honorable mention and a people's choice runner-up. The photographs would be used on the town website and in the annual report, and the committee wants them in before March.

6. 0:02
   Tax foreclosure on one property

   The town foreclosed on one property. A letter to the previous owner was going out that evening; all notices had been picked up and signed for, so there was no question of miscommunication.

7. 5:02
   Code enforcement absent

   The code enforcement officer was not present and gave no report.

8. 5:02
   Fire chief report: hazard mitigation plan

   The fire chief said the hazard mitigation plan kickoff was January 5 and that he would attend. Projects on an approved plan (flooding situations, roads and similar) become eligible to apply for federal funds, which come up roughly twice a year, though being on the list does not guarantee money.

9. 5:02
   Culvert on the Auburn Pownal Road

   A member asked whether the culvert problem on the Auburn Pownal Road would qualify for the hazard mitigation plan. The chief said it may already be on the previous plan, and that having it on the plan could help substantiate the need in the grant application Calvin (?) was already preparing.

10. 5:02
    Station and apparatus items

    The station flagpole was damaged in a storm and now leans; a replacement is on hand but may not go in before Thursday's expected high winds. Interior painting of the office area is about half done, done by Gary and Curtis; Truck 24's wiring harness is repaired, with the Northeast Emergency invoice on the night's warrant; and Rescue 25 was found at its oil change to need ball joints and tires.

11. 5:02
    Annual mandatory training and fit testing likely delayed

    The annual mandatory training and fit testing were scheduled for that Thursday, but the chief said it was not sounding good for making it happen and would probably be delayed.

12. 5:02
    Christmas calls

    A member thanked the fire department for turning out on Christmas Day. The chief said the two or three calls over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day came to about eight or nine hours, and that the Christmas Day call was a lengthy one.

13. 10:57
    Road commissioner report: winter operations

    The road commissioner reported snow plowing and treating ice-covered roads, with the days running into each other, and said the town is back to a normal winter schedule. He is working on the stream crossing grants and will have something at the next meeting.

14. 10:57
    New on-call driver and overlapping plow routes

    A new on-call driver, Kyle Schaefer (?) of Brunswick, is working out well, and the town is still looking for more on-call drivers. Overlapping the plow drivers at the intersection of Pinkham Brook Road and the road the transcript renders as Newb Brook (?) is working well, with one driver going up 125 and the other up to Cedar Pond so the hills get hit twice as often instead of the drivers turning around at the bridge.

15. 10:57
    Notice of violation for snow pushed across roads

    The road commissioner drafted a notice of violation letter, citing a statute a member had emailed him, and added a sentence saying snow left in the roadway freezes into a solid block of ice before the next storm, which is hard on plow wings and can tear them off the trucks. Members asked that a short notice also go on the town channel and website.

16. 10:57
    Joint training with Pownal, February 21

    A joint training day with Pownal will be held in Durham on February 21, covering traffic control and construction, flagging, fire extinguishers, and welding and cutting. Flagging is mandatory for new employees and the commissioner could not find another course sooner.

17. 10:57
    2017 road bond scenario and maintenance schedule

    The road commissioner is working up a 2017 road bond scenario (which roads would be included and what it would cost) and a maintenance schedule for shim and overlays and chip seals. Both are expected to come back during the budget meetings.

18. 16:23
    JD Link equipment monitoring

    The road commissioner demonstrated the JD Link system now signed up on town equipment, which emails him live alerts on oil pressure, fuel pressure and maintenance due at 2,000 hours, and gives the machine's location on satellite imagery. He gave an example of an operator running one of the new trucks at 2,300 RPM at 4:11 a.m., close to engine damage, which he can now trace to the driver.

19. 16:23
    Cost of the JD Link upgrade

    Asked the cost, the road commissioner said $800 to have it redone because the units had to be upgraded from 2G to 4G, then $600 a year after that. The town mechanic is on the email list; the Pownal mechanic cannot receive email.

20. 16:23
    Budget season schedule

    Budget season starts the following week. The road commissioner said he would not be ready for the first meeting; the fire chief was expected to go first.

21. 21:31
    Marijuana legalization and a possible moratorium

    The administrator handed out material left by Paul, who was absent: a page from IB 1701, the marijuana legalization act, on how a town obtains local control, referring back to what the transcript renders as 'title 3A'. The suggestion was that the board ask the planning board to write moratorium stipulations and then pass a 180-day moratorium at town meeting, or at a special town meeting; members doubted a special town meeting given the time needed to draft the language.

22. 21:31
    Upcoming meetings and holiday closures

    Regular selectmen's meetings were announced for Tuesday, January 10 and Tuesday, January 24 at 6:30 p.m., with a budget workshop on Tuesday, January 3 at 6:30 p.m. The town office closes at noon on Friday, December 30 for year end and is closed Monday, January 2 for the New Year holiday.

23. 21:31
    January 10 vote and absentee ballots

    The January 10 vote on the athletic field is on the website and has gone out in the news blast, with the polls open 8 to 8. Members established that absentee ballots must be requested by the Thursday before the election, not by the 3rd as the town newsletter had said.

24. 21:31
    Adjournment

    A motion to adjourn was made and seconded and the chair called for a vote. The recording ends without the result being stated.

What was decided

• 0:02
  Consent agenda accepted as presented. The chair announced that the motion carries.passed
• 0:02
  The board let the telecommunications committee proceed with the photo contest and put out the flyer. Members said it sounded good and raised no objections; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 10:57
  The board agreed that a brief notice about pushing snow across town roads should be posted on the town channel and the website, with Ruth to write two or three sentences rather than reproduce the full statute. This was agreed in discussion; no vote was taken.outcome unclear
• 21:31
  Motion to adjourn, moved and seconded. The chair called for the vote but the recording ends before any result is 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 select_board_minutes_12-27-20161.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.

• Approve the Consent Agenda as presentedcarried 3-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Michael Stewart

• Adjourn at 6:55 p.mcarried 3-0

  Moved by Michael Stewart, seconded by Sarah Hall

Worth knowing

• 16:23
  The JD Link monitoring on town equipment cost $800 to upgrade from 2G to 4G and runs $600 a year. A selectman's reaction to the level of detail it reports on drivers was that there is "something a little creepy about the fact that you can do that. Big brother."
• 21:31
  The town newsletter carried the wrong absentee ballot deadline for the January 10 vote, saying the 3rd; the actual cutoff is close of business on the Thursday before the election.
• 21:31
  To get local control over retail marijuana, the town was advised it would need the planning board to draft moratorium stipulations and then adopt a 180-day moratorium at town meeting or a special town meeting.
• 5:02
  The fire department put in about eight or nine hours on the two or three calls that came in over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

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: 1 passage of motion language, against 4 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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