Select Board Meeting ~ March 24, 2015

2015-03-24 · Select Board · 1:14:01 · watch on YouTube →

The Select Board met on March 24, 2015 with all five members present, eleven days before town meeting. The Durham Athletic Boosters opened with photographs of vandalism damage to the softball field and were told the warrant was already printed, so the only route to money was to ask the floor at town meeting on April 4. The board approved the consent agenda and an updated warrant, set bulky waste day for May 16, put the mowing contract out to bid, and set a special meeting to review three animal control applications. The longest part of the meeting was Fire Chief William St. Michel's report, which he asked to give in open session rather than executive session: he explained the family illness behind his sick leave since March 2, and then said that if the board's 2 percent figure for the chief's position stands after town meeting, he will leave after 22 years as chief. Fire department members and residents spoke in his support before the board went into executive session on personnel matters, where the recording ends.

What was discussed

1. 0:02
   Call to order

   All five selectmen were present. The board rose for the Pledge of Allegiance and took up amendments to the agenda, which were described only as what was on the yellow sheet.

2. 0:02
   Public comment: softball field damage

   A representative of the Durham Athletic Boosters came to the table with photographs of what he called safety hazards on the softball field: about a 40-foot line and two circles of torn-up turf. He said two injuries were caused last year by playing on the field after the damage, which they had patched as best they could, and that softball is due outdoors the second week of April.

3. 0:02
   Why the town cannot simply pay for it

   The board explained the boosters' letter arrived the day the budget was being finalised and after it had gone to the budget committee, so nothing more could be added. The warrant was already printed and the town cannot spend money that has not been voted on the floor. The suggestion was that the boosters present the photographs at town meeting on April 4 alongside the parks and recreation article and ask the floor to increase the budget.

4. 5:37
   No contingency fund

   Asked directly whether a general fund existed to fix something like this during the year, the board said everything the town spends has to be voted at town meeting and there is no contingency fund of any kind. Adding money for the fields is possible, but town meeting is the next available mechanism.

5. 5:37
   Repair cost and timing

   The boosters representative said two landscaping companies had given a general figure of about $1,500 to saw the damaged turf out and put it back, neither being able to get on the field yet. Members observed that reseeding would not produce playable grass before late June, whereas cutting it out with a sod saw would avoid fencing the area off for the season.

6. 5:37
   Insurance and the vandalism itself

   A member asked whether the town's insurance might cover the damage, which would leave only the deductible; the figure quoted for the deductible is indistinct in the recording. The damage occurred last May. Adam Gormley (?), described as a game warden in town, had done some investigating and traced it to a young man who apparently also damaged the baseball field at the school.

7. 5:37
   Who controls the field

   Members were unsure whether there is a lease agreement for the field and noted the boosters had only taken over softball the previous year, when the previous organisers handed over the equipment. Ruth Glaeser was asked to look through the town's records for a lease and to check the insurance question.

8. 10:39
   Consent agenda

   Two items were flagged in passing: the scholarship committee's letter naming its award, which the board hoped to present at town meeting, and a lengthy written opinion on the county charter budget committee authority question, which the chair recommended as a read for its history of the charter.

9. 10:39
   Updated town meeting warrant

   The only change was removing a duplicated planning board entry, so there is one fewer position on the warrant. The board wanted the corrected warrant signed again.

10. 10:39
    Bulky waste day

    The date proposed was May 16, the third Saturday in May, running 9 to 3. The town used the public works department rather than volunteers last year, and the board was comfortable with the road commissioner overseeing the day instead of a board member if he is available. A member asked that Pine Tree Waste be confirmed for that date, since the day will not work without them.

11. 10:39
    Animal control: applications and the deadline

    Three applications came in, including one after the Friday deadline, and Ruth Glaeser noted the deadline had been on the Durham channel and with MMA but never appeared in the tri-town paper, so the board might not want to hold strictly to it. None of the applicants has the animal control training the position requires. She had also put Lisbon's animal control budget in the packet.

12. 10:39
    Cost of contracting versus hiring

    Durham pays Lisbon $8,300 now and Glaeser had figured about $8,600 for next year, so Lisbon's own budget going down will not change Durham's cost much, and only for part of the year in any case. The town had budgeted for an increase of about 5.2 percent.

13. 15:50
    Startup costs of a town animal control officer

    Training is only offered in Orono, where a farm lets officers work with large animals, and costs roughly $600 to $800. Membership of the animal control organisation is $35, a have-a-heart trap a little under $100, and gloves about another $100, putting startup at roughly $1,000 in one-time costs plus whatever stipend the board sets.

14. 15:50
    Insurance and firearms

    Glaeser reported that MMA will not insure a personal vehicle, so whoever took the position would have no insurance on their own vehicle. The board would also have to decide whether the officer carries a firearm; if so, additional MMA insurance is needed because it becomes a law officer position, and if not, the officer signs a statement that he is not authorised to carry. Jeff Cooper, the officer Durham currently gets through Lisbon, is a full officer with the Lisbon Police Department.

15. 15:50
    Whether to change at all

    Members wanted the full set of numbers side by side before deciding, noting that once the training, equipment and stipend are added the difference from the Lisbon contract may be small, and that the town would still have to pay out an existing contract. One member expected the town's own pay would be well below the contract cost even so.

16. 20:52
    Special meeting to review applications

    A decision has to be made by April 15, and the board still has to interview. After working around several members' schedules it settled on a special meeting the following Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., in the hope three applications could be reviewed in 45 minutes.

17. 20:52
    Mowing and grounds contract

    Glaeser had updated the specification and advertisement, adding the public works garage to the properties covered and revising the dates; the document is otherwise the same as the one used before. Yankee Yard Works, the current contractor, had submitted a bid which she had not opened and would not open if the board went out to bid. Cemetery mowing is a separate contract and the cemetery committee would have to say whether it is up this year.

18. 20:52
    Congregational church table at town meeting

    The church asked permission to have a table outside town meeting to take orders for pies and cheese. The board recalled telling a group selling quilt raffle tickets that it had no objection provided the school agreed, and took the same position here.

19. 20:52
    Town administrator's report

    Glaeser had produced an updated budget sheet with the numbers in purple showing what is on the warrant, on the assumption those figures hold, so members could see where the town stands financially. One line had moved because a charge went up and was split across departments, so it will probably appear as a different line item.

20. 20:52
    Code enforcement: office paperwork and the Sand Hill project

    Paul Baines circulated the paperwork his office has been generating, starting with the schedule of inspections required on a project, so the board could see how he is filling the gaps he found. On the Sand Hill project he could not inspect some concrete; CW Cole (?) was due to take a core sample the next day, and the contractor's engineer at Casco Bay Engineering agreed with Baines that it should be cored and break tested against the requirement.

21. 26:04
    Certificate of occupancy resolved

    David Stevenson had been unable to get a certificate of occupancy for his house because no inspections were on record. Baines received reports from an engineer and an architect Stevenson hired to review the structure, recommending a set of changes, and said the house will comply once those are made.

22. 26:04
    Growth ordinance out of date

    Baines said state requirements oblige the town to revise and revisit the growth ordinance every three years for it to stay active and to document that it complies with the comprehensive plan, and it does not appear to have been revised since it was written. There are also newer state requirements on affordable housing allowances within a growth ordinance. He would raise both with the planning board the following Wednesday and expected recommendations to come back to the Select Board.

23. 26:04
    Timber harvesting at Runaround Pond

    A citizen complaint about a timber harvest near Runaround Pond went directly to the DEP rather than through the codes office. Baines inspected the site, spoke to the forester who marked it, and found the work well marked and within the shoreland zone limits. Confusion arose over inland fisheries rules on endangered wading bird habitat; he pointed out that NRPA exempts timber harvesting from the endangered habitat restrictions while still holding it to the 40 percent rule and the 6,500 square foot canopy opening limit.

24. 26:04
    Site meeting with the state

    Six or eight people met at the site that day, including DEP, the state forester and the state ranger, and the harvester. Baines assured them the project was being done well and there were no concerns. He attributed some of the confusion to the DEP staffer being new to the district and to state forestry taking over NRPA and shoreland zone oversight, which he expected would settle out over the next couple of months.

25. 26:04
    Complaint against the code enforcement officer

    Baines had forwarded the board an email from a former holder of the position alleging that Baines made a derogatory comment about him publicly, using profanity. Baines said he does not recall making the comment, that he would owe a public apology without question if he did, but that no proof was offered, and that the complainant appears to be taking it further.

26. 31:24
    Board's response on the complaint

    Members said all they had seen was the email and that if proof were produced they would deal with it, but advised Baines to keep the former officer out of his conversations because speaking about anyone in those terms is unprofessional regardless of whether it is true. Baines acknowledged he had been vocal about the state in which he found the codes office, said he would tone it down, but defended the idea of professional criticism between code officers and said he wished the state audited codes offices, including his own.

27. 31:24
    Fire chief's report, given in open session

    William St. Michel said he had asked to give this report in open session rather than the usual executive session because he had heard a great many rumours and wanted residents to hear it firsthand. He took sick leave starting March 2 to help his father and stepmother, whose health had been slipping for years, get their affairs and their housing and medical situations in order.

28. 36:49
    The family situation

    Both parents ended up in Central Maine Medical Center, his stepmother in rehab and then back for chemotherapy, his father moved to the Augusta VA. The family found no life insurance, no long-term care insurance, no financial or medical power of attorney and no will, and prepared a long-term care application. His stepmother was placed on hospice in the hospital and died; his father is on a waiting list for long-term residential care with no room and no money as yet, and St. Michel obtained power of attorney that day so bills can be paid.

29. 36:49
    Sick leave continuing

    St. Michel said he needs to keep his sick leave request active for a few more weeks, though he intends to come in when he can for administrative work until he can return completely.

30. 36:49
    The department review and what was budgeted

    St. Michel recalled telling the board over six months ago that he was not certain he would stay, and forming a committee to look at direction, needs, fixes and community safety. The October recommendations were to print and distribute standard operating guidelines, stop providing dress uniforms, increase part-time hours to close coverage gaps, and raise the chief's pay towards industry standards to improve the prospect of finding a mentee or replacement at retirement.

31. 41:53
    The pay figures

    St. Michel said the large budget increases came from putting load costs back where they had been before being cut last year and moving workers compensation over from the administration budget. The only item cut was his own requested increase: he asked for 5 percent, roughly $2,750, and the board placed the position in a pay pool of one at 2 percent, roughly $1,100.

32. 41:53
    The chief says he will leave

    St. Michel said he is not happy with the lack of communication and support and that if the 2 percent is what is on the table after town meeting, then once his family affairs are in order he is leaving. He has been chief for 22 of the department's more than 65 years and had expected to reach 25, said his retirement will depreciate rapidly with no cost of living adjustment attached, and noted he has always been able to earn more as a plumber.

33. 41:53
    Board members respond

    Joshua Libby said he intends to get on the town floor and ask for the 5 percent. Chairman Jeffrey Wakeman said that when he first presents at town meeting he will have to present the budget the board put together, because that is his job as chairman, but that after that he can make his own comments and personally feels the same as Libby.

34. 47:56
    The RSU and the town budget

    A longtime resident and former budget committee member said the pressure to cut something from every town department comes from the school, which he said went up 12 percent last year and 10 percent this year, and that the town has been cutting town government to subsidise the RSU since it was organised. He urged Durham residents to attend the school board budget meetings and to use the chance to vote on the school budget, recalling that a bus chartered so residents could get to Freeport sat empty in front of the Eureka Center.

35. 47:56
    Grants brought in by the chief

    The same speaker said he had gone back ten years trying to total the grants and equipment the chief has brought to the department and the town, and stopped counting at a little over $400,000, which he said had saved taxpayers money.

36. 47:56
    Cutting employees

    St. Michel said listening to the budget committee had been hard because the town had just brought five new employees on in public works, changing their lives on the strength of the offers made, and was then discussing cuts. He argued employees are the easiest place to cut and the last place that should be cut, that productive employees repay the town many times over, and that keeping institutional knowledge is cheaper than replacing people.

37. 52:58
    Disagreement over the 2 percent

    A board member pushed back on the suggestion that the town was pulling the rug out from under employees, saying a 2 percent raise is normal in many industries and some people are getting nothing, and that she had been looking at the town as a whole rather than at the chief's position. St. Michel replied that he had asked for 5 percent because a comparison against surrounding communities shows Durham's fire chief position gradually falling behind, and that his wider point, made as a taxpayer, was that happy employees are productive employees.

38. 52:58
    Who is responsible

    St. Michel said that as chief the buck stops with him, but that the board are his bosses and are responsible for making sure he is doing his job of providing for the safety of the community, so they should be sharing the occasional sleepless night. A member replied that he has a lot of them. St. Michel also said he had no idea what the final decision on the budget was or what was in the town report.

39. 58:08
    The chief will not be at town meeting

    St. Michel said he has a family event on the Saturday of town meeting, Easter weekend, which he has not missed in 42 years, and that he thinks it wisest not to attend in any case. He did not want to be there to sway the vote or badger anyone, saying people should vote as they feel and that the vote should really be about direction rather than the difference in pay.

40. 58:08
    Conference and training registrations

    St. Michel was registered for the Maine Fire Chiefs annual conference and training at Sunday River that Wednesday to Friday and a further training the coming weekend, and was unsure he could attend given his father's situation. He asked the board what it wanted done, thought some money could probably be recovered on the lodging, and noted the weekend training is already paid for. He will attend the annual meeting regardless because he is treasurer of Maine Fire Chiefs.

41. 58:08
    Board's answer on the training

    Members said that if the training is budgeted and paid for and someone from the department wants to go, they had no objection. The chairman suggested leaving the registration as it is if there is a real chance St. Michel can attend, and inviting someone else if he cannot. The Thursday and Friday session was an open training on institutional change, given by a speaker from Charleston about what that department changed after losing nine firefighters in a structure fire.

42. 58:08
    Covering for the chief

    St. Michel praised several members who had stepped up during his absence and made things run without a hitch, but said he did not know whether they were charging the town. Members said that if they are working for the town they should by law be on the clock, and asked that they be encouraged to turn their time in.

43. 1:03:15
    Wayne Enman speaks in support

    Wayne Enman said he has been with the department since 1994 and works for a large construction company, and that losing the chief simply moves the burden onto a deputy, another 40 hours a week on top of what the deputy already does. He pointed to the Department of Labor standards and paperwork the chief handles behind the scenes, which the town would be fined for missing, and said 5 percent is nothing by comparison.

44. 1:03:15
    Emergency management and grant work

    A department volunteer who assists on emergency management said he had previously worked on grants for Maine Emergency Management. He echoed the point about money brought into the community, describing a short-fused grant the chief moved on and he picked up, worth $2,700, against the roughly $8,800 the town had been told it would need to cover on the tower project.

45. 1:08:39
    A former deputy chief speaks

    A member who has been with the department since 1991 and served as St. Michel's deputy said he had watched him go from volunteer to volunteer chief to full-time chief, and that the chief was blindsided by being handed a piece of paper with 2 percent after coming to the board with 5 percent. He said he would be at town meeting and would call the board out if they hesitated to support the chief. One board member said that personally he would not be going for the 5 percent raise.

46. 1:08:39
    A suggested saving

    A speaker suggested cutting the Saturday and Sunday burning permit coverage, which he put at around $2,500 a year, on the grounds that he spends two hours waiting at the station for a permit he can now get online.

47. 1:08:39
    Announcements

    Regular meetings were noted for April 7 and April 21 at 6:30 p.m. Municipal elections are Friday, April 3, 2015 at the Durham Community School with polls open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., absentee ballots available at the town office or by phone, mail or email. Town meeting is Saturday, April 4, 2015 at the Durham Community School beginning at 9:00 a.m., town reports are available at the town office, and the RSU 5 board budget review with public comment is March 25 at 6:30 p.m. in the Freeport High School cafeteria.

48. 1:13:43
    Executive session

    The board moved into executive session on personnel matters. The recording ends there; the town's minutes record three executive sessions with no action taken in any of them, and adjournment at 9:10 p.m.

What was decided

• 0:02
  No town money can be committed to repairing the softball field before town meeting. The board directed the Durham Athletic Boosters to bring their photographs to town meeting on April 4 and ask the floor to increase the parks and recreation appropriation. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 5:37
  Ruth Glaeser to check whether the town's insurance would cover the vandalism to the softball field and whether any lease agreement exists for the field. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 10:39
  Approve the consent agenda as presented. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake. The chair announced the motion carries; the town's minutes record 5-0.passed
• 10:39
  Approve the updated annual town meeting warrant as presented, with the duplicated planning board entry removed, and sign it again. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby. The chair announced the motion carries; the town's minutes record 5-0.passed
• 10:39
  Set bulky waste day for Saturday, May 16 from 9 to 3. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart. The chair announced the motion carries; the town's minutes record 5-0.passed
• 10:39
  Who oversees bulky waste day was NOT settled at this meeting. The board was content for the road commissioner to do it rather than a board member, subject to his availability, and agreed to make the appointment at a later meeting nearer the date.tabled
• 20:52
  Hold a special meeting the following Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. to review the three animal control applications, a decision being required by April 15. Agreed in discussion after working around members' schedules; no motion was made.passed
• 20:52
  Put the mowing and grounds maintenance work out to bid with modified specifications for 2015, adding the public works garage, with bids to be returned by April 17 as stated twice in the recording. Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake. The chair announced the motion carries. The town's minutes record the return date as April 15.passed
• 20:52
  Take the same position on the Congregational Church's request for a table outside town meeting to take pie and cheese orders as the board took with the quilt raffle group: it is acceptable to the selectmen provided it is acceptable to the school. Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby. The chair announced the motion carries; the town's minutes record 5-0.passed
• 58:08
  If the fire chief cannot attend the training already budgeted and paid for, another department member may go in his place. The board suggested leaving the registration as it stands if there is a real chance he can attend. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 58:08
  Department members who have been covering the chief's duties during his absence should be encouraged to turn in their time, on the basis that anyone working for the town should by law be on the clock. Agreed in discussion; no motion was made.passed
• 1:13:43
  Go into executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA 405(6)(A) for personnel matters. Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman. The chair announced the motion carries; the town's minutes record 5-0.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 bosmins_2015_3-24_2.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 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Mark Blake

• Approve the updated Warrant as presentedcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• set the date and time for Bulky Waste. Mikecarried 5-0

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Michael Stewart

• put the mowing and ground work out to bid with modified specifications for 2015, to be back by April 15th 2015carried

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

• the Selectmen take the same position here. That it's okay with the Selectmen if it's okay with the Schoolcarried 5-0

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Joshua Libby

• the Board into two Executive Sessions pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A. ss. 4056)(A) – Personnel and one Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A. ss. 405(6)(F) – Discussion of Confidential Records pursuant to Title …carried 5-0

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, no seconder recorded

• the Board out of Executive Session at 8:00 p.m. ACTION TAKEN: None. Executive Session #2

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

• enter into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A. ss. 405 (6)IA) – Personnel Matters at 8:02 p.m

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, seconded by Sarah Hall; no outcome recorded

• the Board out of Executive session at 8:09 p.m. ACTION TAKEN: None. Executive Session #3

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

• the Board into Executive Session pursuant to Title #1, M.R.S.A., ss. 405(6)(E) – Consultations with Legal Counsel at 8:10 p.m

  Moved by Sarah Hall, seconded by Jeffrey Wakeman; no outcome recorded

• the Board out of Executive Session at 9:07 p.m. ACTION TAKEN: None. Adjournment

  Moved by Jeffrey Wakeman, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

• Adjourn at 9:10 p.mcarried

  Moved by Joshua Libby, seconded by Mark Blake

Worth knowing

• 41:53
  Fire Chief William St. Michel told the board in open session that if the 2 percent figure stands after town meeting he will leave. He had asked for a 5 percent increase, roughly $2,750; the board placed the position in a pay pool of one at 2 percent, roughly $1,100, and that was the only item cut from what he submitted. He has been chief for 22 of the department's more than 65 years, expected to reach 25, and said his retirement carries no cost of living adjustment.
• 47:56
  A longtime resident and former budget committee member said he counted a little over $400,000 in grants and equipment the chief has brought to the town over ten years before he stopped adding. He also said the school budget went up 12 percent last year and 10 percent this year and that Durham has been cutting town government to subsidise the RSU, urging residents to turn out for school board budget meetings; a bus chartered so residents could get to the vote in Freeport sat empty at the Eureka Center.
• 0:02
  The town softball field carries vandalism damage from last May, roughly a 40-foot line and two circles of torn turf, which the boosters say caused two injuries last season after they patched it themselves. Two landscaping companies put the repair at about $1,500. Because the warrant was already printed and the town has no contingency fund, the boosters were told the only route to money is to ask town meeting on April 4 to increase the parks and recreation budget.
• 15:50
  The board is weighing hiring its own animal control officer against continuing to contract with Lisbon at $8,300, rising to about $8,600. Going it alone means roughly $1,000 of one-time startup costs plus a stipend, but MMA will not insure the officer's personal vehicle, and carrying a firearm would require extra insurance because it becomes a law officer position. Three applications came in, none from someone with the required training, and the advertised deadline never ran in the tri-town paper.

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 12 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

← 2015-03-10 Select Board2015-04-07 Select Board →All meetings