Planning Board Meeting ~ January 2, 2016

2016-01-02 · Planning Board · 50:05 · watch on YouTube →

This recording is a Board of Selectmen budget workshop, not a planning board meeting, and the dates discussed in it fall in February rather than January. Three of the five selectmen were present, so the fire chief's budget was put off until a full board could hear it, tentatively the following Monday, and the board worked instead through animal control, cemeteries, donations, general assistance, parks and recreation, boards and committees, solid waste and telecommunications. Most of the evening went to two contested requests: $7,500 from the Durham Athletic Boosters to repair the town-owned ball field behind the Eureka Center, and smaller requests from the snowmobile club, Cal Ripken baseball and the school outing club. No votes were taken, the board saying explicitly that a workshop does not vote, but it reached working agreements on animal control fees, general assistance and the donations total, and left the boosters' request for the next meeting pending more information. Ruth was asked to find out what several of the applicant groups do with the money and why RSU 5 does not fund a club inside its own school. The workshop closed with public works and fire administration set for the following evening at six.

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. 0:01
   Call to order and quorum

   The meeting was opened as a budget workshop of the Town of Durham selectmen, with the pledge of allegiance. Three of the five selectmen were present; the chair and Selectman Libby could not attend.

2. 0:01
   Fire chief's budget deferred

   The board had intended to take the fire chief's budget but deferred it so a full board could hear it, on the reasoning that the fire department is a large part of the budget. It was tentatively set for Monday February 8 at six, with public works to be taken the following evening.

3. 0:01
   Budget calendar

   After next week the board has two weeks to work with the budget committee, then a select board meeting on February 23 to go over the warrant articles and approve the warrant. The town report has to be at the printers by the first week in March, and town meeting is in April. Last year the budget committee needed only about three nights.

4. 5:08
   Dog licence money redirected to animal control

   Licence fee income had been going to general administration rather than animal control. Going forward $2 of each licensing fee and the $25 late fee for dogs registered after January 31 will go to animal control, which the board said only makes sense even though it takes something away from Ruth's line, since it ends up in the same place.

5. 5:08
   Animal control budget down about 10 percent

   The overall animal control budget is down about 10 percent after the town moved from its contract with the Lisbon police department to hiring its own officer. The board said the officer had not asked for anything more and makes do with what he has.

6. 5:08
   Have-a-heart trap and rabies shots

   The board discussed buying the town its own have-a-heart trap after the officer declined to lend his own expensive one to a woman trying to catch a dog by the river. About $300 was added to the supply line, taking it from $1,000 to $1,300, with a figure of less than $500 mentioned for a trap. About $700 remains budgeted for the officer's rabies shots, which he has not yet had, with earlier discussion of splitting the cost since he needs them for his other business; the total came to $1,342.

7. 5:08
   Whether the workshop needs motions

   Asked whether a motion was needed on each line as the board went through, the answer was no, not yet. Approval comes when the warrant is drawn up.

8. 5:08
   Cemeteries

   The cemetery line is staying the same. A memo from the cemetery committee dated December 2015 said no major projects were needed, but Jeff had said he wanted to follow up because some of the cemeteries look as though they need attention, so the board left it pending his information.

9. 10:19
   Perpetual care fund

   Money in the perpetual care fund cannot be used for mowing and similar work but can be used for major projects, rehabilitation and maintenance. The board thought that was the fund used when the stone wall was redone.

10. 10:19
    Conservation committee

    The board could not say how often the conservation committee now meets or who is on it. John Aman used to pull it together and has since died.

11. 10:19
    What funds the recreation fund

    Asked what the source of the recreation fund is and whether it is revenue driven, the board worked through snowmobile registrations and state park fees, the latter used for Runaround Pond, and settled on boat excise tax as what funds it.

12. 10:19
    Donations to nonprofit organisations

    The donations line reflects everyone who asked this year, against a total of $3,000 the town has given for several years running. Last year's recipients included Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, Community Concepts, Western Maine Transportation and LifeFlight; new requests came in from Safe Voices, a domestic violence advocacy group, Androscoggin County Head Start, the Red Cross and Tri-County Mental Health.

13. 10:19
    SeniorsPlus rolled back to $500

    One group had been raised from $500 to $571 by a motion from the floor at last year's town meeting, based on services to town residents. The board proposed going back to last year's list and rounding that back to $500, keeping the total at $3,000, and noted that anyone can move to change it again on the floor. A member observed that the budget committee has argued taxpayers should be free to make their own charitable donations rather than have tax dollars donated for them.

14. 15:31
    Replenishing the emergency fund after the Eureka Center foundation

    Money for the Eureka Center foundation work came out of the emergency fund, one of the assigned balance funds, which does not have to be replenished but could be. Ruth had not put it in the budget; the budget committee, or at least Mil, was expected to ask for it. The figure discussed was $1,650, which could come out of the Eureka Center's own capital account, said to hold $7,728.66, without raising any new money.

15. 15:31
    General assistance reduced

    The town budgeted $5,000 for general assistance in 2014 and 2015 and has never spent more than about $2,000, and state reimbursement has risen from 50 percent to 70 percent. The proposal is to allocate $3,000 instead, noted as one of the few lines the town can overspend without going back to town meeting.

16. 20:56
    Durham Athletic Boosters ask $7,500 for field repair

    The boosters, who run Saturday morning soccer and basketball, softball and other year-round programmes, asked for $7,500 for repair of the ball field. The list included levelling the playing surface where it has been torn up by tire tracks, an outfield fence to keep the ball in play, levelling the infield and a load of rock dust for the pitcher's mound and batter's box, removing the concession building, repairing the dugout and replacing the backstop and fencing, with some money also going to insurance and equipment for the other programmes.

17. 20:56
    Which field and whose responsibility

    The board established that the work is on the town-owned field on the other side of the Eureka Center, not on RSU 5 fields, though members argued much of what was described should be the school's responsibility and noted that the town already pays RSU 5 a considerable amount for use of school fields. Members also said the dugouts were originally built with volunteer money rather than town money, and that the request was lumped together rather than broken down by programme.

18. 26:00
    Disagreement over the amount

    Asked whether he had an alternative figure or was advocating nothing at all, Mark (?) said his share of the vote would not be to give $7,500 and that he would rather have someone stand up and make the case on the floor at town meeting. He argued taxes are going up badly enough and that not everybody should pay for a few. Another member suggested keeping the field smooth and fenced so anyone can use it, and put $1,500 forward.

19. 26:00
    Access to school fields

    The board said that if RSU 5 ever said children could not play on its fields, it would want that conversation, and members said they could not see why the fields would not be open to any children who want to play. One member said he had never understood why the groups play elsewhere when the town pays good money for the field behind the Eureka Center.

20. 26:00
    Snowmobile club and youth baseball

    The snowmobile club is asking $1,100, which the board said has always come out of registration money, and youth baseball, Cal Ripken, is asking $1,500. Members were reluctant to turn Cal Ripken away after years of support, and asked to find out from Rod Stimson what the money is being spent on, weighing the numbers of children reached by each programme.

21. 26:00
    School outing club

    The Durham Community School outing club asked $700 to subsidise trips, events and equipment rentals, saying it gets no funds from RSU 5 and raises money with school dances. Members questioned why the RSU does not support a club inside its own school that is open only to its own students, given what the town already sends the district each month, and asked Ruth to get an explanation.

22. 31:22
    Snowmobile trail grooming

    The snowmobile money is for maintaining and grooming trails, and members doubted much grooming was happening in a winter with little snow, though new bridges had been seen. Duncan is to be asked what the club has been doing. The board's view was that these are groups it has supported for a long time and it would keep doing so absent a good reason not to.

23. 31:22
    Eagle Scout project, phase one accounting

    The board reviewed how phase one at the war memorial was paid for: the town allocated the whole amount and the scout's family backfilled as fundraising materialised, with Justin's parents reimbursing part of it. About $700 was recalled, with $795.51 given as the figure that came back and about $5,150 as what was expended, slightly over the line because of unforeseen electrical work.

24. 31:22
    Gazebo condition and a possible school project

    The gazebo roof is falling in, so the board saw no point putting a walkway up to it before deciding what to do with it. The suggestion was to ask Region 10 in Brunswick whether a teacher would take the rebuild on as a student project with the town paying for materials, and to consider lowering it for easier access for residents with disabilities. Rehabilitation against a new build was put at 15 or 20 thousand dollars.

25. 36:40
    What the gazebo does to the parks budget

    Members said the gazebo will change the bottom line for parks and recreation and may have to be spread over two years, but that something has to be done soon because it cannot be used as it is. Options were asked for on replacing just the rotten poles against doing something different.

26. 36:40
    War memorial phase two scope

    Phase two would add two flagpoles, for the Coast Guard and the merchant marine, either a plaque on the existing monument or an additional monument, and a walkway, potentially a memorial brick walkway sold as a fundraiser in the way bricks were sold at the front of the school. Placement of the flags would affect where the walkway runs, but nothing can be laid until the gazebo question is settled.

27. 36:40
    Boards consolidated and appeals rising

    The planning board, historic district commission and appeals board budgets have all been consolidated into the planning board line. The town had no appeals for about three years and then had three last year, so more are anticipated, and the legal line has been doubled, partly for superior court.

28. 36:40
    Ordinance review and the comprehensive plan

    Another $5,000 goes to the ordinance review committee to keep paying Nicole to work on the land use ordinance. That does not cover the comprehensive plan, which the town has to move forward on revising this year, so money will have to be found for it in the budget; the council of governments in Portland was to be called about what such a programme costs.

29. 36:40
    Solid waste contract and trash tags

    The solid waste line is essentially the contract, plus trash tags that have to be ordered every few years and were ordered and received this year. Trash tag revenue was up about $1,000. The three-year contract ends June 30, 2017, so the town will have to renegotiate or put it out to bid this summer, and there was earlier unresolved discussion about automated trucks with specific cans and who bears the cost of those.

30. 41:56
    Telecommunications budget and franchise fees

    The telecommunications request is appropriated entirely from cable franchise fees, of which there is $91,000 in the account, with $10,000 earmarked for video equipment under a grant. The account is replenished every year, and this year's was among the highest, put at $37,000 without the grant money.

31. 41:56
    IT support and fire station security cameras

    Money was added to farm out IT support, which the previous public information employee had handled in the office. Security cameras for the fire station, approved last year but never purchased, now appear on both the fire chief's budget and the telecommunications budget; the understanding was that telecommunications would pay and the chief would take them off his, but no capital budget had yet come to the board.

32. 41:56
    What is driving the telecommunications increase

    Some of the increase is movement of items from other lines rather than new spending: the fire station cameras, and the printing of the town reports, which telecommunications paid for last year but which was budgeted under Ruth's line. New items include publishing software for the annual report, and a laptop with Microsoft Office for Shannon so she can work from home on the website.

33. 41:56
    Big screen television for the Eureka Center

    A big screen television appears in the line, intended for the Eureka Center alongside a proposal to put wireless internet in and try to get classes taught there. Asked why it does not come out of the Eureka budget, the answer was that it is technology and comes from franchise fees. The item totals $4,200 covering a laptop, monitors, the television and various Eureka Center expenses, and members asked what the last of those meant.

34. 47:16
    Who is asking, and what happens to unspent money

    The requests come from Jeff Leighton, chair of the telecommunications committee. Anything not spent goes back into the franchise fees the following year, so a $4,200 request that spends $1,000 returns $3,200.

35. 47:16
    Drawing on the franchise fee balance

    Just short of $40,000 was raised in revenue in that account, so the requests would also draw on the account's savings to the tune of just under $13,000, over and above the year's revenue.

36. 47:16
    Board's view of the telecommunications requests

    Members said that because the money comes out of franchise fees rather than taxpayers' pockets they would have a hard time saying no, and that making the Eureka Center more useful and more rentable is worth pursuing. They also supported upgrading the website to be more user friendly, including handling some building permit business online.

37. 47:16
    Adjournment and next session

    With fire administration and public works still to come, a motion was made and seconded and the workshop closed. Public works and fire administration were set for the following evening at six.

What was decided

• 0:01
  Defer the fire chief's budget until a full board is present, tentatively Monday February 8 at six, and take public works the following eveningpassed
• 5:08
  Agreed, without a vote, to direct $2 of each dog licensing fee and the $25 late fee for dogs registered after January 31 to animal control rather than to general administrationpassed
• 5:08
  Agreed, without a vote, to add about $300 to the animal control supply line for a town-owned have-a-heart trap, taking the line from $1,000 to $1,300passed
• 10:19
  Agreed, without a vote, to keep the total for donations to nonprofits at $3,000 and to put the one group raised to $571 by a motion from the floor at last year's town meeting back to $500passed
• 15:31
  Whether to replenish the emergency fund by about $1,650 out of the Eureka Center's capital account, rather than by raising new money, was discussed but not settled on the recordingoutcome unclear
• 15:31
  Agreed, without a vote, to reduce the general assistance appropriation from $5,000 to $3,000passed
• 31:22
  Hold over the Durham Athletic Boosters' $7,500 request to the next meeting to get more information, with $1,500 put forward as an alternative for field worktabled
• 31:22
  Agreed, without a vote, that Ruth would find out from Rod Stimson what Cal Ripken spends its money on, what the snowmobile club is doing with its grooming money, and why RSU 5 does not fund the school outing clubpassed
• 31:22
  Agreed, without a vote, to ask Paul to approach Region 10 in Brunswick about taking the gazebo on as a student project with the town paying for materialspassed
• 47:16
  Adjourn the workshoppassed

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

• 0:01
  The budget calendar is tight this year because town meeting is early. After next week the board has two weeks with the budget committee, the warrant has to be gone over and approved at the February 23 select board meeting, and the town report must be at the printers by the first week in March.
• 20:56
  The Durham Athletic Boosters (?) asked for $7,500 to repair the town-owned ball field behind the Eureka Center. The board split on it: Mark (?) said his vote would not be for that amount, arguing most of the work belongs to RSU 5 and that the town already pays the district for use of school fields, while another member put forward $1,500 for basic levelling and fencing. The request was held over.
• 31:22
  The gazebo roof is falling in and the structure cannot be used. Rehabilitation against a new build was put at 15 or 20 thousand dollars, which members said would change the bottom line for parks and recreation and might have to be spread over two years, and no walkway from the war memorial project can be built until it is settled.
• 36:40
  The town has to move forward on revising its comprehensive plan this year and will have to put money in the budget for it. The $5,000 in the ordinance review line covers continuing to pay Nicole to work on the land use ordinance but does not cover the comprehensive plan.

Elsewhere

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