Select Board Meeting ~ April 26, 2022

2022-04-26 · Select Board · 1:10:49 · watch on YouTube →

A Select Board meeting held with one member excused and the town still operating under an interim manager. Much of the evening was forward planning rather than action: how ARPA money can legally be spent, what to do about the aging fire station, whether the code enforcement officer could be housed in the current meeting room by moving meetings to the Eureka building, and how rising fuel prices will hit the public works budget. The chair also used the meeting to explain in detail why the board had reduced a $50,000 civil penalty in a land use case to $25,000, answering questions raised at the previous meeting. A new full-time code enforcement officer was announced, the town manager recruitment was reported to have drawn two applications so far, and the board set out the process for choosing the nine-member interview committee. Little was formally voted; several items were left for May or for a workshop.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 0:07
   Call to order and agenda amendments

   The meeting opened on April 26, 2022 with one member, Josh Klein-Golden, excused for business travel and the other four present. Two items were added to the consent agenda: the second wave of the annual signing of oaths, covering the CIP committee, Memorial Day parade committee, scholarship committee, deputy fire chief and interim town manager, and the warrant for the three-town school budget meeting at Freeport High School on May 25, which the municipal officers of all three towns must sign.

2. 0:07
   Fire department updates

   An Anheuser-Busch grant supplied roughly two pallets of drinking water, 96 cases each, used for rehab at fires and wildland work through the year and stocked at the station, which serves as a heating and cooling facility and the school's reunification site. Hose testing runs all day Thursday, with over 12,000 feet, and a retired fire chief's daughter is bringing her class of children with disabilities to the firehouse. Thursday night brings forcible entry training on a state-supplied prop, and the department banquet is Saturday evening in Freeport with neighbouring departments covering.

3. 0:07
   Condition of the fire station

   The chief has been working through the department's apparatus, training, funding and fees and has turned to the building itself, which was doubled in size before 1980 with the last addition exactly 20 years ago in July. He has begun looking at what ARPA might cover, on the reading that the funds are meant for one-off strategic investment in long-lived assets.

4. 5:19
   Heating, cooling and the failing door

   There is heat in the building but no cooling. The proposal is heat pumps for the training room and the climate-controlled storage holding medical supplies and records; the request for proposal came in under $12,000, with about $3,000 more for the electrical work, so roughly $15,000. The side door of a secured building, locked because of drugs and equipment and monitored by a camera system, has a failing seal with visible rot, estimated at $2,000 to $4,000.

5. 5:19
   Electrical capacity and LED conversion

   The electrical cost is to add capacity at the existing panel for the heat pumps rather than a service upgrade. The same electrician was asked to quote converting the building's lighting, about 48 overhead fixtures inside and out, to LED, for which a rebate is available. The chief asked whether the town office and fire station heating and cooling work could be bundled to attract a vendor and beat supply chain delays.

6. 5:19
   How ARPA money can be spent

   The chair had read Maine Municipal Association legal guidance and reported that in a town meeting form of government, spending ARPA money requires a town meeting article for each expenditure, worded as a specific sum for a specific purpose. That means the board cannot simply direct the money itself, which had been the assumption behind several conversations.

7. 10:36
   Public input and a special town meeting

   The board discussed holding a workshop or public hearing with a presentation explaining what ARPA is, what it can and cannot be spent on, the procedure and the timelines, along with a list of projects already under consideration so residents can comment and propose their own. With roughly $400,000 in the pool and reporting running to 2026, items can be taken to the town in stages rather than all at once, but at least one special town meeting before next April looks almost certain. The chair suggested a heads up in a newsletter.

8. 10:36
   Town manager search committee interviews

   The committee is to have three community members, three staff and three board members. Two staff applicants were waiting in the hallway and could have been interviewed in executive session, but with only three staff applications for three seats, both were content to be considered without an interview. Citizen interviews are scheduled for Thursday in 15-minute slots from 6:45.

9. 15:43
   Staff report from the interim manager

   The town clerk is working through customer service items and with the IT team on daily website updates and on testing upload and download speed, since slow speed is thought to be affecting the website. The deputy treasurer is occupied with the auditors and with setting up the approved FY22 budget in Trio.

10. 15:43
    New code enforcement officer

    Alvin Plummer is expected to start full time on May 16, coming from the town of Mechanic Falls, and will work alongside the town planner. The interim manager thanked Calvin for stepping in and handling code enforcement questions and enforcement over the last several months and for helping with the transition.

11. 15:43
    Proposal to move meetings to the Eureka

    With a full-time code officer arriving and no space for him, the interim manager proposed running rigid conduit with a doubled data line, for redundancy, from the town office to the Eureka building, with public works doing the excavation and backfill. Board meetings would move there and the current meeting room would become office space with portable dividers, a map board for people researching map and lot information, and desks the fire chief located cheaply through state surplus. Costs were still being explored.

12. 21:41
    What the Eureka would need

    The interim manager listed requirements he expected: fireproof steel doors, ensuring nobody can reach the second floor, a second means of egress from the second floor and ADA access at the back. A board member questioned why holding select board meetings there would change anything, since meetings and voting already happen in the building, and said if it does not meet fire code now that is a separate problem to address.

13. 21:41
    Wired or wireless

    Members asked why a trench rather than Wi-Fi, and heard the town's IT provider had recommended a data cable. Complications (?) raised were the bandwidth the recording camera already uses, whether Comcast would treat the Eureka as a second location with its own fee, and the fact that the AV equipment would remain in the town office.

14. 27:24
    Upgrade rather than extend

    A member objected to spending money running dated AV equipment across to another building rather than upgrading the Eureka properly, and said the town is due for a technology upgrade in both hardware and software. The agreed approach was to write a requirements document, stating that the town wants to hold, broadcast and record meetings there and needs internet access, and let the IT provider and Comcast propose solutions rather than being handed one. Comcast's business consultant was suggested as a free first call before paying consulting fees, and members noted the fire department's connection may also need a higher tier of service.

15. 27:24
    Fuel and energy costs

    The interim manager will bring a report to the May meeting on the impact of energy costs against what was assumed in the FY22 budget. The rack price for diesel and gasoline is twice what it was last summer, and public works alone uses 15,000 gallons of diesel, so that item is over budget before anything else is counted. The rack price rose another 25 cents between the previous day and that day.

16. 33:20
    How a shortfall would be covered

    Members asked whether the road commissioner can absorb the increase within his budget. If not, the town cannot raise more tax because it can only assess once, so the money would have to come from undesignated funds through an appropriation article at a special town meeting. A few weeks of fuel remain in the two tanks, and suppliers do not expect prices to ease before June or July.

17. 33:20
    Town manager recruitment

    Advertisements went first on the town website with the full submission requirements, then to newspapers in Portland, Lewiston, Auburn and Bangor and to three municipal association publications and websites. Two formal applications have already come in, and initial reviews should get underway by the second week of May. The interim manager said the market for town managers and code enforcement officers has become extremely competitive.

18. 33:20
    Land use fee schedule

    An ordinance change at town meeting made the permit and land use fee schedule the board's to approve, so the town needs to benchmark its fees against comparable communities. Heather Roy has done work that could serve as a starting point. The chair suggested building a list of towns and letting office staff work through the calls in spare moments over a few weeks, aiming to take it up in May.

19. 39:15
    Office coverage and vacations

    The office continues to catch up on backlog by closing Wednesdays. Two employees will want vacation during the summer, and the interim manager asked to advertise for someone willing to work strictly part time except during vacation weeks, since that is the only practical way to cover. Registration and licensing volumes have been heavy and tax bills are next.

20. 39:15
    Collecting taxes twice a year

    The interim manager urged the board to consider moving to twice-yearly collection, which spreads the burden for taxpayers and improves the town's cash flow so it borrows less on tax anticipation notes. The chair said he has looked at it in detail, that it is roughly a year-and-a-half process requiring a shortened transition period and the auditors' agreement, and that it will not happen this year.

21. 39:15
    Board orientation workshop

    With two new members, the interim manager offered to run an orientation and refresher covering freedom of access and other topics, an hour and a half to two hours, open to the public but on an off night given a May full of interviews. Members noted newly elected officials are required to complete the state's online training and file the certificate with the town clerk, and recommended Maine Municipal Association's newly elected officials workshops and getting MMA logins.

22. 44:35
    Why the civil penalty was reduced

    Answering questions from the previous meeting, the chair explained without naming the violator that in late February the man asked for a reduction, and the board refused to discuss it until every corrective action in the judgment was complete. Calvin and George walked the property the next day and found it about 90 percent done, and a month later confirmed all conditions were met. Only then, in executive session, did the board discuss the request.

23. 44:35
    Where the $50,000 came from

    The violator failed to appear at a September hearing, so a default judgment was entered and the judge asked the town what penalty it sought. The town calculated $100 a day from the start of the violation to the September court date, about $50,500, and rounded it to $50,000, which the judge put in the November judgment. The chair stressed that adjusting it meant adjusting the town's own figure rather than overruling a judge, contrary to what he had heard suggested.

24. 44:35
    Delay traced to earlier advice

    One corner of a foundation put in without a permit sat eight feet inside Durham's 100-foot stream setback, where the state limit is 75 feet. At the time an ordinance change was being discussed that would have brought Durham to 75 feet, and the previous code enforcement officer advised the owner to wait and see whether it passed, which it did not. The board treated that as a factual cause of part of the delay.

25. 49:51
    The legal strategy behind a large judgment

    On the town attorney's advice, the town seeks a high judgment in land use litigation because the number motivates compliance and, if the violator walks away, gives the town grounds to lien or attach property. Where the violator then cooperates, the penalty is often reconsidered. Had this man appeared in September he would have faced a maximum of about $7,500 across three violations at $2,500 each; he paid $25,000 plus the town's legal fees, a figure his own attorney proposed, with 30 days to pay or the original $50,000 plus $100 a day would revert. The money has been collected.

26. 49:51
    Public comment: state senate candidate

    Eric Brakey (?) introduced himself as a candidate to represent Durham in the Maine Senate. He is not a Durham resident and served two terms representing Auburn, New Gloucester, Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls; redistricting returns all of Durham to the district. He offered his contact details and said he would be knocking on doors.

27. 54:59
    Public comment: don't take the Eureka from the volunteers

    A resident said volunteers put considerable work into renovating the Eureka so the public could use it for plant sales and other events, and that putting the code enforcement officer and locked records in there would narrow that use. She also said remote computer support works fine over Wi-Fi in her experience and suggested the logical place for the code officer is with the road commissioner. The board clarified only meetings, not the code officer, were being discussed for the Eureka.

28. 54:59
    Public comment: use the volunteers

    The same resident said eight or nine people she knows would gladly come in to stuff mailings, describing 16 volunteers turning out for a committee and getting through over 800 items in a couple of hours. She suggested a sign-up sheet or a notice on the town site listing who is willing to volunteer. The interim manager agreed, noting volunteers had assembled the annual report before town meeting.

29. 54:59
    The committee selection process

    The board will recess rather than adjourn so Thursday's citizen interviews run under the same meeting notice. After the interviews the board will pick three citizens and three board members, and those appointments become public once made. The nine-member committee then screens applicants and conducts first-round interviews, narrowing to between three and five finalists who interview with the full board; the process is confidential under the freedom of access statute because applicants have an expectation of confidentiality.

30. 1:00:21
    Alternates and a conflict of interest

    A member suggested naming alternates in case someone selected for the committee becomes unavailable. Members also noted that one of the citizen applicants is the wife of a board member, and discussed where the conflict lies: at the point of selecting and appointing the committee, where disclosure is required.

31. 1:06:13
    Board of appeals resignation

    A resignation from the board of appeals was announced with thanks for the member's service; the chair gave one name, immediately corrected himself and referred to a different person, so the recording does not settle who resigned. No action was taken. There are two alternates, and elevation is not automatic by seniority.

32. 1:06:13
    Filling the appeals and budget committee seats

    The board will contact both alternates to see whether either wants to become a full voting member, possibly with a short meet and greet in executive session, and the board of appeals chair may wish to make a recommendation. A replacement alternate would then be needed. Separately, a budget committee seat fell vacant after the annual town meeting and is the select board's to fill for the remainder of the term, which is not urgent unless a special town meeting requires a budget committee recommendation on additional money for public works.

33. 1:06:13
    Upcoming meetings

    The town manager hiring committee is expected to meet tentatively in the week of May 9. Regular board meetings continue on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The board then moved toward executive session.

What was decided

• 0:07
  The agenda was amended to add two consent items: the second wave of annual oaths for the CIP committee, Memorial Day parade committee, scholarship committee, deputy fire chief and interim town manager, and the warrant for the three-town school budget meeting on May 25.passed
• 10:36
  No decision on ARPA spending. The board agreed it will need a workshop or public hearing with prepared material explaining the rules and the projects under consideration, and that each expenditure will require a town meeting article, making at least one special town meeting likely before April.tabled
• 10:36
  The board did not go into executive session to interview the two staff applicants for the town manager search committee. With only three staff applications for three staff seats, both indicated they were content to be considered without an interview.passed
• 21:41
  No decision on the proposal to run a data line to the Eureka building and convert the meeting room into office space. The board asked for more homework on the technical requirements and costs, in the form of a requirements document put to the town's IT provider and to Comcast, rather than stopping the exploration.tabled
• 27:24
  The interim town manager will bring a special report to the May meeting on the impact and cost of energy against what was budgeted for FY22, including gallons and kilowatts and what the town proposes to do.passed
• 33:20
  The board agreed to programme the land use fee schedule review for May, building a list of comparable communities for office staff to call and using Heather Roy's earlier work as a starting point.passed
• 39:15
  The interim manager will advertise for a part-time office position able to cover vacation weeks, which members agreed is the only effective way to keep the office staffed through the summer.passed
• 39:15
  No move to twice-yearly tax collection. Members agreed it is worth doing eventually but described it as a strategically planned change of roughly a year and a half requiring the auditors' agreement, and not something to start this year.tabled
• 39:15
  The interim manager will set up an orientation and refresher workshop for board members covering freedom of access and related topics, open to the public, on a night other than a regular meeting night.passed
• 54:59
  The board agreed that at the end of the evening it would recess rather than adjourn, reconvening on Thursday so the citizen interviews run under the same meeting notice.passed
• 1:06:13
  No action was taken on the board of appeals vacancy. The board will contact both alternates to ask whether they wish to be elevated to full voting members and may seek a recommendation from the board of appeals chair, with any discussion of candidates held in executive session.tabled
• 1:06:13
  A letter thanking the departing board of appeals member for their service will be drafted for the chair to send, which members noted has not been standard practice.passed
• 1:06:13
  The consent agenda was put as presented. The recording does not capture a motion, second or vote before the chair moved on to upcoming meetings.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.

Worth knowing

• 10:36
  The board cannot spend the town's roughly $400,000 of ARPA money on its own authority. Because Durham has a town meeting form of government, each expenditure needs its own spending article, which means at least one special town meeting before next April.
• 27:24
  The rack price for diesel is double what it was last summer and rose another 25 cents in a single day. Public works alone burns 15,000 gallons of diesel, with only a few weeks left in its tanks, and any shortfall would have to come out of undesignated funds through another town meeting article, because the town can only assess taxes once.
• 49:51
  The $50,000 civil penalty in the land use case was the town's own calculation, $100 a day to the September court date, not a figure set by a judge. The violator paid $25,000 plus the town's legal fees, more than three times the roughly $7,500 maximum he would have faced across three violations had he simply appeared in court.
• 15:43
  Durham gets a full-time code enforcement officer again on May 16, Alvin Plummer, coming from Mechanic Falls. The road commissioner has been covering code enforcement for several months, and there is no office for the new officer, which is what prompted the proposal to move board meetings to the Eureka building.

Elsewhere

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